Wrestlers · Senior level
Ronna Heaton
2015 Cadet World champion at 49 kg; first girl in South Dakota history to qualify for the state tournament; 2021 Pan American champion
Brookings, SD · Brookings HS · Grays Harbor College
By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 10, 2026
Ronna Heaton was born on March 13, 1999, and wrestled for Brookings High School in South Dakota. She was the first girl in South Dakota history to qualify for the state high school tournament, where she wrestled boys. She took seventh at 106 pounds as a sophomore in 2015. As a junior in 2016 she reached the 113-pound consolation final and lost 6-3 to Cody BeVier of Rapid City Stevens for fourth, the best finish by a girl in state history at the time. She left high school with six folkstyle national titles and three Fargo freestyle titles.
At the Cadet World Championships in Sarajevo in August 2015 she beat Esra Pul of Turkey and Anastasia Sizenko of Russia 10-6. In the semifinals she trailed Yevgenia Pavlova of Ukraine 4-0, reversed her and pinned her in 1:50. She beat Saki Igarashi of Japan 4-0 in the final for the World title at 49 kg, about 108 pounds. It was the first American medal of the tournament, of any color. The following year she was back in the final at 52 kg in Tbilisi and took silver.
She made three straight Junior World Teams, placing 11th at 55 kg in Macon and Tampere and seventh in Trnava, and won two UWW Junior National titles. In college she wrestled for Grays Harbor College under Andy Cook.
In 2020 she won the U23 Nationals and finished second at the Senior Nationals. She was runner-up at the Olympic Team Trials in Fort Worth on April 2 and 3, 2021, which left her an Olympic alternate. In 2021 she won gold at the Pan American Championships, placed seventh at the U23 World Championships in Belgrade and was runner-up at the World Team Trials. She came back in 2025 to place third at the U.S. Open and finish second at the World Team Trials again, putting her on the national team for a third time.
She competes as Ronna Gross out of Bismarck, North Dakota, training at 55 kg with the MATPAC Wrestling Club and Titan Mercury, and she runs camps and practices under her own banner.
Results
| Season | Level | Event | Weight | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | High school | SDHSAA State Championships | 106 lb | 7th | Class A state tournament as a sophomore; the first girl in South Dakota history to qualify for the state meet, wrestling boys |
| 2015-16 | High school | SDHSAA Class A State Championships, Rapid City | 113 lb | 4th | Wins over Ryne Whisler (Vermillion) 7-0, Max Donovan (Chamberlain) 8-0, Jaetin DeCou (Lennox) 8-2 and Aydan Mack (Watertown) 6-2; lost the consolation final 6-3 to Cody BeVier (Rapid City Stevens); called the best finish by a girl in state history; coached by Scott Miller |
| 2015 | Age group | Junior Nationals, Fargo | 1st | Also placed second in the Cadet division that summer; three Fargo titles in all, two at Junior and one at Cadet | |
| 2015 | Age group | UWW Cadet World Championships, Sarajevo | 49 kg | 1st | Def. Esra Pul (Turkey), Anastasia Sizenko (Russia) 10-6 and Yevgenia Pavlova (Ukraine) by fall in 1:50 in the semifinals after trailing 4-0, then beat Saki Igarashi (Japan) 4-0 in the final; the first American medal of the tournament, of any color. CONFLICT: USA Wrestling scored the Pul match 12-3 and FloWrestling called it a fall, so the method is left out. |
| 2016 | Age group | U17 World Championships, Tbilisi, Georgia | 52 kg | 2nd | |
| 2016 | Age group | U20 World Championships, Macon, France | 55 kg | 11th | |
| 2017 | Age group | U20 World Championships, Tampere, Finland | 55 kg | 11th | That year she also won the UWW Junior Nationals, finished second at the World Team Trials Challenge and placed fourth at the U.S. Open |
| 2018 | Age group | U20 World Championships, Trnava, Slovakia | 55 kg | 7th | UWW Junior Nationals champion and Bill Farrell Memorial bronze medalist the same year |
| 2020 | Senior | UWW U23 Nationals | 1st | Also runner-up at the Women's Senior Nationals that year | |
| 2021 | Senior | U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Fort Worth | 2nd | April 2 and 3, 2021 at Dickies Arena; finished as an Olympic alternate. CONFLICT: USA Wrestling names the event the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials and themat.com files the result in her 2020 career block, while her USA Wrestling national team bio lists it under 2021. | |
| 2021 | Senior | Pan American Championships | 1st | ||
| 2021 | Age group | U23 World Championships, Belgrade | 53 kg | 7th | U23 World Team Trials champion that year |
| 2021 | Senior | U.S. World Team Trials | 53 kg | 2nd | Ranked No. 2 in the country at 53 kg for 2021-22 |
| 2025 | Senior | U.S. Open and Senior World Team Trials | 55 kg | 3rd and 2nd | Third at the U.S. Open and runner-up at the World Team Trials; ranked No. 3 at 55 kg for 2025-26, her third year on the national team |
What we could not confirm
Anything not on this page, a high school record, a final score, a season, was left out because no primary source stated it when this was written. If you have a bracket, a program, or a clipping, send it and the page gets the number.
Sources
- https://nwhof.org/hall_of_fame/bio/4007 · First female to compete at the South Dakota state high school tournament, finishing seventh and fourth; six-time folkstyle national champion and three-time Fargo freestyle national champion; 2015 Cadet World champion and 2016 Cadet World silver medalist; three-time Junior World Team member; 2017 Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award for South Dakota
- https://www.usawmembership.com/senior_national_teams?bio=2885 · Born March 13, 1999; Brookings High School; competed for Grays Harbor College under Andy Cook; 2015 Cadet Worlds gold at 49 kg, 2016 Cadet Worlds silver at 52 kg, 2016 and 2017 Junior Worlds 11th at 55 kg, 2018 Junior Worlds seventh, 2021 U23 Worlds seventh at 53 kg; second at the 2020 Olympic Team Trials and the 2021 World Team Trials; 2020 U23 Nationals champion; three-time Fargo champion; 2015 and 2016 Junior Folkstyle Nationals champion; ranked No. 2 at 53 kg for 2021-22
- https://www.themat.com/news/2015/august/27/heaton-makes-finals-campbell-and-marano-for-bronze-at-uww-cadet-worlds · 2015 Cadet World Championships in Sarajevo: def. Esra Pul (Turkey) 12-3, Anastasia Sizenko (Russia) 10-6, and pinned Yevgenia Pavlova (Ukraine) in 1:50 in the semifinals after a 4-0 deficit; met Saki Igarashi of Japan in the 49 kg final; she was a Fargo Junior champion and Cadet runner-up that summer
- https://www.themat.com/profiles/ronna-gross · Now competing as Ronna Gross: hometown Brookings, S.D., education Grays Harbor College, residence Bismarck, N.D., regional training center MATPAC WC, club Titan Mercury WC; No. 3 at 55 kg for 2025-26 and three years on Team USA; 2025 Senior World Team Trials runner-up and third at the U.S. Open; 2021 Pan American champion; U17 World champion
- https://athletics.uwsp.edu/sports/womens-wrestling/roster/coaches/ronna-gross/2967 · Three-time Cadet World Team member and three-time Junior World Team member with Cadet gold and silver; three-time Senior National Team member and an Olympic alternate after finishing second at the 2021 Olympic Trials; Pan American champion; founder of Ronna Gross Wrestling, which runs camps and practices
- https://www.matpacwrestling.org/news_article/show/1315197 · MATPAC Wrestling Club announced the hiring of Seth and Ronna Gross; the page notes Ronna was a three-time Cadet World Team member and three-time Junior World Team member with Cadet gold and silver medals
- https://www.argusleader.com/story/sports/high-school-sports/2016/02/27/heaton-makes-history-again-state-tournament/81050502/ · Argus Leader, Feb. 27, 2016: 'Heaton made history a year ago at the Class A state wrestling tournament, blazing a trail as the first girl in South Dakota history to qualify for the state meet. Heaton finished seventh at 106 pounds.' As a junior in 2016 she beat Ryne Whisler (Vermillion) 7-0, Max Donovan (Chamberlain) 8-0, Jaetin DeCou (Lennox) 8-2 and Aydan Mack (Watertown) 6-2, then lost the 113-pound consolation championship 6-3 to Cody BeVier of Rapid City Stevens for fourth, described in the story as the greatest finish by a girl in state history. Coach Scott Miller.
- https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/5043501-ronna-heatons-journey-to-gold · FloWrestling's match-by-match account of the 2015 Cadet World final: 'GOLD: Ronna Heaton dec. Saki Igarashi (JPN), 4-0'; she led 2-0 at the break and added a takedown off an Igarashi shot, and it was the first gold and the first medal of any color for the United States at the tournament
- https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/sports/olympics/2021/04/02/usa-olympic-wrestling-trials-2021-brackets-live-updates-day-one-iowa-wrestlers-how-to-watch-peacock/7040720002/ · Des Moines Register live coverage places USA Wrestling's 2021 Olympic Trials at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas on April 2-3, 2021, which dates her runner-up finish to 2021 rather than 2020
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