Wrestlers · College
Valarie Solorio
Florida's first sanctioned girls' state champion and Pennsylvania's first PIAA girls champion; 2026 NCAA champion at 103 pounds for Iowa
Panama City Beach, FL · Canon-McMillan HS · Iowa
By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 11, 2026
Valarie Solorio grew up in Panama City Beach, Florida, and wrestled for Arnold High School as a freshman. She made the Florida team for the 16U Nationals in Fargo in July 2021 and won the title at the event.
Florida sanctioned girls wrestling the next season. She was a sophomore at Mosley by then, and she won all four of her matches by fall at the first state championships in Kissimmee. She opened with a seven-second pin of Brooke Rhodes of Wellington and closed with a fall in 1:57 over Gabriele Tedesco of Lake Gibson. The 100-pound class finished before any other class, which made her the first sanctioned girls' state champion in Florida history.
She finished high school at Canon-McMillan in Pennsylvania and won state titles there in 2023 and 2024. At the Giant Center in Hershey in March 2024 she pinned Grace Nesbitt of Neshaminy in 3:14 in the 100-pound final to become the first PIAA girls wrestling champion. She had already been the first WPIAL girls champion, and Canon-McMillan won the first PIAA girls team title the same night.
She went 23-9 as a freshman at Iowa, then 35-2 as a sophomore with 15 technical falls. At the first NCAA women's wrestling championships, in Coralville in March 2026, she pinned Trinity Pendergrass of Quincy in 40 seconds in the semifinals. She beat Rayana Sahagun of Grand Valley State 13-1 in the 103-pound final, the first NCAA women's wrestling championship awarded at the weight. Iowa finished second behind McKendree, with three individual champions.
She is a junior at Iowa and the NCAA champion at 103 pounds.
Results
| Season | Level | Event | Weight | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Age group | 16U Nationals, Fargo | 1st | She made the Florida team as a top-three finisher at state and won in Fargo, North Dakota, in July 2021 after her freshman year at Arnold High School. WJHG reported that she was the first Panhandle wrestler to place at the event and the first to win a national championship there. Iowa's roster lists the title as the USMC Fargo national championship. | |
| 2021-22 | High school | FHSAA Girls' State Championships, Kissimmee | 100 lb | 1st | 35-4. The first officially sanctioned girls' state tournament in Florida, held at Silver Spurs Arena. She was the top seed and won all four matches by fall: Brooke Rhodes (Wellington) in 7 seconds, Emma Bauknight (Springstead) in 29 seconds, Kohana Martinez (Zephyrhills) at 3:03 and Gabriele Tedesco (Lake Gibson) at 1:57 in the final. Iowa's roster records her fastest pin in Florida women's wrestling at 6 seconds, a second off the News Herald's count of the opener. Because 100 pounds finished before any other class, she was the first sanctioned girls' state champion in Florida. Her Mosley teammate Henlee Haynes won at 170 pounds the same night, and the two were among the first 14 champions the state crowned. |
| 2022 | Age group | U17 Women's Nationals | 2nd | Iowa's roster lists her as the 2022 U17 Women's Nationals runner-up. | |
| 2022-23 | High school | Pennsylvania girls' state championships | 1st | The first of her two Pennsylvania state titles for Canon-McMillan. Iowa's roster names no organizer for the 2023 event. | |
| 2023 | Age group | U20 Women's Nationals | 8th | Iowa's roster lists an eighth-place finish at the 2023 U20 Women's Nationals. | |
| 2023-24 | High school | PIAA Girls' Wrestling Championships, Hershey | 100 lb | 1st | 16-0. March 9, 2024 at the Giant Center. The 100-pound final opened the championship round, and she pinned Grace Nesbitt (Neshaminy) at 3:14 while leading 15-3 to become the first PIAA girls wrestling champion. She had pinned each of her first three opponents in the first period. She was also the first WPIAL girls champion and the first girl to win a match at the inaugural PIAA tournament. Canon-McMillan, coached by Brian Krenzelak, won the first PIAA girls team title the same night. |
| 2025-26 | College | NCAA Region V Championships | 103 lb | 1st | 35-2. She went 35-2 as a sophomore with 15 technical falls and six pins, including a fall in 11 seconds. |
| 2025-26 | College | NCAA Championships, Coralville | 103 lb | 1st | The first NCAA women's wrestling championships, March 6 and 7, 2026. Seeded second, she pinned sixth-seeded Trinity Pendergrass (Quincy) in 40 seconds in the semifinals and beat fourth-seeded Rayana Sahagun (Grand Valley State) 13-1 in the final. McKendree won the team title with 171 points to Iowa's 166, and Iowa had three individual champions and nine All-Americans. |
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://hawkeyesports.com/sports/womens-wrestling/roster/player/valarie-solorio · Iowa athletics roster, 2026-27: junior, 103 pounds, 5-foot-2, hometown Panama City Beach, Fla., high school Canon-McMillan; 2025-26 sophomore season record 35-2 with a 6-1 dual record, 15 tech falls, six pins, fastest fall 0:11, 24 dual points, 5-1 against ranked opponents, champion at the 2026 Luther Hill Open, Blue Hose Challenge, CK Mike Duroe Invite and Grand View Open, 2026 NCAA Region V champion, 2026 NCAA national champion and All-American; 2024-25 freshman year 23-9 with nine tech falls and two pins, runner-up at the 2024 Luther Hill Open and 2025 Grand View Open, third at the 2024 Eagle Madness Open and NCC Open, fourth at the 2024 Soldier Salute; high school honors include USMC Fargo national champion, two-time Who's Number One contestant, Pan-Am team member and Mexico UWW national champion as a sophomore, third at Super 32 as a sophomore, 2022 Florida state champion and the first sanctioned girls champion, 2023 and 2024 Pennsylvania state champion, 2022 U17 Women's Nationals runner-up, Northeast Regional champion, eighth at the 2023 U20 Women's Nationals; career record 58-11; born Sept. 30, 2005; majoring in business; daughter of Nathan Solorio and Doralicia Favela and sibling to Alex, Lorenzo, Audriana, Mario and Eva
- https://hawkeyesports.com/news/2026/03/7/solorio-blades-and-welker-claim-ncaa-titles · March 7, 2026 Iowa athletics recap: the second-ranked Iowa women finished second at the inaugural NCAA Women's Wrestling National Championships in Coralville, Iowa, with three individual champions in Valarie Solorio, Kennedy Blades and Kylie Welker; at 103 pounds the second-seeded Solorio won her first national title by pinning sixth-seeded Trinity Pendergrass of Quincy in 0:40 in the semifinals and beating fourth-seeded Rayana Sahagun of Grand Valley State 13-1 in the final
- https://intermatwrestle.com/articles.html/women/2026-ncaa-womens-championships-final-results-r100870/ · InterMat's final results for the 2026 NCAA women's championships: team scores McKendree 171, Iowa 166, North Central 123.5, Grand Valley State 110.5, Presbyterian 83.5; at 103 pounds Val Solorio (Iowa) beat Rayana Sahagun (Grand Valley State) 13-1 in the final, Genesis Ramirez (Aurora) took third over Madison Avila (North Central) 6-5, and Trinity Pendergrass (Quincy) took fifth
- https://www.newsherald.com/story/sports/high-school/wrestling/2026/03/10/former-mosley-and-arnold-wrestler-valarie-solorio-won-a-wrestling-national-championship-for-iowa/88900264007/ · March 10, 2026 Panama City News Herald: 'Valarie Solorio made history Saturday, March 7, at the inaugural NCAA Women's Wrestling National Championships. The University of Iowa sophomore clinched her first national title at 103 pounds, helping the Hawkeyes finish second overall.' NOTE: re-scraped Sept. 9, 2026, this page now returns only its first two paragraphs, ending at 'It was about the family and coaches who propelled her to the top.' The family and sibling details it once carried cannot be read and are no longer used in the profile.
- https://www.newsherald.com/story/sports/2022/03/06/high-school-wrestling-dolphins-solorio-haynes-take-state-titles/9364384002/ · March 6, 2022 Panama City News Herald: Mosley entered the state championships in Kissimmee with two top seeds, Solorio at 100 pounds and Henlee Haynes at 170; it was the first officially sanctioned girls' state wrestling tournament in Florida and Solorio, by virtue of competing in the lowest and earliest weight class, became the first sanctioned girls' state champion in Florida history; she won all four matches by fall, beating Brooke Rhodes of Wellington in 7 seconds, Emma Bauknight of Springstead in 29 seconds, Kohana Martinez of Zephyrhills at 3:03 and Gabriele Tedesco of Lake Gibson at 1:57 in the final; she finished the season 35-4; the two Mosley titles were among the first 14 the state ever awarded; the meet was held at Silver Spurs Arena
- https://www.mypanhandle.com/sports/local-sports/mosleys-solorio-haynes-a-part-of-florida-girls-wrestling-history/ · March 7, 2022 WMBB: Mosley sophomore Valarie Solorio became the first official girls' state champion in the first FHSAA-sanctioned girls' state wrestling tournament, taking first at 100 pounds, the weight class that finished before any other; she described lighting up when she got her opponent flat and said it was heartwarming to watch the sport grow; the Mosley girls team finished sixth of 122 schools with three qualifiers
- https://www.wjhg.com/2021/07/19/bay-countys-solorio-wins-16u-fargo-national-championship/ · July 19, 2021 WJHG: Solorio, a freshman at Arnold High School the previous year, made the Florida team as a top-three finisher at state and won the 16U Fargo national championship in Fargo, North Dakota; the station reported she was the first Panhandle wrestler to place at Fargo and the first to win a national championship there, and that the last girl from the area to place was in 2013
- https://www.unionprogress.com/2024/03/10/piaa-girls-wrestling-championships-canon-mcmillans-valarie-solorio-becomes-first-girl-to-win-piaa-title-in-historic-championship-finals/ · March 10, 2024 Pittsburgh Union Progress: Canon-McMillan senior Valarie Solorio opened the championship round at the PIAA girls wrestling championships in the 100-pound final against Neshaminy's Grace Nesbitt and pinned her in 3:14 while leading 15-3, becoming the first PIAA girls wrestling champion; she was already the first WPIAL girls wrestling champion and the first girl to win a match at the inaugural PIAA tournament; she pinned each of her first three opponents in the first period, finished the season 16-0, and jumped into coach Brian Krenzelak's arms; Canon-McMillan won the first PIAA girls wrestling team title; she was an Iowa recruit ranked third nationally at 100 pounds by FloWrestling
- https://tribhssn.triblive.com/canon-macs-solorio-makes-history-as-1st-piaa-girls-wrestling-champion/ · March 9, 2024 TribLive: Canon-Mac's Valarie Solorio made history as the first PIAA girls wrestling champion, winning the 100-pound gold medal against Neshaminy's Grace Nesbitt in the finals at the Giant Center in Hershey; she won all four of her state matches by fall, totaling 6:40
- https://www.ncaa.com/video/wrestling-women/2026-03-08/valarie-solorio-vs-rayana-sahagun-2026-ncaa-womens-wrestling-championships-103-lbs · NCAA.com video page for the 2026 NCAA women's wrestling championships 103-pound final: 'No. 2 Valarie Solorio beat No. 4 Rayana Sahagun 13-1 to win the first-ever NCAA women's wrestling championship at 103 pounds.'
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