A new name entered the conversation in the girls' high school rankings. Violette Lasure — a freshman at Chestnut Ridge High School in New Paris, Pennsylvania — is ranked #25 overall and #2 at 140 pounds.

The 15-year-old standout is one of three freshmen in the latest pound-for-pound rankings compiled by USA Wrestling, FloWrestling, and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Lasure had a year to remember after notching fall after improbable fall. 

She fell 7-6 in her opening match at 16U Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota, but rebounded with resilience. Lasure notched nine straight falls — a Fargo record for a single tournament — to finish third at 138 pounds. On top of that, she was behind during her final three matches before securing the pin.

“I got out on the mat and underestimated my opponent,” Lasure said. “I was a little nervous being in Fargo with the lights and the big stage. I lost that match and I thought to myself ‘I didn’t work this hard or come this far to lose.' I decided I have to work harder and do what it takes and I came back with nine straight pins.”

The winning didn’t stop there. She won this year’s Super 32 belt at 138 pounds by pinning four out of five opponents before winning the 66-kilogram gold medal at the U15 Pan-American Championships with all falls and no points surrendered. Lasure also competed at the Pennsylvania Surge tournament and pinned Yuri Koshiba — a U15 Asian Championships bronze medalist from Japan. 

“It was an amazing experience to wrestle internationally — especially to support Team USA and our country,” Lasure said of her Pan-Am experience.

The freshman phenom wants to wrestle in college, preferably at Penn State if the school launches a girls’ team in the next three years (she hopes it will). For now, though, she’s focused on making history. Pennsylvania is hosting the first sanctioned girls’ state wrestling championships this season and Lasure wants to be front and center when gold medals are handed out.

“It’s so exciting and such an amazing thing that I get to be a part of,” Lasure said. “I’m hoping to go out there and win. Pennsylvania just sanctioned and we’re getting more girls to come out. There are more opportunities for us to wrestle in tournaments. We have to show all the boys that we’re better.” 

Watch the full interview with Lasure above, then watch three of her significant wins from the past year below.

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Lasure earned a fall during the 2023 Super 32 finals

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Lasure set the Fargo record for the most falls in a tournament with this pin in her third-place match

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Lasure won the Journeymen Fall Classic with an 11-0 tech in the finals