Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
Two wrestlers from Radford High School claimed the top spot at the recent 2025 Lady Cat Invitational.
This is the third year for the event that boasted 98 girls from 24 different schools.
Kaitlyn McMurray took first at 126 pounds, and Catherine Gilbert first at 165. Four Lady Cats also brought home second place finishes. They included McKenzie Leighton at 100, Lily Brunner at 138, Jackson Barrett at 152 and Riley Akers at 235.
The Lady Cat Invitational has grown significantly over the last three years. In 2023 the tournament saw 42 girls take to the mats, with 62 wrestlers participating in 2024.
Tournament director and Radford wrestling head coach Dwayne Martin said, “It’s a great honor to host women’s wrestling again here at Radford High School. We are incredibly grateful for the continued growth of this tournament and women’s wrestling as a whole.”
The Radford tournament followed a round robin format, which allowed for most wrestlers to have four-to-five matches.
“We want these girls to have the opportunity to get as many matches in as possible,” said Martin.
Typical double-elimination tournaments see the majority of participants only wrestling two or three times throughout the weekend. Radford’s 100-lb senior McKenzie Leighton called the event her “favorite of the year,” highlighting the joy of seeing a sport she is so passionate about growing close to home.
The Lady Cats still have a month left in the regular season before heading to Franklin County High School for Zone Qualifiers on Jan. 30 and 31.
This is the first year that girls wrestling has been endorsed as its own sport by the Virginia High School League.
