Fortunately, it had one more shot to do so. And in her senior stint at Saturday’s District 5/6/9 girls wrestling championships at Altoona, Ashlyn Miller would make the most of it.

Behind a barrage of quick pins, Miller never saw a second period in route to her first career district title. Her effort was complemented by a strong overall showing from her team, which saw three – including herself – reach finals and five clinch a regional bid, a collective production that saw Central Mountain finish third out of 34 teams.

“Extremely impressed with their effort,” said Central Mountain head coach Dylan Caprio on the team’s performance. “I mean, we’re taking five girls to regionals next weekend and walked out of here with a district champ. We seem to be moving in the right direction, just hope we can keep it going that way.”

For Miller, the title run came off the heels of back-to-back runner-up showings as a sophomore and junior. Though those efforts were worth being proud of, Miller had desired more then and more so heading into the event, hoping to take that last step forward in her closing hoorah.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Central Mountain's Ashlyn Miller poses with a printout of her bracket after earning district gold at 190 during the District 5/6/9 girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Altoona.

With that desire, came change. While continuing to work hard in the wrestling room, Miller made the decision to drop down to 190 for her senior season, a weight class she felt better suited her.

It’s a decision that’s clearly paid off in a big way, as she went into the tournament with the most regular season wins (21) of her career and came out of it a champion. She dominated her bracket, posting two first-period pins to clinch her gold medal. Considering where it occurred in her career and the work she’s put in, the title meant a lot to her.

“This is my last year, so I wanted to make it count as much as I could,” said Miller. “It’s really important to me, especially for my coaches. I wanted to show them what they built, and I couldn’t get second a third year in a row.”

“I gave up a lot of weight when I wrestled at 235, and 190 is definitely my spot,” she added when discussing cutting down.

Though their runs ended in disappointing fashion, Austynn Falls (142) and Kendall Wagner (170) still gave their team a solid boost while displaying positives on their way to silver.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Central Mountain's Kendall Wagner wrestles during the 170-pound final of the District 5/6/9 girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Altoona.

Wagner finished her time at the event as a three-time runner-up, and Falls – a two-time runner-up – gets another crack at it next season. And their runs didn’t end by upset either, with Wagner’s final opponent – No. 7 Elysabeth Myers (Brockway) – ranking two slots ahead of her, and Falls’s opponent – No. 17 Brylee London (Curwensville) – ranking one slot ahead of her.

“Those are the tops girls we’re going to see in the state, and we’re right there,” said Caprio when discussing the pair. “Knowing that we’ve got another week to prepare and get those girls ready to go, it’s exciting.”

Rounding out the team’s placements were Alana Rhodes (148) and Emma Scarborough-Perez (106), who each reached their third-place bout to clinch a regional bid. Rhodes went the extra mile by claiming bronze, doing so behind three pins – two in the first period. And though Scarborough-Perez fell in her third-place bout, she came close to working her way back from a 13-1 deficit with a late pin attempt.

Apart from Central Mountain, Bellefonte and Bald Eagle Area also saw success at the tournament.

The Red Raiders were led by sophomore Bailee Scott, who weathered a tough 155-pound bracket featuring multiple wrestlers ranked top ten in the state to claim bronze. Her run featured three pins, including one over Southern Huntingdon’s Chloe Holloway, whom she’s now faced four times this season. And her only loss came to No. 6 Makayla Taylor, a match which saw her take an early 7-0 lead.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Central Mountain's Austynn Falls wrestles in the 142-pound final during the District 5/6/9 girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Altoona.

“I’ve had better days, but I think I did well for what I did today,” said Scott. “At this point, I’m just proud of myself for how far I’ve come from last year. Last year, I barely got fifth and this year, I got third and could’ve done better.”

She’ll be joined by fellow sophomore Ella Johnsonbaugh, who bounced back from a tough stretch of losses to take fifth at 142. After enduring back-to-back pins, the Red Raider secured one of her own to close things out, doing so in under a minute against North Star’s Alyssa Kostyk.

“I did not think I was going to win that match for fifth because I hate having pressure on me and really wanted to win my semifinal,” said Johnsonbaugh. “I can’t believe I actually did it.”

Rounding out the team’s placements was Carly Bair, who fell short of a regional bid but still managed to pull out sixth at 124. For Bald Eagle, Lily Spicer will represent the Eagles at regionals next weekend, taking fourth at 100. And Addison Tice rounded out the team’s medalists with a sixth place showing at 112.

For all three teams, action is set to resume next Saturday, as they travel to Milton to compete at the Central Regional. The tournament is set to begin at 9 a.m.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Central Mountain's Alana Rhodes gets her hand raised after winning the 148-pound third-place bout during the District 5/6/9 girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Altoona.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Bellefonte's Bailee Scott gets her hand raised during the District 5/6/9 girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Altoona.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Bellefonte's Bailee Scott wrestles in the 155-pound third-place bout during the 170-pound final of the District 5/6/9 girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Altoona.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Central Mountain's Kendall Wagner poses with her silver medal during the District 5/6/9 girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Altoona.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Central Mountain's Emma Scarborough-Perez wrestles in the 106-pound third-place bout during the District 5/6/9 girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, at Altoona.