Morgan Hyland was excited.

So was Lily Decker.

But they usually are when it comes to wrestling.

Hyland and Decker were still buzzing from the experience of a lifetime.

Hyland, the soon-to-be Pleasant Valley seventh grader, was named to the Team PA U14 girls wrestling team that traveled to the USA Junior National Duals wrestling tournament held in Tulsa, Oklahoma last month. Decker, who is entering her sophomore year at PV, joined Hyland in Tulsa on the Team PA U16 girls team.

Team PA had an 8-0 record against 13 other state teams in the freestyle tournament. Hyland went 8-0 and was named to the U14 National Duals All-Tournament Team. She also scored the most team points in the tournament.

“I was kind of nervous, but it was so much fun with all the people there supporting me and the team,” said Hyland, “And I made a lot of new friends.”

Best of the best

The 2022 14U Girls National Duals All-Tournament team was based upon results from the 14U Girls National Duals. Athletes who went undefeated in their dual meet matches qualified for the All-Tournament Team, needing a minimum of five victories to be included.

Hyland was among nine athletes with eight victories.

The 14U Girls National Dual final was a meeting between the returning champion - Pennsylvania - and Washington, which had an incredible run to overpower Wisconsin for a spot in the finals.

Pennsylvania, which swept all six opponents in pool competition, continued a winning tradition after defeating Washington 39-20 for the national title.

Hyland set the tone of the dual meet at 79 pounds with a technical fall over Alyse Gudde (Washington). Hyland had two four-point moves in the match and finished with a 13-0 victory.

The event marked another milestone in an already successful career for Hyland, who also won two girls’ PA State Championship wrestling titles to end her elementary career after her last VEWL elementary season.

This season, she was the 78-pound PJW Youth State champion in girls 11-12 (Pennsylvania Youth Wrestling) in Pittsburgh, the 84-pound Keystone champion in girls 11-12 in Erie (and 2021 champion), and the 79-pound U14 USA Women’s National Championships fourth-place finisher in Fort Worth, Texas (2021 second at 70 pounds).

It was also a breakthrough for Decker, who competed on Team PA’s Red Team.

“It was definitely the first thing I’ve ever done that was that big,” Decker said. “This is the beginning of my second year wrestling. The only other thing that I had gone to before that was even big for me was states (for freestyle).

“It was all really new. I had never left the state for something like this. It was a really great environment. It was just a really cool thing to be a part of. I got to meet girls from across the country.”

Getting started

Hyland’s introduction to wrestling came naturally.

“My dad was a wrestling coach, so I always had to go there. And my brother wrestled, so I would always just sit in the hallway at his practices,” said Morgan, who has been wrestling for seven years. “And so one night I was like, ‘I want to try it!’ Because I saw it, and I tried it and it turned out I really, really liked it. So I started up with the season, and have been going ever since.”

Decker had a similar family connection to the sport.

“My brother has been wrestling for six years now,” said Decker. “And his coach that he wrestles for for the school team is Brett Hyland, and his wife - Tara - actually got me into wrestling.”

That interest and encouragement - along with the guidance of Chris Atkinson, who is also the women’s director for Pennsylvania USA Wrestling - led to one of the most unforgettable experiences of Decker’s life.

“I had a lot of fun, and I really hope that I get to do it again and do more with these girls,” said Decker, who started working with the PA squad in May. “(That’s) because I’ve met them before at different tournaments, and they are just really great. I really hope I get to keep going and become someone that the little girls get to look up to.”

After a runner-up finish at a tournament early in her career, the switch flipped for Hyland.

“After placing second, she told us she wanted to wrestle all year long and wanted to be the best. So we gave her every opportunity to do that,” said Tara Hyland. “We reached out to Chris Atkinson (PA girls wrestling director) and he put her on a PA team for the Nuway Summer Nationals that July, and she started attending girls training where we could find it. That tournament changed her wrestling journey. She met a lot of her now best friends - her age and older - who helped her reach many of her goals, and we as a family became part of the PA girls wrestling family.

“She was put by Chris on the strongest team because he wanted her to experience it. They made it to the finals against a very strong team that the older girls really wanted to beat. All day they cheered her on no matter win or lose, encouraged Morgan to move faster, go harder, be more aggressive. She battled the top girls in the country. She was exhausted, but when those finals came and she had a very tough match, the team was going crazy for her to hold on and not get pinned to save a team point. I’ve never seen her so determined. They won, and it was a huge experience for her.”

Success stories

In 2021-22, Hyland went 27-4 with 18 pins and a fourth-place VEWL finish. She is a three-time VEWL place winner (there was no competition in 2021 due to COVID) with 102 varsity wins in four varsity seasons while racking up 56 career pins.

“Normally I go to practices three or four times a week, maybe more if I’m in season, and tournaments on the weekend,” she said. “And we try to find tournaments during the summer, too.”

This summer, Hyland is going to Nuway again and will be on a girls only U12 team, and competing in the boys bracket to get good matches and challenge the girls while doubling up and wrestling in the girls division with the Misfits, a PA club she is also a part of.

Decker also noted that she practices throughout the summer months - at Signature Training Academy in Brodheadsville - before offseason tournaments begin through August and the fall, with the hope of joining the high school team this winter.

More than the competitions, the sport has also been a tremendous bonding experience.

“The same way that she’s made friends through wrestling, I’ve made friends too. We travel together, we stay at the same hotels and it’s been a lot of fun,” said Brett Hyland. “We’ve been able to travel all over the country for wrestling, but I also get to spend a lot of time with her and meet new people, so it’s really been fun.”

“It’s wonderful because basically all of my best friends, I’ve met through wrestling,” added Morgan. “I have friends from Wisconsin, and Ohio, and Georgia and all those places, and that’s because of wrestling. And I just love hanging out with everybody.”

Whether it’s travel soccer or wrestling, Hyland has always put her best foot forward, and made the most of every chance she’s gotten.

“She earns everything that she’s done,” said Brett. “It’s been fun to watch, and I’m proud of her. And I also want to thank PA USA for the opportunity to go out there. They ran camp before they left, then spent a week in Tulsa. So she was out and gone for 10 days with PA USA, and what a great experience for her.”

Moving forward

Morgan and Lily are holding out hope that Pennsylvania will sanction girls wrestling and Pleasant Valley will start a girls team.

“I’m really hoping that we get a girls team, because through the Bruins - which is our rec team - there are so many little girls who are wrestling, and I really want to see them do well,” said Decker. “And I really just want to see them be able to grow a love for the sport, and have an opportunity to wrestling in the high school for a girls team.”

The PIAA has recognized girls wrestling as an emerging sport and now has 53 girls teams, many in the last few months, with the goal of 100 given by the PIAA to be officially sanctioned.

“You should definitely try it and just go out for it,” said Morgan. “Because everyone is so supportive and will help you no matter what. It’s really just so much fun hanging out with everybody and wrestling there because they’re all so supportive and amazing.”

“Every chance that we get to get the word out is going to bring more girls in,” added Brett.