Girls Wrestling 2025: Simley's Charli Raymond continues record-breaking career with fourth state championship
Posted: Saturday, March 1, 2025 - 9:48 PM
Simley's Charli Raymond won her fourth Wrestling State Tournament championship Saturday night.
The feeling after the match was similar. The leadup has changed. For the better.
Simley’s Charli Raymond became the first Minnesota girl to win four Wrestling State Tournament championships Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul. Her thoughts during a 7-0 win over Eagan’s Ellie Westerman in the Girls 124-pound final and the congratulatory hugs from grandparents, parents and siblings in the stands weren’t much different from three prior podium-topping victories.
What was new was the sophomore’s mental approach before Saturday's tournament.
“I’m not as nervous,” said Raymond who finished the season 37-0. “You still get those nerves, but you know how to control it.
“I visualize every day leading up to the state tournament before I go to bed, lying in bed, visualizing getting my hand raised, everyone in the crowd. Simple things, little things that make big improvements.”
In two years, she could be visualizing a sixth title, an accomplishment only Apple Valley’s Mark Hall has achieved in MSHSL Wrestling State Tournament history.
“It’s definitely in the back of my mind,” Raymond said. “I know I have to keep working hard because the goal is obviously to get six state championships. I’ve got to keep working hard every day. I know it’s there.”
The path to her fourth title started Saturday morning with two pins that took a combined 2 minutes, 13 seconds.
Raymond cherishes the unseen work that got her here as much as these triumphs in view of thousands of fans.
“I love wrestling,” she said. "I love the sport. Everything about it. I think that really helps, just loving the sport, not taking it as if it’s a job every day.”
Northfield duo back on top
Northfield junior Caley Graber considered another run at the individual podium a year after becoming the first Minnesota girl to medal wrestling against boys with a fifth-place finish.
Ultimately, joining her teammates in the Girls division won out this year.
“I’m with my friends and it’s a little more fun,” Graber said. “I’m a little more relaxed, I’d say. Still great competition.”
Graber (10-0) grabbed her second state title Saturday night by pinning Rush City/Braham’s Isabella Shockman in 50 seconds. She spent a total of 4 minutes, 20 seconds on the mat Saturday after a pair of technical falls in the first two rounds of the 118-pound bracket.
“My goal was just to be dominant out on the mat, have fun, just wrestle my match,” Graber said.
Teammate Ella Pagel was watching Graber’s historic accomplishment last year from the Xcel Energy Center stands. The two-time state champion was out with an injury.
“It was definitely fun," Pagel said. "I’ve never really had the spectator experience without being on the floor but with that said, I don’t have an armband to get down on the floor. It was kind of weird. I’m up here as a supporter and cheerleader.”
The view was better for her senior year. Pagel (15-0) was back on center stage, earning her third state championship with a technical fall in 3:34 against St. Paul Como Park’s Makiya May in the 190-pound final.
“This is a way better experience, being out here,” Pagel said.
More multi-time champs
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Three-timers: Apple Valley’s Cassandra Gonzales completed a 25-0 junior season at 142 pounds by claiming her third state title with a fall in 2:56 against Osseo’s Vivian Schroeder. BGMR/TC sophomore Sarah Pulk (34-1) earned her third state gold with a 13-1 major decision in the 155 final against previously-unbeaten Esperanza Calvillo of Apple Valley.
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Two-timers: Ninth-grader Ella Henning of Walker-Hackensack-Akeley/Nevis captured her second title by pinning Luverne’s Bernie Rock in 4:42 in the 112-pound final. A technical fall in 3:55 gave 148-pound Apple Valley junior Audrey Rogotzke (29-0) her second championship, three years after her first.
Wrestling State Tournament: All 2025 Girls championship results
100 pounds – Adriana Kunz (Triton) pinned Teagan Earley (Zimmerman), 2:32
106 – Azalea Kallal (New Prague) dec. Ava Schultz (St. Michael-Albertville), 4-1
112 – Ella Henning (Walker-Hackensack-Akeley/Nevis) pinned Bernie Rock (Luverne), 4:42
118 – Caley Graber (Northfield) pinned Isabella Shockman (Rush City/Braham), 0:50
124 – Charli Raymond (Simley) dec. Ellie Westerman (Eagan), 7-0
130 – Nora Akpan (Centennial) tech. fall Lauren Elsmore (Pine Island), 4:22 (19-3)
136 – Emma Antoni (St. Michael-Albertville) pinned Hattie Mathre (Byron), 3:23
142 – Cassandra Gonzales (Apple Valley) pinned Vivian Schroeder (Osseo), 2:56
148 – Audrey Rogotzke (Stillwater Area) tech. fall Elora Wagner (Bertha-Hewitt/Verndale/Parkers Prairie), 3:55 (19-2)
155 – Sarah Pulk (BGMR/TC) major dec. Esperanza Calvillo (Apple Valley), 13-1
170 – Belle Suchta (Shakopee) tech. fall Maya Schmidt (Bemidji), 4:00 (15-0)
190 – Ella Pagel (Northfield) tech. fall Makiya May (St. Paul Como Park), 3:34 (17-2)
235 – Reymie Keenan (Minneapolis Edison) pinned Madi Hamilton (Byron), 3:54
