Girls wrestling has only been sanctioned for five years now, so it’s an admittedly small sample size. But at this point, there’s no debate that Lockport senior Claudia Heeney is one of the greatest girls wrestlers in Illinois high school history.

When Heeney pinned Schaumburg’s Sharon Olorunfemi 34 seconds into the second period of the 135-pound state championship match Saturday afternoon, she became a state champion for the third consecutive year.

Heeney (42-3) finished second place in the state as a freshman and rarely lost throughout her high school career, posting a combined 151-7 record over four years.

Yet when the final match was over, one would think it was just another day at the office. Sure, Heeney clapped her hands, hugged her coaches and waved to those in the stands, but in many other ways, it was business as usual.

That is, until she was presented with her first place trophy and the tears began to flow. That was about more than just this being her final match in a Porter uniform.

“It’s sentimental because I’m moving to California in a couple months for school [Division II Melno College],” she said. “It’s such a great opportunity that I’m super excited about, but I’m also leaving a ton of people behind which is really sentimental to think about. It’s just a lot.”

Heeney is just the sixth girls wrestler in state history to win three state titles after Angelina Gochis of Kaneland became the fifth earlier in the day.

While Heeney was the only wrestler from the Herald-News area to make a championship match, she was far from the only one to have success on Saturday at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.

Heeney had two Lockport teammates make the podium, too. Senior Sophie Kelner finished her season in fourth place at 190 pounds after falling to Nadia Razzak of Schaumburg in the third place match. Despite the loss, Kelner was all smiles.

“(Finishing on the podium) is something I’ve dreamed of since I started,” Kelner said. “Last year I came in like, ‘Oh, I made it to state’ and I didn’t really have a goal for myself. This year at the start of the season I said, ‘I’m going to place at state.’ This is what I’ve worked for.”

Lockport’s third and final placer was at 235. Rebekah Ramirez took third on a 11-6 decision over Jasmine Rene of Wheeling in the third place match. The junior is hoping to take home the title next year.

“I’ve been here my freshman and sophomore year so it was great to get after it this year,” Ramirez said. “There’s a lot of seniors on this podium. Getting third place only makes me hungrier for first next year.”

In addition to Kelner, the area had one more placer at 190 in Plainfield South’s Kimyra Patrick. She won fifth after besting Kendra Hayden from Homewood-Flossmoor via 7-2 decision. With another three years of high school to go, Patrick is a name to keep an eye on.

“This means a lot because every year you have to do better than you did last year,” she said. “This is my freshman year so it’s only going to get better from here.”

Lincoln-Way’s Zoe Dempsey has had quite the illustrious career, making state each season. She closed out her career in dominant fashion in the 115-pound bracket. Dempsey took third, needing just 1:23 to pin Annalee Aarseth of Crystal Lake South.

While it wasn’t the medal she wanted, she treated the match with the same level of importance.

“I wanted more than anything to win a state title today,” Dempsey said. “After losing (in the semifinals) I just took the mindset that I belonged. I’m a state champion whether it says so on the podium so I’m going to wrestle like one.”

Lemont’s Molly O’Connor made history as she became the first wrestler from the school to place at state. She finished in sixth after losing to Yariah Shaw of Danville in the fifth place match.

“It means a lot to me,” O’Connor said. “To leave a legacy for other people to look up to means a lot.”

In addition to Heeney, Dwight’s Avery Crouch and Joliet Central’s Isabel Barrera also placed at 135. Crouch finished sixth, the second time in her two years of high school that she’s placed at state. She lost to Barrera in the fifth place match via 9-3 decision.

“My sophomore year I lost both my matches at state so to make it to the second day as a senior was great,” Barrera said. “I was emotional when I lost today, but going into the fifth place match I was all positive and that’s what pushed me.”

Minooka’s Ezra Rodriguez sprained her ankle on Friday, but still managed to place fourth on Saturday at 140. State champion Ema Durst from Sycamore only had one loss all season and it came against Rodriguez in sectionals, a fact she’ll take solace in.

“I like knowing that I stood a chance against her,” Rodriguez said. “I was looking forward to hopefully wrestling her again today and it didn’t work out that way, but congrats to her.”

Finally, Ella Giertuga of Lincoln-Way (145) and Layla Spann (170) each finished in fifth place in their respective weight classes.