Welch Goes Out on Top

By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer
garrett@thewoodrufftimes.com

It was not going to end any other way for June Welch.

Woodruff’s most decorated wrestler, who made history two years ago as the first and only female wrestler to win a state championship against an all-male field, won her fourth championship in as many years to cap a Hall of Fame career that will be remembered forever.

The soft-spoken Welch, who has always said more with her ability on the mat than with her words off it, won her championship match 4-2 on February 24, this time against a fellow female wrestler.

For the first time, thanks in large part to Welch’s historic win in 2022, South Carolina High School has sanctioned girls’ wrestling. June is the first in state history to win an official championship on both levels, something that means a lot to her.

“It’s just been really fun being around everyone,” she said. “Everyone supports me, and they are all happy for my accomplishments. It’s just been a lot of fun.”

Winning a sanctioned title in two different divisions is something Welch is happy to have accomplished.
“It’s pretty cool that nobody else has done it, and I’m the first to do that,” said Welch.

Welch was a four-year starter in the varsity rotation, and her numbers are staggering. As a senior, June finished with an overall record of 44-4 wrestling against boys and girls. Her record against boys was 22-4, and against girls, she was a perfect 22-0.

For her career, June won 117 matches which places her in the 10th all-time in school history. Her career record of 117-19 is one of the highest winning percentages in school history, and of those wins, 68 came by way of pin.

Her historic championship win against Eduardo De Paz of Chester two years ago is among those pinfalls.

June has done so much to lay the framework for other girls to participate in wrestling, which is statistically the fastest-growing sport in the state of South Carolina. That she has a large part in bringing more girls into the sport that she is so passionate about is something that June is very proud to accomplish.

“I’m excited about that,” Welch says. “Even with our youth wrestlers, we had a whole room full of girls who wrestled and that was fun helping them. How they have come to look up to me; it is awesome to see them love the sport.”

Welch finished 3-0 in the state tournament, defeating Olivia Dare from Gaffney in the 115-pound weight class for the championship. In her career, June won the unsanctioned girls’ championship in 2021, the overall SCHSL title in 2022, and another girls’ championship in 2023 before capping her career with another SCHSL crown this season.

She is the first wrestler in school history to win four championships.

Woodruff head coach John Harper is amazed at what June has been able to accomplish. He says her impact transcends what she has done on the mat and will continue to do so for a long time.

“June going out with a championship, honestly, that’s what we expected,” said Harper. Winning three girls’ state titles and then one against the guys, to achieve that level of success consistently, you have to set yourself apart from your peers. That is the thing with her that I appreciate: her willingness to be coachable and to set those expectations for herself.”

On June’s impact on girls in the sport in the state of South Carolina, Harper added, “June’s win two years ago is what really pushed that conversation forward. I don’t know that our governing body necessarily took women’s wrestling seriously as a sport despite the amount of growth across the nation. In 2010, there were only 17 states that sanctioned high school girls’ wrestling, and here in 2024, there are 41. June’s win is what spurred that serious conversation in this state.”

As her season and career came down to the penultimate match, June never felt any pressure to go out on top. She simply did what she has always done: wrestle.

“It was just like any normal tournament going into it,” she said. “The final match was good. It was a close match, but it wasn’t anything too different.”

As for any parting lesson she is leaving behind for other wrestlers.

“Hard work matters,” says June. “I want others to know that.”