Pullman Wrestler places 5th at freestyle wrestling national championships

PULLMAN - Raenah Smith, 14, took fifth-place in the 16U 112 pound women's freestyle division in USA Wrestling's 2023 U.S. Marine Corps National Championships.

The event was held in Fargo, N.D., at the Fargodome at North Dakota University.

With this performance, Smith becomes the first Fargo Nationals All-American in both Pullman and Whitman County History.

In her most recent eighth grade season, Smith posted a record of 5-2, including two wins by technical fall, and one by fall. her only losses were to the first and third place finishers from Pennsylvania and Montana.

In the Fargo event, Smith pinned Aneishka Nicole Santos Baez of Puerto Rico, who was the 2023 U17 silver medalist at the Pan American Championships.

Smith joins 11 other freestyle All-Americans from this year's Washington State National Team, including eight other women, and two men.

The women from Team Washington tied for 10th place out of 49 for the second year in a row.