The nation’s top-ranked girls high school wrestler has been stripped of her New Jersey state championship months after winning the title, but so far, officials have only cited an eligibility violation and haven’t revealed the specific reason.
Ellia Poalillo is a three-time New Jersey state champion and the country’s No. 1-ranked 152-pound girls wrestler. However, she had her 2026 state title vacated earlier this year after the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) determined that she violated one of its rules during the 2025-26 wrestling season.
“It wasn’t (her) fault. It’s more of something we could have prevented,” her father, Joe Poalillo, told NJ.com.
He added that while the family attempted to resolve the issue, they were unsuccessful.
“The decision is the decision,” he continued. “It was something we were going to try and fight but there was no way to fight it. We’ve moved on.”
The NJSIAA confirmed that the championship was revoked because of a rules violation but didn’t identify the specific rule or provide additional rules. The association’s website now has an asterisk next to the 152-pound championship with a note stating, “State title revoked due to a violation of NJSIAA rules.”
The High Point Regional High School superintendent, Dr. Scott D. Ripley, told the outlet that the school was “aware,” but added that it “would not be appropriate for us to comment further.”
According to her father, Ellia has since withdrawn from High Point Regional High School and is now being homeschooled while training in Arizona. She plans to continue training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado before going on to wrestle in college at Iowa State. He also said that she had already planned not to return for another high school season before the ruling was handed down.
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