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Date: 12/12/2023
LUDLOW — On the mat, few are better than Ludlow’s Samantha Bertini.
The high school sophomore has continued her stellar wrestling career by recently breaking into the top 3 in the 95 pound division of the National Girls High School Rankings released on Nov. 27 by USA Wrestling, Flowrestling and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
She is New England’s wrestler in the top 3 in the national rankings, male or female.
“I was pretty excited and surprised but also glad because I practice every day for this. I train year round since eighth grade and usually do two practices a day,” Bertini said.
Bertini has been wrestling since she was in third grade after she saw her younger brother doing the same thing.
Bertini said “My little brother started wrestling at first and he was winning a lot and it really motivated me to do it. I really enjoy the discipline and everyone I work with including the coaches that I meet.”
Bertini made Ludlow wrestling history after placing fourth at the USAW Wrestling Girls Freestyle U16 National Championships in Fargo, North Dakota.
She is the first LHS wrestler ever to place at the largest and arguably toughest tournament in the nation.
Ludlow High School Wrestling coach John Archambeau said, “The big thing that really moved her to No. 3 in the country is the Fargo tournament. This is where the toughest high school tournament in the entire country is for the entire year. She went out there and hung in there and had a great performance at the most difficult tournament and placed fourth.”
Going into her sophomore year at LHS, Bertini has already built an impressive resume including an overall varsity record 59-14 with 45 pins.
In addition to the Fargo experience at which she was the Northeast regionals champion and overall fourth place finisher, some other highlights include finishing as the girls all-state and New England champion, as well as putting forth championship performances at the Taconic Invitational and Baystate Games — both boys events.
She is the first athlete from Ludlow ever to place in the Fargo tournament and the only girl from Western Massachusetts to place this year.
Archambeau has been coaching Bertini for three seasons and talked about her as not only a great competitor but also a leader.
“She always humbly and quietly separates herself from her peers. Academically, she is so accountable and is so driven but is able to balance time to have her friends and wrestle as well. It can be challenging when she was an eighth grader on a high school team, but she is accountable it earns everyone’s respect in the room pretty quickly,” Archambeau said.
Bertini was just announced as the second team captain for the wrestling team.
Archambeau added, “She is a captain as a sophomore which can be uncommon for a program, but she does so many things so well while being able to help and elevate those around her while crushing it. It has been great to be a part of her journey as a coach and there is still so much more to unlock with her work ethic and coachability. We are thankful to have her as a part of the program.”
The high school wrestling season lasts from the week after Thanksgiving to February and even though she is only a sophomore, Bertini said she looks to continue wrestling throughout high school and beyond.
Bertini’s stepfather James Soffen talked about the journey his stepdaughter has taken to get to where she is.
He said, “I started her in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in kindergarten and she started to go to wrestling practice with her brother who was in first grade at the time. I believed in her and she works really hard at everything she does. She’s a high honor roll student in high school and her skyrocketing into the rankings like this, a lot of it has to do with her offseason wrestling. We are all super proud of her.”