GREEN RIVER — Green River High School senior Lily Harris has signed with Colorado Mesa University to continue her wrestling career at the collegiate level, following a historic and undefeated season that saw her become the first female state champion in Lady Wolves history.

“I really like their wrestling program. Their coaching staff is really good,” Harris said of her decision. “I like the academics, school-wise. I was inspired by Maggie Smith from Rock Springs, she signed there, I think two years ago, and I looked up to her.”

Harris wrapped up her high school wrestling career with a perfect record in her senior year and a state title in the 2025 tournament in Casper. But her story is far more than a championship. The youngest of 12 siblings, Harris forged her own path, opting to join Green River’s newly sanctioned girls’ wrestling program three years ago instead of following her sisters into cheerleading.

Now, she’ll join a competitive collegiate program while also exploring her academic future. Harris hasn’t officially decided on a major but said she’s been in conversations with her sister about studying aviation and potentially pursuing her pilot’s license.

While she’s ready for the next chapter, Harris admitted that leaving Green River won’t be easy.

“I think I am really scared of failure, and the support system here was just so good,” she said. “The town just really cares, and when you go to an event, they all care about wrestling. I will miss my family here as well, and I had the best coaches ever, and it is going to be hard.”

Her grit was on full display at the 2025 regional tournament in Evanston — a memory Harris called one of her hardest and most defining.

“At regionals this year, I showed up and it was an hour before weigh-ins and we got stuck on the bus somewhere. When we got there, and I was two pounds over,” she recalled. “I was like, I have to make weight, and everyone around me and girls from other schools were like, ‘Lily Harris isn’t gonna make weight.’ And I remember going to the bathroom, and they were all like, ‘I’m gonna win now that Harris is gone.’ And I was super scared. My teammates though were so good at pushing me to get the weight off, and at one point, my coach put his hands behind me and started running so I would just keep going to get that weight off, and I did. I ended up cutting two and a half pounds in under an hour. It was miserable.”

That determination may have earned her more than just victories on the mat. Harris was recently awarded a $60,000 scholarship from the Burger King Foundation.

“It was kind of a surprise, I thought I would maybe get $1,000 from them when they said I got awarded,” she said. “It was shocking when I saw it. With that and a few other scholarships, I don’t have to pay anything for school practically, and I’m super grateful.”

Harris’s mindset has evolved throughout her journey. She said one quote that stuck with her was something her sister-in-law shared:
“‘Action often produces results even if you don’t know what you’re doing,’ and I feel that. Starting out wrestling, I didn’t know what I was doing, but just fake it until you make it and try your best, try your hardest, even if you look like an idiot.”

Eric Harris, one of Lily’s coaches and her brother, said her most defining trait might also be her most misunderstood.

“This is going to sound like a bad thing, but her stubbornness,” he said. “It helps because she refuses to ever give up, she refuses to accept second place. She gets second place in a single sprint, she’s mad about it because she needs to be first. That drive to be the best is something that has always been impressive.”

His advice to her classmates as she heads to Colorado Mesa: “Be happy with what is happening right now. She might not be the best day one at the college level, but she can work to get there and just enjoy the trip.”

From learning techniques in a shared wrestling room, to helping build a girls’ program from the ground up, to standing atop the podium as a state champion, Lily Harris has already left a legacy. Now, she turns her focus to the future — one that’s already taking off.

Check out some photos from the signing below.