Ella Nichols became the first Connecticut girl to win a National High School Coaches Association (NHSCA) championship with her victory at 144 pounds. Nichols won the title with a 5-2 win over Ruby Rios of Washington State.

Nichols went 5-0 in the national tournament with two pins (33, 22 seconds) and a technical fall. Nichols beat Georgia’s Raven Cook, 15-0 in just 2:53 in the quarterfinals before beating California’s Aalijah Pinedaca in the semifinals, 10-4.

In the final, Nichols got a takedown and three-point near fall to grab a 5-0 lead after one period. Nichols finishes her high school career with three NHSCA All-American medals. She was fourth in 2021 and seventh in 2019 as a freshman. There was no tournament in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She is the tenth wrestler in state history to be a three-time NHSCA All-American.

In February, Nichols won the CIAC Girls State Championship meet for the second time and was named Outstanding Wrestler. During the high school season, Nichols was a starter on the boys team at Bristol Eastern at 152 pounds, going 23-8 in competition against the boys.