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Molly Edelson is one of one. The LaGrange Academy eighth-grade tennis player went on a tear in her first season with the Warrior varsity team, winning the GIAA Class A individual state championship.

“It means a lot to me,” Edelson said. “It had been my goal all season.”

In a strange twist of fate, it was an all Edelson final as Molly faced off with her sister Ava in the state championship match. A highly contested match ended with Molly coming out on top.

“If anything, my parents were pulling for Ava because I kept saying that I was going to win,” Edelson said with a chuckle. “I knew if I didn’t bring my A game, that I would lose. The final score might not show it, but it was my hardest match of the tournament.”

What makes this year’s run all the more remarkable for Edelson is the fact that she was competing against girls who were 17 and even 18 years old. The middle schooler punched well above her weight class and earned her state championship status.

“I just don’t think about them being older than me,” Edelson said. “I just go out there and treat it like I would any other match.”

Edelson is a true two-sports star. When she is not hitting balls with a racket, she is putting them through a hoop. There is a large portion of the year when Edelson does not even hit the tennis courts as she focuses on basketball.

“I was very rusty at the start of the season because my last tournament was in October, and then I came back to tennis in February,” she said. “It was a lot to go back to playing girls that play four to five hours a day when I hadn’t played in months.”

The Edelson family is a tennis family through and through. Molly’s older sister, Sydney, was a member of the 2022 state runner-up team at LaGrange High School, and her father and grandfather were more than adept players as well. Tennis is more than just a sport in the family, it’s a livelihood.

“Every time [Sydney] comes home from college, we have a family doubles match with me and her on a team versus Ava and my dad. In fact, I think we are going to have one tonight,” Molly said on Friday. “I think the last few years we’ve won, but that might be different this year.”