Girls Wrestling Rises In Popularity

Coach Brent With Team Since Beginning

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Brianne Tremper
Trying to pin her opponent, senior Kule’a Grace holds down freshman Kaylee Anthony from getting up Nov. 22. Anthony was working on specific skills to improve her game. “Right now, I’m solely focusing on shooting, because last year I was not offensive at all,” Grace said. “I’m trying to perfect it so I don’t overthink in my head.”

Brianne Tremper, Managing Editor
December 16, 2021

     Since the school opened, there has only been a boys wrestling team. But in 2017, a wrestling team exclusively for girls was started, and one coach who has been with the girls wrestling team since the beginning was Nic Brent. 

     “Having coached a female athlete, Victoria Norris, who wrestled with the boys for several years – long before there was talk of having a girls team, it seemed like a great opportunity to build the sport,” Brent said. 

     When the girls wrestling team first began, there were 11 wrestlers on the team. Now there are 32: 13 freshmen, six sophomores, four juniors and nine seniors. 

     The wrestling team is allowed 20 competitions per wrestler, due to MSHAA regulations, meaning that there are multiple opportunities to succeed. 

     Sophomore wrestler Emma Mott competed at state her freshman year. 

     “I cried at the match that I won to go to state,” Mott said. “I got really emotional; it was the biggest goal I set for myself last year.” 

     Wrestlers work to build communities within the sport, and older wrestlers mentor the younger ones. 

     “One thing that’s special about wrestling compared to some other sports is that it’s something that really gets handed down from person to person,” Brent said. 

     It’s built into the team that the girls will help the younger athletes learn the rules the sport. 

     “Joining in high school was the best idea because of all the support you get from the other girls,” junior Chase Kiel said. 

     Most of the team had little to no prior experience wrestling before joining the high school team due to the fact that most middle schools don’t have an exclusively girls wrestling program. 

     There has been an increase in the number of athletes on the team this year due to the community the sport builds. 

     “I think the reason we have gotten such growth is because we have so many veterans that are able to take new wrestlers and pass that knowledge onto them,” Brent said. “And everybody wants to have someone that’s going to mentor them along through  anything.”