It is not every day that a new sport is added into high school athletics, but this year there were two. One of which was girls wrestling. This year at FC, nine girls banded together for the inaugural year of girls wrestling. In this budding year of the sport of girls wrestling, FC produced a state qualifier, seven regional qualifiers, and a group of girls who will remember their season for years to come.
In years past, FC had seen some female wrestlers, and even had a team compete last year before the sport was officially added into the ISHAA registry. Some of the girls who have wrestled this year were on past teams, and have loved wrestling for longer than it has been truly available to them.
“I love the sport, I love the individualism of the sport and how when you win it’s your own personal accomplishment. That’s really why I decided to come back out another year,” said junior Izzy Stewart.
Some of the girls are new to the sport for a plethora of reasons, but have learned the ins and outs as they have gone on. Freshman Mia Waugh was convinced to join by one of her friends, and learned to love the sport quickly.
“Me and Makenzie are partners in practice. She has taught me really how the sport goes, how to relax at times but also how to lock in and focus when I need to,” said Waugh.
Whether or not they have wrestled before, the girls have created a tight bond with each other quickly, and do not plan to lose it anytime soon.
“I bonded with my teammates a lot by being there for them. I listened to all their problems and helped them through their tough times no matter what and with no judgement whatsoever,” said junior Constance Phelps.
Another thing that these girls have created is a way to get away from their own lives. They step on the mat and enter a new world, one where they only have one thing to look to, which is winning.
“Every time I step on the mat all my problems disappear and my only goal in mind is to do my best,” said sophomore Addison Copple.
Speaking of winning, in girls wrestling’s inaugural sanctioned year, freshman Scarlett Rudnick became FC’s first female state qualifier ever. She doesn’t plan to end it there, though.
“I plan to take baby steps, but also to work hard to make sure I can qualify and get back up to state every year,” said Rudnick.
Freshman Makenzie Braid joined wrestling for more than just a getaway. She had been around the sport for a long time, and finally saw it fit that she joined and gave it a shot.
“My brother wrestled for a long time, and I grew up watching him. One day, he convinced me to wrestle, and I decided I’d give it a shot. After that I kind of just stuck with it,” said Braid.
Copple’s reason for joining the sport was to further her abilities for her dream job as a firefighter. Phelps joined after her, not for the same reason.
“I started wrestling for a funny reason, and that’s because Addison convinced me to join, but I’ve always been interested in combat sports, and I thought it was a good way to start that and to get in shape,” said Phelps.
The girls have bonded during the very tight season, seeing that the team is smaller in numbers. Many have spent time together on weekends and become somewhat of a family together.
“They are like a family to me. I didn’t have many friends outside of the sport, so we grew really close, spending time on the weekends together,” said Stewart.