By Yuna Moua

Just a decade ago, wrestling hadn’t been considered a very likely sport for women. But with more opportunities opening up for women’s wrestling in the past years, many have come to enjoy it. Now, it is emerging as one of the fastest growing sports in high school according to the National Federation of State High School Associations, and with Memorial’s own first team this year, the popularity of girls’ wrestling shows no sign of stopping for many.

Described as one of the most mentally and physically challenging sports, wrestling is a sport that truly gives back with the effort you put in. 

“There’s a lot of heart that goes into wrestling. You have to believe in yourself that you can do it everyday. It’s hard and some days you are gonna feel like, ‘hey, I don’t think I can do this,’ but you just have to keep going, drive through and really be resilient,” said first year wrestler Abigail Strayer. 

Strayer went on to emphasize what wrestling has taught her.

“I joined wrestling because I wanted to try something new… I think [wrestling] is a really great sport to be in. It teaches you patience, aggression, confidence and a lot of key skills that will be important later in life,” said Strayer.

Second year wrestler Mia Koehn agrees.

“It takes a lot of hard work and dedication… you definitely have to have a strong mentality because you can’t let your losses define you,” Koehn said.

Captain Anne Green describes wrestling as a sport that anyone can do and strive in if they put their mind to it.

“I see wrestling as one of the best sports, because you’re really putting your all into everything. It’s really mono to mono so it’s like a test of will and of strength. I think it’s super great for women of all body types to be included and have a sport for them and get aggression out,” said Green. 

Green went on to describe how amazing it feels to learn to push through. 

“It’s especially just the sport itself: the level of competition, the level of physical exertion and realizing you do have the mental [strength] to do that,” Green said.

Second year wrestler Sophia Thao added on: “You have to have that desire to win, and if you don’t, you won’t achieve anything.”

Maya Tewy, a first year wrestler, believes wrestling can be a powerful tool for self-defense.

 “You don’t have to be so strong to be good at it,” said Tewy.

Koehn describes wrestling as memorable and is grateful to have been on the team. 

“I really like being on this girls’ wrestling team and I’m really happy. I’m happy with the bonds I’ve made this season and I hope they continue next season. This team we’ve made, the Memorial [girls’] team that our team captains have made this year – I’m really happy it was possible.”

For more information on Memorial’s girls’ wrestling, contact @mhs_womenswrestling on Instagram.