For decades, wrestling has been portrayed as a predominantly male sport in the media. As more and more female athletes have been giving it a try, the wrestling community has expanded, providing female athletes a new stage to shine on.
The number of girls who compete in wrestling for WJ has steadily increased in recent years. Wrestling coach Brian Frantz, the team’s head coach, has noticed this difference in his nine years of experience.
“When I first started at WJ we had one girl on the roster, and I’ve really tried pushing our team to continue to recruit boys and girls,” Frantz said.
This season there are 10 girls on the team.
While wrestling may not seem like the most desirable sport, athletes like senior Maddox Zuniga have taken on the risk of trying something new. Zuniga has just entered her second year of wrestling.
“I joined the team for my friends and the team also needed more girls,” Zuniga said.
“I also thought it would be fun.”
The boys’ and girls’ wrestling teams train with one another every day. While they can often be competitive, everyone chips in to provide a cheerful environment that encourages full participation every day.
“I like the wrestling environment and how welcoming everyone is,” sophomore Leah Krensky said. “I honestly would continue wrestling because it has grown on me and feels rewarding after a good practice.”
In other sports, coaching techniques for boys and girls can be quite different. Frantz doesn’t see that same discrepancy on his teams.
“Because we all practice together most of our wrestling program is coached the same,” Frantz said. “Subtle differences and tweaks are made to certain techniques to adjust for girls who are generally more flexible than boys, but that’s really it.”
As the girls’ wrestling community continues to grow, coaches like Frantz hope to see this sport get the recognition it deserves.
“I think that as opportunities for the girls to compete increase, the numbers started growing even more,” Frantz said. “I hope the numbers continue to grow and MCPS gets on board and adds a girls wrestling coach position to allow us to continue to evolve.”
Overall, the growth of the girls’ wrestling community has helped female athletes branch out into a new sisterhood, empowering them to blaze their own paths.
“I like seeing more and more girls and building the community,” Zuniga said. “I think it’s cool seeing girls take up a sport that has been traditionally for boys but still being able to succeed and thrive in it.”
