You Go, Girl Wrestlers! High School Girls Wrestling on the Rise

BY CHRISTY MARTINEZ-GARCIA FOR LATINO LUBBOCK MAGAZINE

High school wrestling has been one of the fastest-growing sports for girls in high school. In 1990, there were 112 girls who participated in high school wrestling. In 1999, Texas became one of the first states in the country to sanction high school wrestling for women, but thanks to big-name MMA fighters like Ronda Rousey and growth at the Summer Olympics during the late 2000s, the number of girls competing in high school wrestling has never been higher. Wrestling has been one of the fastest-growing sports for girls in high school. In 1990, there were 112 girls who participated in high school wrestling. In 1999, Texas became one of the first states in the country to sanction high school wrestling for women, but thanks to big-name MMA fighters like Ronda Rousey and growth at the Summer Olympics during the late 2000s, the number of girls competing in high school wrestling has never been higher.

In the early years, girls only had the opportunity to participate on the boy’s wrestling team at their high school on the sidelines as cheerleaders or fans. Fortunately, there were some girls who decided they wanted to try the sport, and even though it took a lot of courage to wrestle, not only because of the physical disadvantage but also because it was not yet accepted by society for girls to train and compete against boys in a combat sport like wrestling. Despite this, the number of girls competing in high school wrestling increased. They were the true trailblazers for girls’ high school wrestling.

And now, it has become a mission of the leaders in wrestling to develop opportunities for girls to compete against girls at the high school level. As this happens, opportunities for girls to wrestle will continue to grow.

Coaching

The wrestling program at Lubbock High was founded in the mid 80’s. Girls’ wrestling was sanctioned in 1999.

Coach Richard Leal serves as the wrestling coach and Coach Gilchrest is the assistant.

Coach Leal said that he takes pride in all his wrestlers and is proud that he has 20 female wrestlers competing for LHS.

“Next year we will have close to 25 girls and 50 boys on the roster,” he added as he shared that the program continues to grow.

He shared that this year they finished 2nd at district, 4th at regions, and 10th at state, “Which is the best finishes in the postseason we have had as a program.”

He added that the program was also a great opportunity for young women wanting to go on to wrestle in college. He said that two of the female wrestlers signed this year including Mohagany Casel who will be attending Gannon University and Mattison Goss who will attend Wayland Baptist University. He said that five of the female wrestlers qualified to state, with two alternates. Mohagany Casel won State at 185, Mattison Goss took fifth, and Maddie Pena made it to state as a sophomore but didn’t place this year.

“I think the best part of coaching this program has been able to watch the evolution of each of the female wrestlers. Their confidence in themselves has grown through the sport. It has been awesome watching them come together as a team.

A Wrestler

Juliana Flores, 16, is a junior at Frenship High School. Growing up she did kickboxing and was always good at contact sports. She decided to join the wrestling program for fitness and to see how hard she could push herself.

Upon starting she said the female wrestling team made her feel welcome.

“I felt appreciated. And it makes me feel I know can do more than just “girlie girl”, I can do more,” said the energetic girl who doesn’t mind a little sweat “glisten” and likes to wear a little lip gloss when she wrestles. She was discouraged at the beginning of the year, but her confidence grew as her knowledge and understanding of as a wrestler grew. Her record is 20 to 12 (wins). And to prepare for her matches Juliana works out a lot, but she also believes that it’s mostly about mindset.

“You gotta have an easy mindset… think about your technique and have confidence. Wrestling has more than one benefit – physically, you are working out every day. Your mindset – it makes you more confident – mentally and physically.”

For her to meet her weight class of 145 she said it wasn’t a problem, but that it can be difficult. She likes to sleep well. She eats normally, watching sugars and fatty foods, but is more conscious of her diet, which she said can be hard for teens.

“I used to drink sodas all the time, but if you have a lot of sugar in your system your stamina is not good. If you eat greasy food you are sluggish,” she said. When it comes to family support – she must be at her going, including one of her parents who always made time to be at her match.

“I feel it is very important for parents to show up, knowing someone is watching you in the stands makes her feel more confident and happier.

As of now, Juliana said that wrestling is something she is doing for high school. She added that she wants to pursue a career in nursing and would like to utilize wrestling to pursue scholarship opportunities in college.

“It makes me feel empowered to see that there are many girls in the sport. My advice is to try something new. I never thought I would be in wrestling.”

FUTURE ENGINEERS AND CURRENT LEADERS OF SHPE: Meet the officers of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) the largest association in the nation for Hispanics in STEM Region 5 at TTU. They offer members effective training, mentorship, and programming. The students meet monthly and provide support for their fellow students to obtain degrees in engineering and STEM careers. We are proud of you - from Latino Lubbock Magazine! (Photo by TTU SHPE)

Happy Girl Scout Day

Get ready to celebrate this March 12, because it's National Girl Scout Day! Part of Girl Scout Week, National Girl Scout Day commemorates the anniversary of the first Girl Scout meeting. In 1912, Juliette “Daisy”

Gordon Low organized the meeting in Savannah, Georgia. And Girl Scouts has only grown from there! The list of Girl Scout alum nae includes many successful women in many different fields.

Latino Lubbock Magazine's own Publisher, Christy MartinezGarcia, and her daughter, Amaris Garcia, are proud Girl Scout alumnae who take pride in their past involvement as Girl Scouts. Christy also served as a leader.

"My parents gave me my values, and Girl Scouts allowed me to apply those to the world," said