Wrestling Expectations with

By Chris Yoo

Despite the sport being mixed, or perhaps because of it, girls’ wrestling has been growing in popularity

Combining moves, takedowns, and grapples, in the ring, wrestling is among the most intensely physical sports offered at any level. In spite of this, wrestling is one of the only sports in which boys and girls compete with each other.

The narrative around girls in wrestling has slowly been shifting, and though some critics will claim that co-ed wrestling isn’t fair, some partici- pants of the sport beg to differ.

“I believe it’s good that [wrestling is] mixed. Some competitions, like states, are separate. But for us to get good experience, it is good to wrestle together. And if there’s a day where there could be co-ed states that would be amazing because it just gives everyone the experience they deserve. It also keeps people from saying that girls are weaker than the guys. There are a lot of girls who could easily beat guys in wrestling. Wrestling is more than strength. It’s technique. It’s hard work,” freshman Jayelle Jones said. Three members of the wrestling team, along with head coach Charles Phillips, were invited to speak on the DMV Download Podcast on WTOP News. They discussed topics ranging from the wrestling community to expectations on girls in the sport. do so much when we do conditioning. We do team building exercises and we play wrestling games. And just overall it’s been probably one of the best sports experiences I’ve ever had, even though it’s really scary,” Jones said.

Though the prospect of wrestling can be intimidating, particularly for girls, Jones says that this shouldn’t be a deterrent.

“I would say that girls should join even if they’re scared. Even if you’re nervous that you won’t be able to do it, just try it because it does so much more for you than having a sport on your college application. It teaches you so much,” Jones said.

“It builds your competence. It builds your time management. It builds your mental skill, your physical skill. You protect yourself and that’s one of the most important things.” tells you that you’re so much stronger than the institution that you’re in because of how separated it is, and being a part of it now, we get to be a part of how it’s growing. We get to be a part of the growth. Because this community is so small right now, it’s so tight knit,” Jones said. how it’s growing. We get to be a part of the growth. Because this community is so small right now, it’s so tight knit,” Jones said.