Several youth join wrestling this season

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

One of the fastest growing sports in the country has a familiar, but albeit new twist on the activity. 

Female high school wrestling is growing in popularity after the Minnesota State High School League sanctioned the sport and state tournament for the first time last year. While Frazee doesn’t have a female member of their wrestling team at the junior high or high school level that could be changing in the near future. 

The sport continues to see a spike in popularity at the elementary level as younger wrestlers continue to follow in their older brother’s footsteps, or forge a path all-their-own.

“Right now girls wrestling in the United States is one of the fastest growing sports that we currently have,” said head wrestling coach Travis Nagel. “For us to be able to support and offer it, and give more student athletes an opportunity, is a great thing for us.”

What began last year with two sections sending four total girls to a state tournament will double in size this year as more females continue to test their strength and determination on the mat. 

While they are still at the elementary level, Grace and Serenity Hamm, as well as Audriana Brandon said they enjoy the sport. All three of the wrestlers said it doesn’t matter if they are wrestling against a boy or a girl, they want to compete on the mat and do what they can do to pick up a win. 

“It’s fun because I am very competitive,” said Grace Hamm who is in her fourth year of wrestling. 

Grace and Serenity’s grandpa and dad are coaches on the team, and their older brother is a member of the high school wrestling team. It’s that family connection that helped get the girls into the wrestling room as they compete against wrestlers from across the region. 

Mike Hamm who helps to coach the growing elementary wrestling program in Frazee. Just three years ago there were no girls in the wrestling program as the elementary girls weigh different options between wrestling, dance and basketball.

“It’s hard because a lot of times they are just trying out wrestling so they are doing basketball too,” he said.

Now, with the addition of varsity girls wrestling, the sport continues to grow both locally and state wide. 

Hamm said the Hornets placed an order for girls singlets for the first time this year as the uniforms are cut slightly different for boys and girls. He said the coaches continue to encourage more girls to try out the sport as they get closer to putting together a full team.

“The more we get the closer we are to making a high school team when they all start growing up through the program,” he said. 

Frazee doesn’t have to go too far to see how much female wrestling has grown in recent years. Bemidji fielded a complete female wrestling team this year and the Hornet coaching staff has hopes that a similar growth in female wrestling will contine at the local high school in the near future.

“We keep planting the seeds that they could be the first state champion, or at least the first placer at state,” said Hamm. “If we get enough girls to stick with it they could be the first ever girls team in Frazee.”

While the sport grows, the female wrestlers have a bit of a choice to make at each meet. Hamm said if there are enough female wrestlers at a tournament, or meet, the girls will wrestle one another first. In the event there aren’t enough girls at a certain weight class they can then have the option to wrestle boys.

It’s a challenge that many female wrestlers can face head on, just as they have for a generation. 

“Elementary girls can pretty much hang with any boy or girl,” said Hamm.

In fact, it wasn’t uncommon to see female wrestlers at the state boys wrestling tournament. 

This year will be the second year of a girls state wrestling tournament, which will double in size this time around. Last year four girls at each weight class from two different sections competed in the state tournament.