On Thursday, January 22, Normal West will watch its girls’ wrestling team create history as the team will host its first-ever dual meet.
Four years ago, with only two members, the girls wrestling team was created as a separate team from the boys’ program as Illinois had finally recognized girls wrestling as its own sport.
The Normal West girls team has seen exceptional growth since then, now holding 11 members in the team.
The wrestlers will be facing off against Mahomet-Seymour and Peoria Richwoods High School at 5 PM in the north gym at Normal West. The dual will also be a pink out.
That night will also be senior night, meaning the two seniors on the team will be recognized, as well as female alumni that are at the dual.
“The first round will be Mahomet versus Richwoods The next round will be Normal West versus Mahomet, and then the final round will be Normal West versus Richwoods,” Normal West girls’ wrestling coach, Margaret Lehr explained.
However, as the dual is the teams first ever dual as a separate team, the importance of the event weighs heavy.
“The importance for us is to really establish our program as a program; our team as a team,” Lehr began.
“There’s fourteen different weight classes in wrestling for the girls. And so if we only had five girls on our team, we’d be giving up at least nine weight classes in a duel; that would not put us in a position to really be competitive. Not that it has to be all about winning, but [it makes it] a worthwhile competition for us.”
Student coaches of the girls’ wrestling team have also felt the significance of the dual.
“I’d say I’m excited but also a little nervous. This is the first ever home dual that we’ve hosted just for girls, so we have a lot of pressure to prove ourselves and to show that we aren’t just another sport. I’m very thankful to both the athletic director and my coach for making this opportunity possible for my teammates and I,” student coach Kitzia Racey exclaimed.
Senior and student coach, Amelia McClure, has been doing wrestling for seven years, seeing outstanding growth in the girls’ program.
“Being a senior, and being the wrestler with the most years of experience, having started as the only female wrestler as a 6th grader at Parkside, as well as being part of the first girls wrestling team at Normal West, I’ve loved watching girls wrestling blow up and being able to create a culture for our girls wrestling team here at west, that hopefully will last for years to come,” McClure explained.
Normal West’s girls’ wrestling team is not the only team to experience growth, but other programs around Illinois as well.
Noteably, Urbana High School’s girls’ team has also had their first ever dual, where Normal West competed earlier this season.
“The growth has been from the north of the state down. Up in the suburbs and up in the Chicago area, many schools have full lineups and full teams. As you move further down, the state, [the growth] is slower. So we’re at a point, in the central, where we’re starting to catch up to the suburbs and northern illinois area,” Lehr said.
In the state of Illinois, Lehr was the first girl to wrestle at the IHSA level in the 1990s.
Throughout her entire high school career, she had to compete against boys and never got the chance to compete against a girl.
However, despite the start, Lehr is happy to be leading the way for the girls on the team, watching the team compete in a tournament with almost five hundred girls.
“Just one of those full circle moments; to have been the one to really start something in the state and then come to a point where I’m now have my own team,” Lehr stated.
Lehr has also noted the girl’s excitement: “At practice last night, they said, why don’t we have more of these like why aren’t we doing more of these weekend ones?”
Despite the growth the team has accomplished, Lehr is still driving for more, asserting the program is for everyone.
“That’s one of the great things about wrestling because it’s divided up into weight classes that it really is a sport for anyone,” Lehr explained.
Even if you’ve never done wrestling before, Lehr still encourages anyone to try.
“My girl right now with the most matches and a winning record is a freshman who’s never done it before,” Lehr said.
Lehr believes that wrestling doesn’t just push you physically, but also mentally as well.
“If you can make it through these really hard matches, you learn a lot about yourself,” Lehr added.
While there isn’t a difference in technique between the boys’ and girls’ wrestling team, Lehr has found that since girls are naturally more flexible; they’re able to maneuver out of moves that would typically hurt the guys.
“The way that these girls can bend out of some of these moves or not get turned by certain moves because of their flexibility and the center of gravity being different has been really interesting and unique.
“[With some of the girl’s moves, referees] would have potentially called a dangerous move before for guys because of it looking like something is getting pulled the wrong way or turn the wrong way,” Lehr explained.
Lehr has also found the girls to be different emotionally from the boys.
“I think the girls are better communicators and they’re willing to ask more questions, (…) they’re very vocal about their support and really cheer on their teammates,” Lehr stated.
Racey has witnessed the successes of the team herself, noting that: “One of the biggest [highlights of the season] was our home tournament where over half our team was on the podium. Whenever you’re on the podium you have such a boost of confidence, I’m glad that almost all our girls have gotten to experience it.”
According to Lehr, wrestling is the fastest growing sport in the United States; she has seen the growth with West’s team, as well as Kingsley, who has around ten girls on their team.
“We’re really long term tracking. We’d like to see ourselves as contenders for more places and tournaments, as well, and I really hope that it will continue to grow in our area as a whole,” Lehr said.
Within the next five years, Lehr hopes to see the girls in an inter-city tournament.
Racey also has goals for the team, driving for the team to have a full lineup by the time she’s a senior: “The sport has already expanded so much, but I’d love to have even more girls in the room. As a captain, I’ll try to keep on advertising our team to the lower class men, as they seem to be more willing to try it out than the older girls at our school,” Racey added.
Even though she’s graduating in May, McClure, alongside Racey and Lehr, hopes to see the program continue to expand, encouraging the girls to continue wrestling despite the backlash.
“I hope our girls continue to fight to grow, as well as staying a very disciplined and committed group. We all have faced adversity of some sort being girls in a male dominated sport, and I hope we keep throwing that right back in their faces by doing everything they say we cannot,” McClure explained.
