Although wrestling is normally considered a men’s sport at most schools, it doesn’t necessarily mean that women can’t be on the team. Last year, change became a regularity and has continued into this year. Junior Daisy Kinney was interested in joining the varsity wrestling team in late January after her friends on the team encouraged her because she would be in a weight division that sets her apart from many. 

  “Most schools don’t have anybody in that category. It was kind of a joke,” Kinney said, “[I] would get my varsity letter for wrestling just by going out there and raising my hand.” 

  Having wrestling on her record would be beneficial for Kinney because she would be able to put it on a job, college, or any other type of application. She wasn’t the only girl on the team though. Sophomore Junie Bossert has been wrestling for five years and joined the team this school year. 

  “I get along with the guys, they treat me as an equal, as if I’m one of them,” Bossert said. 

  Both Bossert and Kinney feel the same in that the rest of the team included them. Kinney had become friends with a lot of the boys on the team and they supported each other in meets by chanting their names as their weight division was called. 

  “They involved me and they weren’t like ‘oh that’s weird or another girl’s on the team,’” Kinney said. “They were just cool about it and encouraging me to keep trying it out. It was a good experience.”

  Even though there were only two girls on the school team, Kinney noticed at the meets she attended that there were more girls on the opposing teams. 

  “The meet that I went to, there were a good amount of girls on the other teams and so it was [kind of] cool,” Kinney said. 

  Although practice was something that Kinney didn’t necessarily want to participate in because of the weight difference between her and the rest of the members on the team, she did go to one of the wrestling practices to observe how they practiced. 

  “The coach wanted to make me as comfortable as I could be and so he said that I didn’t need to practice with the guys if I didn’t want to so I went and sat in a practice and watched them,” Kinney said.

  In spite of not practicing with the team, Kinney did attend the meets. She had planned on getting onto the mat, raising her hand, and not having to compete because it was very unlikely for someone to be in her weight category on the other team. This was not how things played out at her first meet.

 “There actually was somebody in my weight division at the meet that I went to,” Kinney said, “That was literally my first day joining the team so I didn’t know anything about it and so I decided to forfeit it.”

   Kinney had a great experience on the team but that being said, it doesn’t mean there wasn’t anything she didn’t necessarily like about wrestling. 

   “Probably having to wear the outfit,” Kinney said when asked what her least favorite part about playing was, “it was really weird.”

  Despite not liking the outfit, Kinney enjoyed trying something new that she may have not previously known the rules to or anything about. 

  “It was just fun to be involved in and it was just a fun environment. I’ve never been to a wrestling meet or anything so it was just cool to experience,” Kinney said.