Rachel Vliem, Staff Writer
They practice, they sweat, they aspire; there is no doubt they work hard for their spot on the team, but can girls hang with the boys on the wrestling mat? Exactly how gender equal can the sport be?
Nearly 5 percent of high school wrestlers in the nation are female. “If they want to do it, they should do it,” said junior Lindsey Waetzig. “Especially if they’re good at it.”
“Girl wrestlers scare me,” admitted sophomore Riley Swanson. “I think it’s fine as long as they are okay with it.”
Sophomore Josh Long agreed. “It’s a personal choice for a girl whether she wants to wrestle or not.”
Not all students feel the same way. Sophomore Wyatt Penfold thinks it is wrong. “It is violating and makes for a bad situation.”
“It’s unnecessary, unless they can compete with the higher athletes in the sport. Otherwise, they are only doing it to grab attention,” said Chance Maddock, a state champion wrestler from Cokeville, Wyoming. “If I personally have to wrestle one, I wouldn’t. I have nothing to prove to them or to the media.”
Is it justified when a wrestler forfeits because of a female opponent? “If guys don’t feel comfortable wrestling a girl, they shouldn’t have to,” explained senior Aaron McGee, a varsity wrestler at CCHS. “I don’t like girls wrestling on the team because it’s a guy’s sport. It puts an awkward kink in it.”
CCHS senior Denisia Godfrey has been wrestling since she was four years old and hopefully plans to wrestle at Jamestown, North Dakota for college next year. Male wrestlers will often refuse to wrestle her simply because of her gender. “It makes me upset because I have been training for it, but it’s their loss.” She feels that her teammates accept her.
Although different opinions exist, a female being allowed to wrestle is the law. In 1972, Congress passed Title IX, which prohibits discrimination of genders in federal-funded activities. “Title IX is in favor of females going out and having equal opportunities as males,” explained Activities Director Cliff Hill. “Girls didn’t have the same opportunities before the 70’s. This allows girls to participate in sports not typically offered to them.”
In 1970, Campbell County High School offered three female sports: volleyball, basketball, and track. Forty years later, there are fourteen sports available for girls to participate in. Females on the wrestling team may be questionable now, but in forty years, maybe it will be commonplace.
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