Dec. 3—The sweltering warmth contained in the upstairs apply room at Bob Brumley Gymnasium did not decelerate the motion on the mat.
McAlester wrestlers had been laborious at work making ready for the opening of the 2022-2023 season, together with many new feminine faces to this system.
Coach Kydel Billy stated this system’s variety of feminine wrestlers at each the junior excessive and highschool stage have doubled simply in the final 12 months.
“Last year we had about eight from 7th through 12th grade. This year, we’re at 16 right now,” he stated. “I’d like to see more girls (try out).”
Wrestling amongst women in the state of Oklahoma has exploded in reputation in current years, growing exponentially with every passing season. The Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association sanctioned a women wrestling division in current years, holding the state’s first official state competitors in 2021.
Billy recalled simply a few years beforehand when McAlester had its first trailblazer, setting the trail for others to quickly comply with in her wake.
“I love it. We had a girl a couple years ago when there was no girls division. She was wrestling boys and she was actually pinning boys,” he stated. “She had pinned a boy from Durant in a dual, and she was actually the first girl to score varsity points for McAlester.”
He additionally identified the efforts of Emery Turner, who final season swept tournaments and was the primary junior excessive women wrestler to compete on the state competitors in McAlester historical past.
And now, women are strolling as much as coaches and asking to be a a part of the group. Billy recalled one occasion when he was approached by Addison Gibson, who confirmed an early hearth and eagerness to be a Buff wrestler.
“She came to me in the hallway one day and was like ‘hey, are you the wrestling coach…do you have girls wrestling?’ I was like ‘yeah,’ and she said ‘sign me up’ and she just walked off,” he laughed.
As the ladies facet of this system continues to develop, Billy stated he hopes that extra feminine wrestlers will comply with swimsuit in a couple of years. And he stated his present group of wrestlers are persevering with to set an instance for future generations.
“I think it’s great for little girls that want to wrestle. I’m fully invested, my Takedown Club is fully invested, my athletic department and (director James) Singleton are fully invested,” Billy stated. “We bought a full lineup of singlets and warmups for junior high and high school girls, and we don’t have a full (girls) team yet. But if we do, nobody can say that we’re not invested.”
Contact Derek Hatridge at [email protected].
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