Chambersburg is all set to introduce its 13th girls varsity sport Thursday evening when the Trojans host Waynesboro in a girls wrestling match.
Joshua Sherman
Wrestling was approved as an official PIAA sport last year, when it had its first state championship tournament. Chambersburg has been trying to get the sport officially started, and finally gained approval from the school board.
“We’ve been seriously working on this for three years,” Trojan head coach Joshua Sherman said. “The district wanted more numbers in the program, and we started to add more over the last couple of years.”
To begin the season, Chambersburg has 12 girls on the varsity team and five more in junior high.
“It’s not been super popular yet, but this year we can get more attention, and then get other girls to join,” said sophomore Jessica Li, one of three captains for the Trojans.
Sherman said, “I’m tickled to death to have 12 girls for the first year, and we can cover eight to 10 weights.”
Jessica Li
Chambersburg has eight dual meets scheduled, and will compete in at least two tournaments before the postseason tournaments begin. The first dual is Thursday vs. Waynesboro, and it will live streamed on MidPennBroadcasting.com at approximately 6 p.m. after the middle school meet. The boys varsity will follow the girls and will also be broadcast.
So what makes a girl want to join a wrestling program?
It was a natural decision for freshman Reagan Evans, also a captain. Her older brother Zach is a redshirt freshman at the University of Buffalo after a fine Trojan career.
“My brother wrestled and I just thought the sport was cool,” Evans said. “I wanted to follow in his footsteps.”
Reagan has wrestled for six years and twice placed in the top three at states in youth wrestling.
Sophomore Aulana Stanton, the other captain, learned some martial arts skills from her dad, who was a professional MMA athlete, and is now taking those skills into wrestling.
Aulana Stanton
“I like the the 1-on-1 aspect, the contact, the aggression,” Stanton said. “I tried football, but I wanted more. So I’m wrestling now and I like wrestling because I can be on a team for the school. I want to be more tactical, try new moves and get out of my comfort zone.”
Li, too, had some MMA training, mostly in kickboxing. And although wrestling is an individual sport, it’s also about the team.
“Being with other people on the team makes me happy,” said Li, who is in her fourth year of wrestling. “I like combat sports, but the best thing is getting along with all these other girls.”
Evans said, “It’s a 1-on-1 sport, but you’re competing for your team, too. I mean, it’s just you and your opponent out there on the mat, but it’s still a team sport.”
Stanton likes the sport’s challenge.
“There are a limitless number of things to learn,” she said. “I’ve always heard that you can’t really ever perfect a move, but if you do it 10,000 times in practice, you might get close. And that intrigues me.”
Reagan Evans
Sherman, who was the assistant middle school boys coach for the Trojans, said he is not worried about team goals in the first year, “because every time we step on the mat, it’s a big success. We just want to continue to see growth in the program and in the girls. The three captains have good experience and have won multiple medals at a high level, but you never know how that translates to high school — District 3 is a tough district.
“We have five or six girls who are new to the sport, but they are catching on and I’m happy with their progress. I don’t really have coach any different. It’s wrestling and they’re girls. But they are wrestlers.”
One of the toughest things about wrestling is the conditioning needed to perform well. You must be prepared for six intense minutes on the mat.
Li, however, said she “loves the conditioning. What’s hardest for me is the mentality needed to wrestle. You need to be confident, and I found myself lacking that some. But it’s better now.”
“Conditioning is tough,” Stanton admitted, “but I know it’s vital. So I only hate it when I’m doing it.”
After fighting to get a team, and working in practice to learn moves and get in tip-top shape, it’s time to take all of that energy onto the mat Thursday.
“My friends think it’s cool that I wrestle,” Evans said, “but they also think I’m a bit crazy for doing it.”
But these girls don’t think it’s crazy at all. They just want to wrestle.