At its January 20th meeting, the Montana High School Association gave the go-ahead for girls wrestling to be offered in the 2020-2021 school year. Currently, females compete against males in the various weight divisions.
Depending upon how many more females go out for the sport, they may be able to wrestle against other females during the regular season but chances are, they’ll still be wrestling males at the local matches and tournaments. It is only at the state level that girls will be able to wrestle other girls and have a chance to win a state title.
“It’s going to take a few years to build up so they’re (the girls) going to miss out on a lot of matches. We’re going to have to figure something out. Maybe they still wrestle in the boys’ brackets for certain tournaments but at the state, one class, all girls, AA, A, B/C, different weights,” said Corvallis wrestling coach Matt Davis.
Davis’ daughter, Kiera, is a freshman at Corvallis. Her family has been very involved in the wrestling program for many years. Not only is her dad the coach, but her uncle is an assistant coach, and her grandpa is a volunteer coach. She said her parents didn’t really want her to wrestle because they were afraid that once she got into the upper grades, she would feel bad because she isn’t as strong as the guys. “But then when 8th grade came around, I convinced them to let me wrestle.”
She said the first year was a little tough in the beginning with the boys. She said that her uncle had a talk with the fellows and now they treat her like one of the guys. They are very encouraging and when she’s been down a few times, they have supported her.
Kiera Davis thinks there are many girls who would like to wrestle but just aren’t comfortable when they have to wrestle guys. She said she didn’t feel that way because she’s always wanted to do it. She wrestles at 103 pounds, which is the lowest weight class, and said that some of her opponents have only weighed 80 or 90 pounds and that has been an advantage for her.
“My drive is just so out there to do the best that I don’t really think about the gender. Some guys, especially at the 103 class, a lot of the guys are only at 80 pounds, 90 pounds and so I have more muscle than some of the guys. But technique comes a long ways and it helps a lot,” she said.
Hannah Hurst is a 16 year old sophomore at Hamilton High School. She competes at 113 and sometimes moves up to 120 pounds. She began wrestling when she was in the fifth grade.
“The main reason I wrestle is for my oldest brother. His name is Isaac Hurst and he just loved to wrestle from his freshman year until he passed away on Nov. 12, 2017. I wrestle for him because he loved it. It’s kind of grown on me and I really love the sport now. It just reminds me of him,” she said.
Her brother passed away in the fall of 2017 to unknown causes.
Hurst said she thinks by allowing females to compete, there will be many more come out and participate. She’s already seen an increase in the numbers this year.
Hurst began doing MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and jujitsu when she was seven until she was in seventh grade. She said she’s always been into contact sports and with two older brothers and a little sister, there’s a bit of roughhousing going on all the time.
When asked if she thought she would have an advantage next year against other girls, Hurst was sure she would have one. She said that she’s wrestled about nine girls this year and thinks there are definitely more waiting to come out.
Hurst’s coach, Chad Williams, is also excited about the addition of girls wrestling. He said that Hurst has won a lot of matches and only lost one match against a girl. “I think she bumped up almost two weight brackets to wrestle that girl.”
He went on to say there is a lot of interest when he mentioned it to other girls in Hamilton. “I think we’re going to see more girls come out. Hannah will be a leader and definitely be a state contender. I’m excited to see it.”
Hurst concluded, “It’s exciting and it just shows your inner personality, and shows what you’re capable of. It proves to many people that if we really put our minds to it, we can achieve great stuff. I’ve seen many girls this year. I think we maybe need that sometimes too (to show how strong girls can be).”