The state’s first-ever girls wrestling meet took place Saturday during the Southeast Region championship. Alaska is now one of a several states with a championship meet for girl wrestlers.
Sophomore Alisa Heller from Wrangell High School won first place. “It was the first time in a long time that I got first at a tournament,” Heller says. It was also the first time Heller only competed against other girls. Her win will give her a shot at the state championship.
Unlike past tournaments, where girls competed with boys, the region finals alternated girls and boys spotlight matches. Mt. Edgecumbe High School wrestling coach Michael Kimber says he first proposed a girls wrestling championship seven years ago.
“I saw a lot of girls who were more technically sound than boys,” Kimber says. “The problem is they just don’t have the muscle mass. At anything above about 120 lbs. it really starts going in favor of the boys.”
Kimber says giving girls their own regional and state meets would provide more opportunities for them to succeed “because they can wrestle against the boys and raise their level. And then when it comes down to the regional time, they can have their own regionals where they can showcase their talents. It also allows our girls to be highly recruited for college (wrestling).”
There are more than 40 girls on the Mt. Edgecumbe team. Other teams in Southeast brought one or two, if any, girl wrestlers to the regional meet. Wrangell wrestling coach Jeffrey Rooney said making girls wrestling official would encourage more to join the team.
“I have girls in the stands, I have girls on the sideline that are looking in, peering in from the outside, and you can see the interest growing,” Rooney said. “I think next year we’re going to have a pretty nice influx, and I think it’s just going to grow from there. I really do.”
Girls wrestling champ Heller says she looks forward to that. “I’ve wanted another girl on my team for a long time.”
