Senior Brailynn Custred and sophomore Karma Hedges made school history on Dec. 2 as the first female wrestlers to compete for the Big Reds. They kicked off their season at the Mountain State Tussle with Custred placing first and Hedges placing third. 

They first met when they both started wrestling this year and ever since have become best friends. Custred has wrestled since she was little, but this was Hedges’ first year. Hedges started wrestling to get out of her comfort zone and to do something new. 

“There is some awkward moments but other than that it’s just different and fun,” Hedges said.

As the first and only girls on the wrestling team, sometimes Hedges and Custred are faced with tough situations but in the end winning is what matters most to them. They both stated that wrestling seemed scary at first but once they got used to it, it was very rewarding.

“I was really nervous going into it cause I didn’t know how I was gonna do in front of that many people but getting your hand raised is a really good feeling,” Custred said.

As a senior, Custred is thinking about continuing to wrestle in college. Hedges will continue to wrestle for the Big Reds for the rest of her high school years. Hedges and Custred both strongly encourage other girls to join the wrestling team next year. 

“The biggest thing with girls coming in is that they are scared that it’s going to be something way worse than it actually is,” Custred said. “Yeah, wrestling is really hard but it is also something that is extremely rewarding and it teaches you great discipline.”