As the air gets colder and the wrestling season reaches its midway point, the girls team continues to achieve new firsts. Last year, the Big Reds wrestling team had its first two girls to ever compete. This year, the girls have expanded their team to 13 with the help of junior Karma Hedges, the only remaining wrestler from last year’s team.
“I just went around and asked friends and people that did sports before, to see if they were interested,” said Hedges, who is currently ranked 4th in the state in her weight class. “I’m very happy, and I’m glad that there is an actual girls team now.”
The team put a lot of effort this year into recruiting. They had many girls, in addition to Hedges, encouraging others to join. An informational meeting was held in November to give those interested some details about what they could expect if they joined the team. During the meeting they clarified that the girls would only be practicing and competing against other girls. In an effort to make them more comfortable, they hired Brailynn Custred to coach the team. Custred was a member of the girls wrestling team the year prior and graduated in 2024.
“It’s the stigma behind it of ‘I have got to be in a room with boys’ or ‘I have got to practice with the boys’ or ‘I am going to be wrestling with the boys’ which isn’t the case,” boys wrestling coach Matt Littleton said. “I would like to get that washed away so those girls can be a little more comfortable being in a practice room with people their gender.”
Not only has the girls team grown but they were also able to host the first girls wrestling meet at PHS on Jan 3, the Parkersburg Women’s Winter Classic. Over 20 schools were present with around 160 girls competing. The Big Reds came home with third place, with senior Cali Way coming in first for her weight class.
“(It was) really good. I pinned every girl I wrestled,” said Way, who is currently ranked #2 in her weight class. “It was definitely a successful tournament for the team and myself.”
The team has had several successful meets so far this year with new wrestlers rising to the top. In their first meet, the Lady Jacket Throwdown on Dec. 7, Hedges and senior Audrianna Medina placed first while Way and senior Nevaeh Mason placed second. They also competed in the Hat and Shirt Shop Invitational when the team got second place. They sent four individual wrestlers to the Powerade Wrestling Tournament in December where they placed 19th out of 53 teams, and most recently placed third out of 35 teams in the Cornelius Godfrey Memorial Tournament in Logan last weekend. With more meets to go the wrestlers have high expectations for the rest of the season.
“I like being around my friends. It’s a good environment,” said Medina, who is also ranked 4th in the state in her weight class. “I’m expecting to go to states, as a matter of a fact.”
