TOWAMENCIN – Wrestling season is in full swing, but there is something unique about this season. As the opponents take their first step onto the mat all the heads in the crowd turn eagerly. There is something different. For the first time, the two opponents stepping up to the mat are girls.  

Over the years girl’s wrestling has been one of the fastest-growing sports among high school girls. For years girls have not had their own wrestling teams and have been forced to compete with the boys. Coming into her freshman year at North Penn, Ella Maxwell wanted to ensure that this wasn’t the case for her and other girls. After a long and grueling process, North Penn has finally announced its first-ever girl’s wrestling team. 

“What inspired me most was seeing other schools start to establish girls wrestling teams,” Maxwell shared. “Before we had any other girls on the team I used to go to Souderton and practice with their girl’s team. I had so much fun practicing with them because there were other girls there just like me. After that, I realized that if I really wanted North Penn to have a girl’s team I would need more girls than just myself to be willing to participate”.    

Finding girls that are willing to wrestle is one of the biggest challenges when it comes to creating girls wrestling teams. In a sport that is primarily male-dominated, it can be difficult for girls to feel comfortable getting involved. In the fall, Maxwell still was unable to get any girls to sign up for the team. 

“Last spring when Coach O’Neil and Coach Shettsline knew I would be joining the high school team they started the process of getting the girl’s team approved. The process was a little difficult because in order to have a girl’s wrestling team you need girls and not many girls want to wrestle,” Maxwell revealed.

As the days ticked by and Maxwell awaited for other girls to sign up, her heart sank a little every day. Waiting to find out if her dream would come true was painful, but her persistence paid off, and eventually, Maxwell found two other teammates, Savannah Lanyi (10th grade) and Elisabeth Kulp (12th grade). Even though the season has just begun, Maxwell is already enjoying her time with her fellow female teammates and competitors. 

“The season has been going great. We have participated in a couple of tournaments, one of which had a girl’s bracket where you got to only wrestle girls from different schools,” Maxwell shared. “ I am very excited because we have a lot of upcoming tournaments that are the same way”. 

Now that female wrestling teams are beginning to pop up in many high schools across the nation, it wasn’t very difficult to find other schools in our area for the girls to compete against. Some of the schools that they will take on this season include, Souderton, Quakertown, William Tennent, Palisades, and Parkland. Obviously, with the number of schools starting to recognize girls wrestling as its own team, Pennsylvania is making great strides toward making it sanctioned. 

“My hope is that one day the girl’s team will be almost the same size as the boys. Pennsylvania is only a couple more schools away from being sanctioned and I hope that maybe by the end of the school year it officially will be,” Maxwell said with an optimistic smile.  

Maxwell was willing to give a glimpse of what a typical everyday practice looks like for the team sharing a run down of everything they do from warmups to drills. 

“We do practice with the boy’s team which allows us to switch partners throughout practice so that you are working with different people. Typically though, we start the practice by doing some running and stretching. Then we will break off into pairs and do some drills moves. After that we will then go into live wrestling which is like a match setting where you incorporate all the moves you learned earlier in practice,” Maxwell shared.  

Practicing with the boys can be difficult considering they are typically stronger. Not to mention the awkwardness of a sport with such physicality. Often times it can be difficult to fear the judgment that may come with taking part in a male-dominated sport. But Maxwell revealed that the boys have been highly supportive of their fellow female teammates. 

“There has been a lot of support from the boy’s team and I am very grateful for that. When I am in a match the boys will sit there on the edge of the mat and help coach me or just cheer me on,” Maxwell stated. “No matter what the outcome is they always tell me I did good and give me tips on what I could do better. Post-season last year when I was the only girl they were very welcoming. Even this year at practice when I go against them they are very kind and treat me with respect”.  

While the boy’s team at North Penn has been very welcoming of Maxwell and the other girls, they still sometimes have to face criticism from others. While it can be difficult at times, Maxwell has learned how to handle it in a mature and positive way.

“Whenever I am faced with criticism I try to overcome it by showing everyone that even though I am a girl in a sport that is mostly viewed as a boy’s sport I am still strong. People can say whatever they want, but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter what they think as long as you believe in yourself and you know that you can do it,” Maxwell said. 

Going against the norm is particularly challenging in this day and age between social media and the constant difference in opinions. Maxwell’s only hope is that she can inspire someone else to go against what is traditionally expected. 

“I hope to inspire other girls by showing them that wrestling isn’t scary, uncomfortable, or only a boy’s sport. I want to show all the girls out there that it truly is fun and allows you to become stronger in ways that you don’t even realize. But ultimately I want to inspire other girls to follow their dreams and stop being intimidated by what everyone else thinks,” Maxwell shared. 

Maxwell is excited to continue her journey as a part of the girl’s wrestling team and hopes to continue to learn from the new experiences she has created for herself. The best feeling is knowing that she has opened many doors full of possibilities for future generations of girls who also want to prove they can wrestle. But most importantly she hopes that she has shown all girls, not only those who wish to wrestle, that they can do whatever they set their minds to. 

“My biggest piece of advice is to just do it because if you never try then you never know what the outcome will be,” Maxwell concluded.