Girls wrestling gains in popularity

It’s the first year that the Minnesota State High School League has sanctioned girls wrestling as a sport, and area girls are jumping on the wrestling bandwagon.

Kasson-Mantorville High School has one female wrestler and Byron High School started the wrestling season with five wrestlers but now has four. K-M’s female wrestler is 10th grader Sydney Kanthack and wrestling for Byron is 7th grader Hattie Mathre, 11th graders Ionee Jurrens and Rachel Fode, and 12th grader Grace Pereda.

“The girls are doing excellent,” said Byron wrestling coach Nate Nelson. “They are picking up on things faster than I thought they would. They are eager to learn and ask a lot of questions about ways they can keep improving. They come in with a great work ethic, and work their tails off. It’s been a joy to coach them. I can’t say enough about how much desire to get better they’ve shown over the year.”

K-M wrestling coach Jamie Heidt said girls wrestling is growing in popularity throughout the nation, but in the past has been a “male driven sport.”