Female Representation Blossoms Within Wrestling's Winter Season

By Camila Lora & Kaia Condon 

As the winter athletics season kicks off, athletes join new teams, eagerly looking forward to gaining knowledge and experience in sports. Einstein's wrestling team is no exception, and has experienced a boost this year in female participation. This increase has created a more diverse environment for all members to partake in.

This change has sparked many positive reactions from female team members who have competed in the past, demonstrating their enthusiasm for more female representation. Senior Cindi Vasquez-Fuentes expressed her excitement as she stated, "Now, I get to meet new girls with similar interests as me, instead of being afraid of stereotypical 'manly' things."

Newer female members have discovered that joining the team not only comes with an outpouring of support from their teammates but additional benefits as well. Senior Rebekah Pittman and freshman Hannah Rades have each expressed the impacts wrestling has had on their everyday lives. Pittman said, "I think just winning a match was an accomplishment, and being able to workout consistently and lose weight healthily which is [a] stark contrast to having lost it in other experiences." Like Pittman, Rades has encountered similar things, stating, "... my overall fitness/strength has improved, which has helped me physically and also boosted my confidence."

However, freshman Elena Nash believes wrestling has had both positive and negative effects on her life, stating, “I would say it’s had an overall positive impact because it got me to be more active, but I feel like I haven’t really made that many accomplishments so that’s kind of a negative aspect of it for me.”

Einstein’s wrestling team is coed, but the girls have also expressed their thoughts on the school also having an all-girls team. Freshman Annabelle O'Connor enjoys the teams' inclusivity, stating, “I like it being coed because of the fact that a lot of the guys on the team are like my friends, but I understand if someone would want it to be just girls and I still love that idea.”  Pittman added onto this idea, saying, “I don’t mind it, but I find wrestling girls so much more enjoyable. I get why it’s coed, considering not every school has a girls team and those that have girls are limited, [I] just wish there were more opportunities to wrestle girl[s].” Corroborating Pittman’s sentiment, Rades felt that “maybe girls would feel more comfortable and welcomed toward the idea of wrestling if we had an all-female team.”

The wrestling team gaining more female athletes this year is an incredible advance within the coed sports department, hopefully blossoming into more girls getting inspired by the fun experience and amazing talent all female teammates have acquired during this season.