By Justin Sokeland
WBIW.com
BEDFORD – The fastest growing sport in the nation will make its team debut at Bedford North Lawrence this winter.
After years of toiling in the shadow of their male teammates, and competing under the umbrella of the Indiana High School Girls Wrestling state tournament, girls wrestling will branch out in its own direction with the new accreditation of the Indiana High School Athletic Association as a varsity sport. So far, four athletes have answered the call to form BNL’s first squad, and shatter the glass ceiling, for the 2024-25 season.
Dennis Sego will coach the school’s newest team. His first goal is convincing enough athletes to participate and fill out all the weight classes. The recruiting within the halls at BNL has already started.
“I want to build the program,” Sego said. “I want it to explode with growth. That’s all we can hope for.”
Two of the Stars have previous experience. Alivia Crane, a senior, started the sport in the sixth grade. Arianna Andis, a junior who advanced to last year’s IHSGW semistate, has been involved since her freshman season. They are thrilled with the chance to represent the new sport in its maiden voyage.
“I’m so glad it’s grown,” Crane said. “We want to get the word out. We want a future, a bigger team in the future. It’s definitely a sisterhood.”
They are also glad to be able to compete on equal footing. They spent the bulk of their time wrestling against boys, enduring losses, criticism and stigma in a sexist sport.
“It’s a male sport, so a lot of girls are realizing they can make a stand, add to the sport,” Andis said. “I’ve heard coaches tell their wrestlers to hurt me, because girls aren’t welcome. They were definitely afraid to lose to us.”
“It was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done,” Crane said. “Men have a different body type, a lot more muscle mass. So it’s completely different, with a guy’s strength compared to a girl’s strength. And it’s their sport. We were taking something that was theirs.”
Now the mat is all theirs. Savannah Wagner (in her second year of wrestling) and Taylor Schmeichel have joined the fold, and Sego hopes to add more names along the way. He knows patience will be key as he teaches new skills.
“They pick it up quickly,” he said. “They think about it a little more, and we might have to move at a slower pace, but not for long. The sport is important because it helps empower them. It gives them confidence, it helps with self defense.”
BNL will open the season at Bloomington South on Nov. 14. The Stars will host one home meet, against Seymour, on Dec. 19. The state tournament series will begin in January.
