Grappling For Change

Two wrestlers face each other in neutral position, knees bent and eyes locked while they wait for the referee’s signal. For the first time since Conifer High School’s founding, a girl is repping the Conifer Lobo singlet. And it’s not just at Conifer. According to OPC weight assessment data in the Spring of 2023, the number of women who wrestle in high school has grown from 804 to more than 50,000 since 1994, making it one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. 

“We’ve been talking about this for a couple of years with Coach Adamson. He’s very interested in getting this program developed,” Athletic Director Brad Horner said. 

Boys’ wrestling has been offered at Conifer High School since its founding in 1996, but this is the first season the sport has become co-ed. While there have been a few attempts to create a team, it was never officially formed. That was until freshman Natally Herrin joined the Boys’ Wrestling team as the only girl. 

“My dad got me involved with it, but I was the only girl wrestling at the time. So, Coach Nick was like ‘Well, let’s get a girls’ team started,’” Herrin said. 

Herrin participated in wrestling throughout her middle school career, and didn’t plan to stop wrestling once she reached high school. However, only a boy’s program was offered for wrestlers, so Herrin was forced to join the boy’s team. Herrin’s interest in the sport as a girl sparked a change within the wrestling community at Conifer. Other girls followed suit, and Coach Adamson and Horner were able to establish an official Colorado High School Activities Association team. Now, 10 girls make up Conifer’s first girl’s wrestling team, with Herrin as one of three captains.  

“I’m looking forward to a lot of the girls improving because they’re all new. I’m looking forward to seeing their improvement throughout the season, and getting their first hand raised,” Herrin said. “I love the team that we have, I love the family that’s going on right now. It’s great, and everyone is super kind.”

Although there is now a formal girl’s program, practices are held simultaneously and under the same coaching. Therefore, boys and girls wrestle side by side and train as one team.

“I practice with the guys in rugby and wrestling, and you get comfortable with it. You have to realize that they don’t care what you’re doing and you don’t care what they’re doing,” senior Sierra Nordwald said.

Practices take place every day after school, with the exception of weekly morning practices. They are two hours long, and athletes do conditioning, drills, and mock wrestling matches with their teammates. 

“I lose 4 pounds of weight every single practice. That’s just how hard we work,” junior Olivia Adamson said.

Adamson is one of the three captains and Coach Adamson’s daughter. Growing up around the wrestling community, she had always been interested in the sport, but never had the opportunity to try it until now. 

“I feel very strongly about all the benefits and everything that (wrestling) can bring young adults, and I’m glad that it’s finally available to girls,” Coach Adamson said. “It really prepares you for life like no other sport does. There is nothing else that is this difficult from a physical and mental standpoint that teaches you to fight through adversity and be able to face difficult situations. It helps you for the rest of your life, you’re able to get back up after you’ve been knocked down.” 

Alongside Herrin and O. Adamson, Nordwald is another captain of the team. Like many of the team’s other new athletes, she plays rugby for the Lumberjacks in the fall season. The brutal contact sport has prepared her and other athletes to be mentally and physically tough for wrestling. Alongside Nordwald, sophomore Penny Dickinson is another rugby player trying her hand at wrestling. 

“I’ve always been a fan of contact sports, and I think having a sport where it’s solely based on you and your mental toughness, and not relying on anyone else is what sets the sport apart,” Dickinson said. 

Since girl’s wrestling is still on the rise, very few schools have teams for the girl’s program to compete with. As a result, there is lots of travel for the new team. Their first meet was in Pueblo, and their regional tournament is scheduled to be in Montrose, almost five hours away. The meets are also often in separate locations from the boys’ team, meaning that additional coaches had to be added to the program to ensure that all athletes were supported. However, Coach Adamson was able to take on supporting coaches, allowing the Conifer wrestling team to reap the benefits of a co-ed program. 

“It adds to the school and the community, having the diversity of girls and boys. It really shows me, and the other girls on the team, how strong we can be,” Dickinson said. “Everyone just wants to be there. Everyone tries their best and gives it their all. We’re all there to support each other and help each other. It’s honestly like a family. It’s a family, not a community.” 

And the family is only looking to grow. With 10 current athletes in the girls’ program, they are barely passing the quota for the number of required athletes to start a CHSAA wrestling team. As the program becomes more established, they hope to gain more women on the team. Athletic Director Horner aims to have around 16 girls on the team by next season. 

“The thing about this sport is it’s unique to every person so there’s not any barrier to entry. You don’t have to be tall like you are in basketball. You don’t have to be big like you are in football. Anyone can do it, any shape or size,” Coach Adamson said. 

Wrestling offers a strong opportunity to engage in a sport that pushes both physical and mental limits. It’s been shown to improve athletes’ balance, strength, reflexes, and agility, as well as confidence, resilience, and discipline. Finally, that opportunity can become a reality for women at Conifer. 

“It’s pretty empowering. It’s really nice to know our strengths and how far women can go. It’s just a really big step forward for female athletics and the importance of women in the athletic culture,” O. Adamson said.