The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

For the first time in Wahkiakum High School’s history, enough girls have turned out to make up their own wrestling team.

Wrestling, traditionally thought to be a sport which allows a man to measure his physical strength against another’s, is so much more.

It requires a competitor to stand alone, completely present and completely honest about one’s strengths and weaknesses. It requires concentration, determination, physical and mental flexibility, toughness, and a strategic mindset.

This begs the question, why just for the boys? Everyday, women must meet many of the same challenges as the men around them, providing for themselves, their families, navigating life. Wrestling is one more solid avenue to give young women the tools to meet those challenges confidently and just one more way for girls to define their own femininity without taking away from it.

Crystal Davis, the volunteer coach for Wahkiakum girls wrestling team and a 1998 graduate of Wahkiakum High School, was the first girl in school history to show up for the sport, and despite constant opposition from coaches and teammates, she stayed.

It’s sixteen years later and five young ladies, all very much with their own personalities and their own reasons have turned out.

Mica Kincade is a freshman. She has been wrestling for years and loves the sport. Eventually she hopes to study writing and art at Southern Oregon Universtiy in Ashland and compete in their wrestling program. She’s active, smart and well spoken and her hair changes colors and styles quicker than the seasons. “I thought, the cat’s in the bag, this is easy,” she said. “But practices can be hard and I realize how lazy I am in my heart. Truth is I wanted to support the team and I wanted a singlet.”

“One of my favorite things about wrestling,” Mica said later, “is that it is one of the most emotional sports I’ve come across. It’s amazing how violent you can be a moment before and then suddenly, you’re hugging your opponent or crying.”

Anna Kuhn is a freshman too. Her hair is green right now and her eyes are large and blue and she’s probably the most delicate of the bunch. But don’t let that fool you. She’s got her reasons and her reasons are grand. “I have a lot of aggression in me,” she grinned. “It’s a great outlet and I like it. And even though I’m pretty quiet, it’s been nice to make friends at meets.”

Rayanna Carlon is a sophomore and new to the community. She’s athletic and driven and ready to prove herself however she can. Wrestling has given her confidence and made her more comfortable in her own body. “I heard wrestling is the hardest sport known to man,” she said. “I’m up for it.”

Tarah Wisner is a sophomore. She’s smart, funny and willing to laugh at herself. At a young age, she has shown poise, as well as a confidence and willingness to try new things. She’s an artist and an all around go getter and this summer she even took a turn as a fair princess. “I was the manager and statistician for the team last year. The boys make it look so easy and I found out it wasn’t.”

“You work hard,” Davis said. “I’m glad you turned out.”

Trynity Mendez is a sophomore and the coach’s daughter. She’s been wrestling for as long as she can remember, in a family that wrestles. Last year as a freshman, she was the lone female competitor for the Mule team. This year, she has matured into the team’s quiet leader, whether she knows it or not.

“Having girls on the team is better, because now I have them to practice with instead of the boys,” Trynity said. “Because of their upper arm strength, boys wrestle different than girls.”

Since ultimately it’s the girls she will be competing with at State, it’s good to practice the different style. Unlike some of the girls on the team she is allowed to wrestle the boys, and that doesn’t hurt her chances either.

To be fair, some of the boys aren’t allowed to wrestle with the girls either. Either way, they all practice together.

The girls have their thoughts on all that, and a lot of compassion.

“It’s really more intimidating than awkward,” Rayanna said, “wrestling boys.”

“When guys wrestle girls it’s not just a match,” Mica said, “their pride is on the line. Sometimes you can try and understand why they are being dominating, but sometimes they go too far.”

“I feel bad because sometimes it’s humiliating for the boys,” Tarah said and the girls agreed, imagining the boys having to turn back to their team, their coach, the men in their family.

“Sometimes the moms are the worst,” Trynity said. They all laughed.

“At the Mark Morris meet, this guy took down this girl and let her up over and over and over again,” Trynity said, switching gears a little. “That is really bad sportsmanship.”

Davis agreed.

“He humiliated her,” Rayanna interjected. “He could have pinned her, but he didn’t.”

“He was trying to prove a point, that wrestling isn’t a girls’ sport,” Trynity said.

It doesn’t matter, they are there for their own reasons, and it’s enough to stay.

It’s still early in the season and the coaches have been working on building up stamina and energy. Three of the girls are new to the sport and Davis has been going over the basics with them. Eventually they will focus on other things and spend some time in the weight room. And as wrestlers get stronger throughout the season, the practices get harder.

“It’s nice to have a team because each one of these girls pushes each other,” Davis said. “Sometimes I have to get on them, but they are quickly back to pushing each other.”

They talked about their love hate relationship with their new singlets designed for the female form. They talked about losing weight, gaining weight, six packs, two packs and the uselessness of mascara in a sweaty environment. They laughed about who has hurt whom.

They also laughed about the boy who changed into his singlet in the high school stands.

“Did he not know there was a locker room?” Tarah asked incredulously.

Davis laughed and pointed out that this just proof that the sport was changing and that some of the men needed time to catch up.

“Wrestling has evolved a lot,” Trynity pointed out. “They didn’t have State when mom was wrestling.”

“My dad wrestled in high school,” Tarah said. “When I wanted to turn out, it wasn’t okay. He didn’t even know that girls teams existed. He’s slowly warming up.”

Trynity talked about wrestling a tall skinny boy and later a girl who was wider and shorter.

“It takes adjustments but you have to play to your strength,” Trynity said. “You have to be committed or you won’t get better and you won’t succeed. I like just having to rely on myself. If I lose, I know it’s my fault. If I win, I know I did something right.”

“You have to have the right mindset for it,” Rayanna added.

“I like wrestling,” Anna said. “You win for yourself. If you lose in basketball, people hound you.”

“And when you win,” Trynity added, “it feels good. It gives you a rush that you want to feel again and again.”

“It becomes a lifestyle,” Davis said, agreeing with her daughter. “It becomes an addiction.”

“An addiction for families,” Rayanna added.

As for this group, the coach has high expectations and she’s thrilled to have all five of them on the team. She expects they will all be back next year, hopefully with more recruits.

“I believe that if you keep pushing yourselves,” Davis said, “that all you girls will make it to State one of these years.”

“I’m hoping this year, because my weight class is so small,” Tarah said, going for the laugh. They all giggled.

“She has a really great attitude,” Trynity said of Tarah, obviously proud of her teammate.

The girls travel to Forks this week for an all-girls wrestling match and after that the girls will attend an all-girls two day tournament in Kelso, where they may see as many as 400 other wrestlers.