HS WRESTLING: Girls wrestling a growing sport in McAlester, Oklahoma
Dec. 3—The sweltering heat inside the upstairs practice room at Bob Brumley Gymnasium didn't slow down the action on the mat.
McAlester wrestlers were hard at work preparing for the opening of the 2022-2023 season, including many new female faces to the program.
Coach Kydel Billy said the program's number of female wrestlers at both the junior high and high school level have doubled just in the last year.
"Last year we had about eight from 7th through 12th grade. This year, we're at 16 right now," he said. "I'd like to see more girls (try out)."
Wrestling among girls in the state of Oklahoma has exploded in popularity in recent years, growing exponentially with each passing season. The Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association sanctioned a girls wrestling division in recent years, holding the state's first official state competition in 2021.
Billy recalled just a few years previously when McAlester had its first trailblazer, setting the path for others to soon follow in her wake.
"I love it. We had a girl a couple years ago when there was no girls division. She was wrestling boys and she was actually pinning boys," he said. "She had pinned a boy from Durant in a dual, and she was actually the first girl to score varsity points for McAlester."
He also pointed out the efforts of Emery Turner, who last season swept tournaments and was the first junior high girls wrestler to compete at the state competition in McAlester history.
And now, girls are walking up to coaches and asking to be a part of the team. Billy recalled one instance when he was approached by Addison Gibson, who showed an early fire and eagerness to be a Buff wrestler.
"She came to me in the hallway one day and was like 'hey, are you the wrestling coach...do you have girls wrestling?' I was like 'yeah,' and she said 'sign me up' and she just walked off," he laughed.
As the girls side of the program continues to grow, Billy said he hopes that more female wrestlers will follow suit in a couple of years. And he said his current group of wrestlers are continuing to set an example for future generations.
"I think it's great for little girls that want to wrestle. I'm fully invested, my Takedown Club is fully invested, my athletic department and (director James) Singleton are fully invested," Billy said. "We bought a full lineup of singlets and warmups for junior high and high school girls, and we don't have a full (girls) team yet. But if we do, nobody can say that we're not invested."
Contact Derek Hatridge at dhatridge@mcalesternews.com.
