Wrestle like a girl: 8th grader finishes 3rd in State Championship in first-year wrestling
DESHLER, Ala. (WHNT) — Havah Standridge’s first season wrestling was special not just because she was doing something new or because she finished third place, but also because she was the only female competing for Deshler High this year.
The 13-year-old from Tuscumbia, Alabama, recently wrapped up her rookie season with a third-place finish in the Alabama High School Athletic Association Girls state championship.
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She is a homeschooled 8th grader, but she competes at Deshler High School as a nontraditional student under the “Tim Tebow rule.”
In 2015, The Alabama House of Representatives passed a bill that allows homeschooled students to play on public school sports teams in which they are zoned for. The bill was named after the University of Florida Heisman Trophy winner and former homeschool student Tim Tebow.
Coach Noel Smith, who has volunteered as a Wrestling Coach at Deshler High School for the past 27 years, had high praise for Havah as a first-year wrestler.
“Havah is very gifted athletically. She picks up on the things we work on very quickly. And can adapt during the match according to what moves work or don’t work on a certain opponent… With wrestling, you need to have a certain level of toughness to have success. The best athlete does not always win. Havah is only in the 8th grade. I thought going in the junior and seniors would probably give us problems from that toughness stand point. But she was able to beat 2 seniors at the girls state tournament, and one of them twice.”
Coach Noel Smith
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Havah says accomplishing that third place finish didn’t come easy.
“That was an amazing experience. I worked my tail off this year to learn the sport. At times, I wanted to quit, but I’m not a quitter. Wrestling is a sport that requires a huge gas tank. When a match takes me into a 3rd period, I know I can’t just hope to have more energy than my opponent, so training is key,” Havah said.
Havah is the eldest of eight siblings – including seven brothers. She credits her siblings for helping her feel good taking on something new.
“It is possible; this is how I became comfortable taking on new challenges,” said Havah.
Havah got interested in wrestling almost two years ago when her mom met a lady on a playdate who told her about youth wrestling for one of her younger brothers. She would go on to attend most of the practices and wrestling tournaments.
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“I was surprised to see girls competing. I have never enjoyed living life as a spectator. I want to play, I want to compete,” she stated.
Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest-growing sports at the scholastic and collegiate levels. In 2022, the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) adopted women’s wrestling as the 28th championship sport. In the summer of 2023, The Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) Central Board voted to sanction girls wrestling (and girls’ flag football) as championship sports beginning with the 2024-25 and 2025-26 classification periods.
“This is great news for our girls’ student-athletes,” AHSAA Executive Director Alvin Briggs said. “The growth we have seen in both sports has been amazing in a very short time.”
Last year, 76 schools, including Deshler High, declared girls’ wrestling a sport for that upcoming school year.
“This sport has been so open,” Havah said. “For those amazing female trailblazers a few years ago, they had to wrestle the boys, they were pioneers and I’m so grateful for those ladies to make a way to have a female division. The girl wrestlers are so eager to grow the sport.”
“We are very happy that the state now recognizes girls wrestling, and they get an opportunity to compete. It’s growing all over the state,” Coach Noel Smith said.
Havah describes wrestling as fun and says it has taught her how to do hard things.
“It was hard walking into a wrestling room as the only girl, but I did it and kept doing it. I am not limited by other people’s expectations of me as a girl. I can do anything I set my mind to,” Havah said.
Havah finished this season 16- 4 in the 110-pound weight class, including ten wins via pin.
The best advice she said she has received when competing in a male-dominated sport is to, “keep your composure. Control the controllable. Also, in my experience, if you work hard with people, sweat with people, and show them you care, then you become part of a team no matter your gender.”
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