VIDEO: Excitement Grows for Inaugural Girls Wrestling Team at Clarence
In their first full year as a team, Clarence High School’s girls wrestling team has embraced their chance to hit the mat and make the sport their own.
“Learning the sport, it's definitely a challenge. Every practice is grueling, but it is worth it,” said Heather Blatto, a senior on the team. “Wins, losses, your team is still there for you and it's really just a learning experience. And the more wins you get, the better it gets.”
The new team comes as more teams for girls have been formed across western New York, and New York plans to hold its first ever state championships for girls wrestling.
“Some of these girls are really scrappy and tough and they're fighters,” said Rodney Lorenz, the team’s head coach. “They work hard and battle hard and it's really fun to be a part of because they put everything out there and go all out.”
Keith Stoerr, boys wrestling coach and assistant for the new girls team, said that the boys team has had girls as members for a number of years. Last year, 13 girls were on the roster in the buildup for the official launch of the team, and wrestler Ryann Berner represented Clarence at the Statewide Girls Wrestling Invitational. In addition to growing participation in New York, the sport was growing for women at the collegiate and Olympic level.
“I could see the writing on the wall that this was coming,” he said.
Among those recruited for the team was Blatto, whose past experience with the sport was limited to a cousin who wrestled, and watching professional wrestling at home.
“I didn't do any sports, I didn't do any musical type things. So I was just like, ‘You know what? I'll try it. And if I hate it, I'll quit,’” Blatto said. “Ended up loving it.”
Junior co-captain Cael Vesper, whose late father Jon coached the boys wrestling team for more than a decade, said she was proud of herself and her fellow teammates who took the initial step of trying the sport. She and her teammates said the sport benefits from having a “close-knit” community.
“It’s such a scary experience to step into something you've never done before,” she said. “I'm really proud of everyone for building up the confidence to do that.”
Making up this year’s team are Coco Munther, Ashley Cox, Julia Lorenz, Elouise Shifflet, Sophia Sicignano, Heather Blatto, Cael Vesper, Anika Mattoon, Lilliana Lombardo, Na’Zarri Covington, Nathalia Emmendorfer, Ryann Berner, Alex Burger.
The biggest stylistic difference for girls wrestling is in its use of freestyle form, compared to folkstyle wrestling on the boys side. Among the major differences is the scoring of takedowns, with freestyle awarding points for the takedown action, while folkstyle requires the holding of a pin for a set period of time for scoring. Freestyle wrestlers are encouraged to embrace risk and initiate contact with their opponent.
“It’s been exciting, and yet extremely challenging,” said Lorenz, who wrestled in high school and has coached at the youth level. “It’s been a big learning curve to get everybody on the same page.”
Julia Lorenz, a sophomore co-captain for the team and Lorenz’s daughter, said the feeling of getting into a match was hard to describe.
“Everything goes quiet,” Julia said. “You're ready, you're nervous. You're just trying to remember everything that you've learned and just trying to do your best”
Beyond the team’s wins and successes, coaches said they hoped to share with their wrestlers the valuable lessons that the sport can teach.
“Wrestling is probably one of the toughest sports you can do because it challenges you emotionally, physically and mentally,” Lorenz said. “Whether you ever win a match or not, just being able to get through a wrestling season and be able to conquer the mental, physical and emotional battles that you face every day will make you a more successful person down the road.”
More information about the District's athletic programs can be found at https://www.clarenceschools.org/athletics.