Girls’ Wrestling Makes History

Once a burgeoning sport, varsity girls’ wrestling is now among the state’s elite after finishing its first sanctioned IHSAA season.
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Rochester’s Makenna McKee (left) hand fights with Alia Russell of Franklin Central.

Photos by Clay Maxfield

ON THE BIGGEST stage, against the best wrestlers in the state of Indiana, Northfield High School’s Ella Gahl has been here before. Almost 365 days ago, to be exact. The only difference this year was the lights seemed to shine a little brighter and the gleam of her medal was a bit different from previous years.

In the spring of 2024, the IHSAA officially approved girls’ wrestling as a sanctioned sport, paving the way for high school female wrestlers to take part in the state tournament that offers sectional, regional, and final brackets of the state tournament.

Gahl, a 2022 state champion and four-time qualifier, reflected on the impact of wrestling on her life. “Hard work pays off,” Gahl says. “The younger version of me would have never expected to have even made it to state, let alone do as well as I have in my high school career. Wrestling has changed my life not only in the physical sense, but mentally it’s been the biggest thing to change me.”

Before this year, girls’ wrestling operated as an unsanctioned sport, with state wrestling tournaments beginning in 2017, and gave female wrestlers a chance to showcase their talents.

Now with the first-ever state tournament in the books, IHSAA commissioner Paul Neidig believes girls’ wrestling will only continue to ascend. “The competition will get better, more girls will continue to go out for the sport, and I really think that it’s on its way to becoming one of the premier sports in the state,” he says.

Wheeler’s Avionah Widner (left) brings down Aries Day of Clinton Prairie (right).

Photos by Clay Maxfield

Throughout the 2024 season, more than 2,000 Indiana high school girls participated in wrestling, with 256 schools and 1,145 wrestlers taking part in the IHSAA state tournament in January.

And while some continue to acclimate themselves to a sport that had once been headlined by boys, others are making a name for themselves among the boys.

At the beginning of the season, New Haven High School senior Julianna Ocampo chose to wrestle in the boys division during her varsity season, and with less than a week remaining until the postseason, she currently sits at No. 1 overall in the 106 lb. weight class with a record of 38-0.

For Ocampo, the decision to wrestle with the boys came down to the need to improve. “I couldn’t find the competition to push myself to become a better wrestler. I feel like if I want to do something that I love and improve on it, I would have to wrestle others and make sure I lose. I don’t like to lose but I sometimes need to get my butt kicked and figure out the holes that I need to fill,” she says.

Dominance has been widespread throughout the Ocampo family. Julianna placed sixth in boys’ state tournament last season, while her younger sister Ysabelle, a sophomore, placed first in the 115 lb. weight class at state. A third sister, Lanessa, finished fifth in the 130 lb. weight class as a freshman.

Lindsey Pugh of North Miami (top) wrestles against Paige Stires of Lapel High School (bottom).

Photos by Clay Maxfield

Whether the participants are inspiring others through dominance or leadership, girls’ wrestling has allowed many athletes to play a role in up-and-coming wrestlers’ development as they look to achieve future greatness on the mat.

In the case of Rossville freshman Mimi Nicolas, who finished as the state runner-up in the 115 lb. weight class, she will use the next three years to uplift and bring along as many female wrestlers as she can.

“Since I’ve gotten more into it, I’m going to start helping and coaching the younger girls,” Nicolas says. “Giving them the experience and confidence that I’ve had. For example, this weekend when I wrestled, I was telling one of the girls that they were going to be where I was when they get to high school. I just want to boost their confidence and let them know they can do anything.”