• Wrestlers hoping for community support in the stands.
Last season, the first sanctioned campaign for girls wrestling in Wyoming, was a bit of a whirlwind at times. Not only did scheduling and tournaments get organized and take place, but they often did so while some teams were simply trying to fill out uniforms and teach the basics.
A year down the road, the experience of last year will be beneficial but the spirit of forging forward with the excitement of a new sport will still be high. For Star Valley, the Lady Braves handily won the state’s first team title and return nearly all of that team. In addition, more athletes have decided to come out and join the team and fill out their ranks, pushing the total up to an impressive 34 girls. Those girls will be hosting the school’s 1st Annual Lady Braves Brawl on Thursday afternoon in the main gymnasium of Star Valley High School.
“The team is progressing hugely,” stated head coach Kendell Foreman “Our numbers have grown. We have 11 new wrestlers so we have a very good looking team this year. Right now we’re at 34 overall. It’s pretty awesome. We have a lot of girls who are excited to be part of our championship team and help us go get another title.”
The team will have some who have been out on the mat for years and others that will be stepping out in front of a crowd for the first time on Thursday.
“We’d love it if the community would come out and support the girls and watch them and cheer them on,” Foreman added. “The amount of support that we can show them would be huge. About nine of them this will be the first time they’ve wrestled in front of anyone. We’d like them to feel the wrestling love. We’d like to get as many people as possible.”
The Lady Braves continue to lead the state pack in sheer numbers and as such, they are making strides in their own room including wrestle-offs for the first time.
“Wrestle-offs is a big moment between some of these girls to get their spots,” Foreman continued. “It’s hard to go against your teammate and again having that community support would help.”
While SVI Media will be providing a stream for convenience, much like many other events over the past decade of video coverage, the in-person support will make a big difference for those who are able to attend. The format of the tournament will be round-robin.
“We wants cousins, aunts and uncles, sister and friends; everybody,” Foreman exclaimed. “I think the tournament will run fairly quickly. To ask people to come out on a Thursday it will be a bit smaller. It will be round-robin instead of bracketed. We have some amazing trophies that the welding class has put together. Shawn Merritt helped coordinate and one of the wrestlers on the team helped design them so that will be neat. There’s a female wrestler icon in the trophy to make it our own.”
Teams that are scheduled to attend and compete include Green River, Kemmerer, Jackson and Evanston. The athletes will be competing at the following weights: 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 155, 170, 190, 235.
