Female wrestlers hit the mat in numbers

Sweat soaks the mat as two wrestlers lock together in combat. Determination is etched in both faces, painting an epic scene of their struggle, at the mercy of the striped judgment of the referee, but lacking in mercy for each other. On the mat, all bets are off. The best of friends are now the worst of enemies and the only thing that matters is victory. One of the girls claims victory over the other with other with one mighty move. Oh, you thought they were guys?

This year, seven female wrestlers have joined the ranks of Wenatchee High School’s wrestling team and they refuse to let gender be a factor in their sport.

“Just because you’re a female doesn’t mean you can or can’t do a sport. Whatever you put your mind to, that’s what can do,” senior Iesha Reyes said. “Your sex doesn’t define what you can do.”

This is the first year Reyes has wrestled.

“I heard that they needed girl wrestlers and it’s my senior year so I said ‘why not?’ ” Reyes said. “Even if it wasn’t my senior year, it’s a challenge and I like challenging… I used to train with my dad, I never did any MMA fighting but I did some training. ”

Like the women of ancient Sparta, the girls on the team train with the same intensity as the boys. According to assistant coach Dustin Fisher, the only thing that’s different about a female wrestler from a male wrestler is her gender.

“The sport’s evolving,” Fisher said. “I’ve been around this sport for nearly 25 years. There’s always been female wrestlers, the numbers have increased drastically in this state, and it adds diversity to the program… They run with this, they drill with us, they do nothing different except that we open up a different locker room every night.”

There are 49 wrestlers on the team this year, meaning that a seventh of the team is comprised of female competitors. According to head wrestling coach Ed Valdez, the girls went 6-0 in their first meet against Eisenhower.

“I’ve won three of my five matches this year so I’m pretty happy about that,” senior Melody Lucero said. “A challenge is staying alive during practice and going up against new people. You never know what you’re going up against… Once you’re on that mat it’s crazy.”

So far, Lucero has only wrestled female wrestlers but hopes to wrestle against them.

“[Beating a guy] would feel amazing,” Lucero said. “I don’t consider it a male sport. Mostly guys do it, but I’m doing it and I’m doing pretty well. It could be a wake-up call, saying, “Hey we can do this. It’s not just for guys.’”