Inside the Huddle: Women wrestlers rumble under new classifications

{Contributed Photo: Lexington’s Marie Mccauly (bottom) attempts to take Statesville wrester to the mat}

There is a newly sanctioned sport for North Carolina high schools: women's wrestling. It has been a growing sport the past few years but finally is recognized by the state as its own sport. 2023-24 is the first season it has been sanctioned by the NCHSAA.

Last year, during the 2022-23 season, girls were allowed to wrestle on the men's team. There was a young lady from Lexington Senior High School who made all-conference on the men's team. Marie Macauly was the first woman to make all conference in wrestling for the Central Carolina Conference. She had seven wins and seven losses for the season, which is outstanding, wrestling against guys. This season, wrestling in the women's division, she is undefeated so far.

Michael McCay, the men's coach, said, “Marie Mccauly and Paige Lopp are the strong parts of our lineup. They were managers two years ago and decided to take up wrestling. They have been the driving force for our team the past two years.” Jeska Luna, a freshman, has been wrestling since third grade. Her two older brothers wrestled at Lexington, and her sister was a manager for four years, so wrestling is a family sport.

Lexington is fortunate to have the funding for both men's and women's wrestling. Sometimes it takes several years for a new sport to get put in the budget. But now, Coach McCay is the men's coach and Coach Waycaster is the women's coach.

When asked what he thought about the future of women's wrestling, McCay responded, “State wide we have seen a lot of growth. There are even several nearby schools who have girls ranked nationally in women's wrestling. As teams across the state start growing, women's teams will have a national showing.”

McCay also said, “Wrestling is a great sport. It teaches you self-control, discipline and how to handle adversity. You can have team success and individual success, so you could have the best of both worlds. I think more young men and women are missing a great chance by not giving wrestling a try. Not everyone is going to be a football, volleyball, basketball, baseball, or softball star.”

The outlook for women's wrestling appears bright. Without a doubt, there will be great news of women's wrestling for years to come. It looks like the ladies are ready to rumble.