A Girls Wrestling Year To Remember

Wrestling can be defined as many things. However, for Oak Lawn Community High school, wrestling is defined as breaking records and transforming what was a male dominated sport into a female friendly sport. The 2023-2024 wrestling season has had the pleasure of having many female wrestlers, Junior Charvelle Mclain, Sophomore Rory Ali (me), Junior Zariah Evans, Sophomore Allison Nava, Junior Jaretzy Ramos, Freshmen Priscilla Ruiz, and Freshmen Eliana Caudillo. Charvelle Mclain, a first year wrestler, has broken OLCHS records in Girls Wrestling. Mclain was awarded the All-Conference title, a first place finish in Regionals, a second place finish in Sectionals, and a twelfth place finish in State. On top of these accomplishments, Mclain carries a tremendous record of 23 wins to 5 losses. When Mclain was asked, “What is a big part of why [she] made it this far” she answered, “The way my mind works and being able to push myself” If you are someone who has never wrestled, do not be afraid to join. All you need is the ability to push yourself. Mclain added, “You have to give it your all and once you win it’s definitely one of the best feelings in the world.” As a wrestler myself I believe the biggest part in gaining a win is mentality. This mentality includes believing in yourself and giving it your all. This mentality is learned not given. Mclain went on to receive the MVP athletic award for the 2023-2024 season despite this being her first year wrestling, showing that anything is possible when putting in the work. Aside from superstar Charvelle Mclain.., Zariah Evans, Rory Ali (me), Allison Nava, Jaretzy Ramos, Priscilla Ruiz, and Eliana Caudillo all experienced tremendous growth throughout the season. Each girl’s mat-sense drastically improved and so did their motivation and competitive spirit. Just in the 2021-2022 season the wrestling team held no female wrestlers and even in the 2023-2023 season their were only 2 female wrestlers on the team. The team itself has experienced phenomenal growth in accepting female wrestlers, which makes me proud to say I am a part of the OLCHS Girls Wrestling Team. To conclude this article, if you are a girl looking for the fastest growing sport in the female sport industry, join wrestling! Wrestling is a winter sport which starts in November and ends in February. For any more information on the OLCHS Girls Wrestling team contact Head Coach. David Early.