Atholton girls wrestling had an incredible season wrapping up at the state tournament with junior Samantha Salazar finishing second in the 140 weight class for the second time in her two years wrestling. Wrestlers Juliana Oxenberg and Kailey Arredondo also won a couple matches at states but did not place.
Girls wrestling also reigned supreme at regionals taking home four first place finishes and one third place finish out of the six girls sent. Juliana Oxenberg (9-1) and Samantha Salazar (13-4) became 3x and 2x regional champions respectively.
First year wrestlers Kailey Arredondo (14-5) and Naima Harvey Bowen (2-4) also became first time regional champs. Along with a third place finish from Yennah Cho (1-7), Atholton has 5 girls wrestlers qualified for the state tournament which took place from 2/29 to 3/2.
“This is really significant,” said coach Billups. “They have all worked hard this whole season and some have shown a lot of leadership like Jules and Sam who have both won regionals multiple years in a row now. They put in work inside the room and out of it.”
Going from two in 2021 to currently having seven in 2023, Atholton girls wrestling is taking leaps to having their own team like many other schools in the country.
Women have always been allowed to join wrestling, but it didn’t pick up in popularity until recently but now almost all schools in Howard county now have female wrestlers. How the wrestling format works is each school has a junior varsity (JV) and varsity team.
The best wrestler from every weight class goes to varsity while JV is the second best wrestler in every weight class. This makes wrestling an even more competitive environment because wrestlers are practicing everyday with people who they are competing with for a varsity spot.
This also makes it harder for girls wrestlers due to the strength difference in women vs men. Junior girls wrestler Samantha Salazar (13-4) said, “Being at 140 lbs, there are not a lot of girls who are at 140, so my drill partners are males and that’s just how it is.”
She also stated that she prefers wrestling against males because it makes her a better wrestler and when beating them it “makes you feel like more of a bada** because you’re the only girl and it’s not a very well known sport for females.”
Coach Billups stresses the importance of having women in the sport, saying, “I think it not just grows the sport, girls need an outlet that wrestling does a very good job of filling. It’s a very physical sport but it helps build that self esteem, self confidence and accountability.”
In the United States there are 42 states with girls wrestling, but it is currently one co-ed program at Atholton with seven female wrestlers and 45 wrestlers in total. A separate girls team has “always been the goal,” said Billups.
“We have seven girls now and the county is looking to build a coaching spot specifically for girls wrestling, so I would say there should be, in about three years, an all girls wrestling team for Howard County.”
In 2021, the only girls wrestlers at Atholton were Juliana Oxenberg who was a freshman at the time and junior Liliana Giraurd. Oxenberg was introduced to wrestling by Mrs. Fiddler as a way to condition for lacrosse season in the spring but it overcame lacrosse as her favorite sport. She stated, “it is not like other teams where there’s drama. Everyone is really close.”
Because wrestling is a contact sport, many people believe that it’s weird for men and women to wrestle each other but most wrestlers would disagree. Senior wrestler Malachi Johnson (30-8) said, “I don’t really care; I’ll wrestle anyone.”
Oxenberg ( 9-1) agreed stating that “when I was a freshman it was a little weird but now it’s not because I’m used to it…I like wrestling guys more because when you beat guys it’s more rewarding because they are always more upset because they lost to a girl.”
Wrestling is a fast growing environment for women. Atholton freshman wrestler Kailey Arredondo (14-5) stated that the team is “like a family” as well as saying that she looks up to her other female teammates such as Oxenberg.
Oxenberg said, “I’ve met a lot more people that I wouldn’t have if I wasn’t on the team and overall it has increased my leadership skills.”