Once considered a male-only sport, women’s wrestling has quickly become the nation’s fastest-growing high school and collegiate sport.

When Tehani Soares was in high school, she decided to join the boys’ wrestling team. That decision raised a few eyebrows. She said she quickly discovered that battling stereotypes can be as challenging as opponents on the mat.

“There’s a lot of stigma that comes into play,” she said. “Boys can only do this, and girls can only do that. It was a little difficult at first because I was the only girl coming out and trying to show out for everyone.”

Now a senior on the women’s wrestling team at the Indiana Institute of Technology in Fort Wayne, Soares said she doesn’t feel nearly as alone. 

She has 50 teammates at Indiana Tech, and there’s a surging stream of recruits coming up through the high school ranks.

The number of high school girls wrestling quintupled over the last decade, growing to more than 50,000 girls representing 6,500 schools in 2023, according to the latest data from the National Federation of State High School Associations. Forty five state athletic associations now sanction the sport with its own season and state championship series.

At the collegiate level, nearly 150 schools now field women’s wrestling teams. 

The NAIA recognized women’s wrestling as a national championship sport in 2023. The NCAA announced last month that it will do the same beginning in 2026. 

Indiana is among the five states yet to sanction high school girls’ wrestling, with a decision expected this year on whether to elevate it from “emerging sport” status. 

The delay, however, has not deterred the state’s coaches association from running its own season and state championship or from Indiana girls making names for themselves on the national scene. Of the 2021 U.S. Women’s Olympic Team, two of the six team members hailed from Indiana.

Soares teammate at Indiana Tech, Andrea Hernandez, said sanctioning the sport in Indiana, as well as in all states, is incredibly important in order to give girls the opportunity they are waiting for.

High school girls in unsanctioned states, more often than not, are left with no other choice than to wrestle with the boys.

“I know a lot of females who want to wrestle, but they are too scared to compete with guys. They just want that separation,” Hernandez said. “Learning about Sarah Hildebrant, Kayla Miracle, those women came out of Indiana. I feel like that alone shows that if we have women from the state who can go compete at an Olympic level, why would we not sanction it?”

Paul Rademacher, the head women’s wrestling coach at Indiana Tech, said the main argument against sanctioning girls’ wrestling at the high school level is athletes who still want to compete against boys.

“There are some people that … still want to compete against the boys because they feel like it’s better competition,” Rademacher said.

Rademacher said competing against boys may be better for a particular athlete, but sanctioning the sport and separating the divisions is better for the growth of the sport as a whole.

Cody Younce, the head wrestling coach at Eastbrook High School, said there has been a spike in the number of girls who wrestle in Grant County, with four out of the five high schools having girls on their boys’ wrestling teams.

“It’s crucial to get programs up and running as early as possible so that the girls don’t find themselves behind the rest of the state and country,” Younce said. “It’s very hard to play catch-up in the sport of wrestling.”

Neither of the two colleges in Grant County have men’s or women’s wrestling teams. Younce said it would be nice to see local colleges start programs.

“When high school girls see there are opportunities beyond just high school, they tend to strive for the chance to compete at higher levels,” Younce said. “It will help to further boost numbers of athletes at the high school level.”

Thad Tyra, the head girls’ wrestling coach at Kokomo High School, said that the strongest argument for further growing the sport is what it does for the self-esteem and confidence that it provides young women.

“You’re doing something that guys have done for so many years,” Tyra said. “Whether you win or not, anytime somebody steps on a wrestling mat, that’s a huge undertaking.”

That sentiment is shared by Lee Miracle, women’s head coach at Campbellsville University and father of Olympian Kayla Miracle.

“Every hurdle that you overcome and everything that you do in the sport is going to just make you a little better,” Miracle said. “Setting goals and working towards goals, and learning how to fail and learning how to succeed … all of that makes you a better person, and it’s going to make you more likely to succeed at whatever it is that you do in your life. It’s just day in and day out, doing it over and over and over.”

Eastbrook’s Younce said the traits wrestling instills correlate to leadership and the work environment because of its intense focus on self-discipline. Though wrestling is considered an individual sport, bonding is found in hard work and the sacrifices that teammates make.

“Everyone must help push one another to bring out the best in themselves and the team,” Younce said. “To be a successful wrestler, you must do things right even when no one is paying attention.” 

Hernandez said wrestling has helped her stay on a good path.

“Everyone pushes you to be your best,” Hernandez said. “If you’re surrounded by the right people and you surround yourself with greatness, you can be great.”

Carley Anderson, a wrestler at Indiana Tech, said she loves seeing the growth of girls’ wrestling.

“Obviously, you have the guys that don’t like it and say that women shouldn’t do it, so I like to see that there is a lot of growth within this sport,” Anderson said. “Knowing that it used to be a male-dominated sport … now it is growing into women dominating it as well.”

Deb Geyer, the executive director of The Quilters Hall of Fame, said it is special that The Quilters Hall of Fame can be in a location affected by the total solar eclipse.

“The reason we decided to challenge quilters is because quilters are so creative,” Geyer said. “They all come at what they are creating from a different place and they have different perspectives.”

Geyer said she received 17 submissions from quilters across the United States.

“We put out the call on social media, and also some of the other organizations that are nationwide picked up on it,” Geyer said. “Word of mouth got it around, too.”

Makenna Metzcar, a student at Indiana Wesleyan University and an attendee at the exhibit, said her favorite quilt from the challenge was “Moonshadow, Moonshadow.”

“It had a country house with half in light, half in dark,” Metzcar said. “It was a really nice representation of hopefully what we get to see here.”

Geyer said The Quilters Hall of Fame had two jurists decide how many submissions would be accepted into the exhibit, and a certified judge ranked the submissions.

“After we knew what was going to be in the show … we hired a certified judge to come in and give first, second and third place, and two honorable mentions,” Geyer said. 

Debi Shepler, the president of the board at The Quilters Hall of Fame, said the quilt exhibit portrays the solar eclipse in a lot of interesting aspects.

“Some are based on scientific facts, some are very whimsical and cute and some are folklore,” Shepler said. “If people come and see it, they are going to see a lot more than just quilts.”

Metzcar said the exhibit is a reminder that Marion has a lot to offer.

“In the broader scope of it … it is bringing awareness to the area,” Metzcar said. “As far as community goes, it is a reminder that there is still stuff here … there is a community here that you can be a part of.”

Geyer said she is expecting Marion to be full of visitors traveling to see the eclipse, and The Quilters Hall of Fame will remain open.

“We are hoping that we can be good hostesses for them, and we wanted something special to show them,” Geyer said.

Many people will be traveling to Marion for the eclipse, and Metzcar said she hopes they might see how much the city has to offer.

“It is bringing awareness to the area,” Metzcar said. 

Geyer said the Quilters Hall of Fame exhibit was a huge success.

“We had such a variety of submissions, and we are thrilled with the show as it is,” Geyer said.

Shepler said the solar eclipse will be memorable and exciting for Marion.

“To recognize an event that is completely out of our control … it brings the community together when you have these activities,” Shepler said. “Even for the sake of history, it will make things more memorable.”

Audra Hicks, the coordinator of the event and a staff member at Fiberhawk, said the Easter egg hunt focused on bringing local businesses together to donate and give back to the community.

“When I started this, I tried to get the local businesses to donate … to give the kids the bigger prizes,” Hicks said. “It’s all for the kids.”

Hicks said she is grateful for the donations and the ability to continue the annual Easter egg hunt.

“The Swayzee Women’s Auxiliary decided about six years ago … they were done,” Hicks said. “My kids went to it when they were young, and I wanted my grandkids to continue, so the owner was gracious enough to allow me to take it over.”

Laura Marine, the pastor at Herbst UMC, said Hicks reached out to her in hopes that the church would host the Easter egg hunt. 

“She grew up in this church, and they were looking for a new venue that would have some indoor space just in case the weather would change,” Marine said. “It worked out pretty well.”

Marine said the event allowed the community to come together in fellowship.

“A lot of times, there are no other places where families can take their children to even meet other kids, especially if they are not school-aged yet,” Marine said. “It is important that the smaller ones get used to being around other children.”

Rachel Bright, an attendee at the Easter egg hunt, said her favorite part of the event was being outside and seeing the kids collect baskets full of Easter eggs.

“It is great to have something like this in our small communities,” Bright said.

Marine said the Easter egg hunt was a great event for all of the families in the nearby communities, and the church plans on hosting it again next year.

“We are looking for ways that we can partner with other organizations to serve our community,” Marine said.

Hicks said the Easter egg hunt had the largest turnout this year due to the generous amount of donations from local businesses.

“It is important to get the businesses out there and get them together to show the community that we are there for them,” Hicks said. “We are giving back to the community.”

Held from noon to 4 p.m., local vendors and community members can set up booths and sell their crafts, baked goods, and other merchandise to the public.

“It’s something for people in Marion to participate in, have something to do, and look forward to some shopping,” Brian Conwell, co-owner of Ashley’s, said. “It’s a neat little thing for other people’s projects… and they come and sell it in Ashley’s.”

Not only will community members be able to shop around at various booths, but they can also indulge themselves in a fresh donut, scoop of ice cream, or cup of coffee. 

The market provides a warm environment for locals and visitors to gather, shop, and enjoy a variety of sweet treats.  

In addition, the cafe carries a wide assortment of puzzles and board games from Jigsaw Junction.

“I like looking at the board games and doing puzzles while we get ice cream or coffee for the kids,” Derek Fields, an attendee visiting Ashley’s with his family, said. 

The last day of the event is scheduled for March 30, but Ashley’s will continue to operate on their usual hours. 

“People should come because it’s very fun and it can bring people together,” Danny Cowgill, a barista at Ashley’s, said. The Downtown Marion Winter Market gives citizens the ability to support local businesses and community members alike all in one place.

 Due to the inclement weather on Jan. 20, the event did not receive a large turnout.

“Some people probably did not want to venture out into the weather,” Conwell said.

Many opportunities to attend the Downtown Marion Winter Market remain, and the previous weekends were a success.

“There are other times I’ve had a whole bunch of people come in; they’re happy that they’re here,” Conwell said.