SLINGER, Wis. — For the first time ever, Slinger High School has a full girls wrestling team, hitting the mat for their second week of practice this week.
The girls' first meet is Dec. 3 at Slinger High School at 6 p.m. They'll face off against Hartford's team on Dec. 11, another Washington County community with a prominent female wrestling team.
Sophomore Brianna Gehring wanted to wrestle since she was little, watching her brother and cousins on the mat.
"I've always loved it," she said. "At a young age, I was always like, 'Mom, can I go join wrestling? It looks super fun.'... And then she'd say no."
She persisted, joining the boys' team in 6th grade.
"Now it's all girls," she said. "I get to be there for my girls and not just the guys."
It's Tatiana Campos' third year on the mat, but first year with a girls' team after she, Gehring, and their coach Carlo Davila recruited 13 other girls.
She and Gehring are thankful for the boys but ready to be on their own team. The two girls are sophomores.
"We didn't connect with them," Campos said. "We always went into our little corner, only talked to each other, and now we have a full group of girls, and we all really bond together."
Campos said wrestling is about more than just taking down an opponent.
"I like the intensity and how you really have to put in hard work to see a better outcome," she said. "You really have to push yourself."
Coach Davila said the Slinger wrestling community built the right foundation to support a girls' team.
"It's great to be on the forefront, historically," he said. "These girls are someday going to be walking around saying I was part of the first girls' high school wrestling team."
He said society has changed over the years, with women's athletics gaining prominence and parents wanting to push their children to succeed, regardless of their gender.
"My goal is for them to learn," Davila said. "For us to bond as a team and to make sure that these girls are seen and heard through this community, so that they inspire the next generation of those girls coming up. That is my true goal."
"This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy."
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
