In the 2022-2023 school year, West High School had its first official girl’s wrestling team. This year is a little different. Not only has the team evolved from a team of nine West High students, but the merging of East and West has grown the team more than ever.
Reagan Westphal started wrestling last year when a bet was made between her and Kennedee Dunning, the bet being that Dunning had to buy a yearbook and Westphal would go out for wrestling. There Westphal’s love for the sport came shortly after. Westphal’s inspiration when it comes to wrestling is from all the girls who have always wanted to wrestle but were told that it was a boy sport.
Westphal’s feelings about merging the teams are positive. “Both teams have so many great girls with amazing talent and skill. The team is going to be full of state qualifiers and hopefully some state placers,” she says. When it comes to the coaching staff she exclaims that West already has amazing coaches but bringing in coaching from East will develop the team more and better prepare all for the upcoming season. “I think that for the future of Waterloo girls wrestling is going to take Waterloo by storm,” says Westphal. She sees the Waterloo Girls Wrestling team becoming unstoppable. She hopes that more girls come out for wrestling and hopes to qualify for state and possibly place “I can’t make that happen without my coaches and teammates so when it comes to wrestling, I owe everything to them.”
Kennedee Dunning a junior at West High has been wrestling for three years. Dunning believes combining will benefit both teams for the upcoming competition. “It will take some time to get used to, but nothing I don’t think we can all handle. Getting to know people from East and creating a team will make us closer and get along more,” said Dunning. For the future of East and West and girls’ wrestling, Dunning stated “It shows that even though we are from different schools, we can still show up as a team and represent Waterloo as a whole.”
Dan Dunning has been coaching girls wrestling at West for the past three years. His main reason for becoming the girl’s wrestling coach was, “my daughter leaping into the world of wrestling.” He believes the merging of East and West is a great idea and it will feel better as it will be a full team well other teams are still being built. “Schools combined, there would be more girls in the wrestling room which creates more competition and a better training atmosphere to become better and build Waterloo women’s wrestling program,” said Dan Dunning.
Girls wrestling is a growing sport one which is growing faster than expected, as more girls join they are going to start at a younger age, which will improve competition making better wrestlers for the future.
Josef Kadlec an English teacher at West, has coached girls wrestling for the past two seasons he previously coached the JV boys. Kadlec started coaching girls wrestling because he had already established a core group of 3-4 who had already been wrestling for a couple of years.
Another drive was his daughters. As girls’ wrestling is a growing sport nationwide, he wanted them to have the opportunity to wrestle in a program that is established and thriving. Kadlec stated “I believe that it is immensely beneficial for the girls at both schools. Bringing the girls from East into the room allows everyone to compete together.”
Girls from both schools have been cheering each other on and now the opportunity to compete together, which strengthens multiple aspects of the team. Kadlec says “The numbers breed competitiveness and help the team to stay sharp throughout the season without getting complacent.”
The merging of West and East girls wrestling is going to be an adjustment but with the possibility of combining the schools in four years is just the start. With the upcoming season right around the corner, Waterloo will be able to see what the merging of the talent is going to do for the whole of Waterloo girls’ wrestling.
