Pioneers for Girls Wrestling
Girls wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports across the United States and the State of Iowa is at its forefront, debuting girls wrestling as the Iowa Girls High School Association’s 11th sanctioned sport during the 2022-2023 school year.
Visit school athletic schedules to find home tournaments. This winter, take time to cheer on these female wrestlers.
Iowa 2024 State Champion Olivia Huckfelt of Spencer
Olivia Huckfelt began wrestling at a young age. Yes, she was a girl but that didn’t stop her from competing against boys and pushing herself to be as tough as nails.
“My family got me interested in wrestling when I was four years old,” Olivia shared. “I loved how tough the sport was. When I was young, I wrestled boys, which made me even tougher mentally.”
Olivia has been a pioneer for girls wrestling in Iowa, making it to state all four years. On Feb. 2, 2024, the Spencer senior completed her high school wrestling campaign in Coralville with a 235-pound championship win over Iowa Valley’s Breanna Peach. Olivia went 45-0 on the year and finished with 121 career wins, all by fall. Her last, and only career loss, came in the state title match her freshman season.
“Being a pioneer for girls wrestling has been a great opportunity – one I never initially imagined or dreamed would happen,” she said. “Working to becoming a state champion wasn’t easy at all. It meant showing up and preparing every day, working hard until it was my time to shine.”
Olivia’s freshman year, she lost a big match in the state finals. It was devastating to her. “I knew I didn’t work as hard as I should have and I would fall short of my goal of becoming a four-time state champion,” she shared. “I had to quickly forget about that match, but it was always in my mind to help me work harder every day to make sure that didn’t happen again in high school.”
Excitement arose for the 2022-2023 season, when Iowa introduced girls wrestling as its 11th sanctioned sport. This drove Olivia to push harder and eventually would lead her to the 235-pound state title in both 2023 and 2024. She finished her high school career with a career record of 121-1, with 121 pins.
She strives to encourage younger female wrestlers, and she suggests giving the popular sport a try.
“Younger girls, you need to try it, try it for a week and I think you will fall in love with the sport of wrestling,” Olivia added. “You get to experience something incredible, and not only can you compete against amazing wrestlers, but you could also become that amazing wrestler.”
This year, Olivia is majoring in exercise science and competing for the University of Sioux Falls Cougars, both in girls wrestling and softball. Her goal for the upcoming wrestling season is to compete at 207 pounds.
“When I get there, my goal is to make it to the National Championships and hopefully have an incredible run at the title,” she exclaimed. “The team this year is going to be tough for sure. We had our first practice this fall, and our coach said we are way more advanced than he expected, and not only that, he’s excited to watch all of us compete at the collegiate level.”
Ironhawk Academy Owner and Collegiate Officiant
There are few people who are as passionate about wrestling than Larry Wajda. With over twenty years of wrestling experience, he’s been involved in all facets of the sport. He started wrestling in grade school in Council Bluffs, IA and continued his wrestling career at The University of Iowa. He had the privilege to work and train with prestigious wrestlers and coaches such as Tom Brands, Keith Massey and Jim Zalesky.
Larry has owned Ironhawk Wrestling Academy since January 2012, coaching hundreds of wrestlers from across the region and one of the first to open his mats up to females.
“Nine years ago, I had one female wrestler coming to workouts…and granted she terrified the boys because of her talent,” Larry shared. “Now, in my Sunday practices, I have 15 regulars, and they come from Graettinger, Emmetsburg, Sheldon, Alta, Spirit Lake, Spencer, Sibley, and each one has the same goals.”
Besides being a wrestling coach on the AAU circuit and the USA Deaf Wrestling Team, Larry has become a girls’ wrestling officiant at the collegiate and world level, officiating at University of Iowa women’s matches and has traveled to places around the world, including Croatia for the 2024 Beach World Series Finals, Fargo, ND and Alaska. In 2024, he was named the Iowa AAU Women’s Wrestling Contributor of the year.
“As an official, I had to adjust to how the physical body moves differently. Women are more ‘bendy’ and can endure certain moves that men would definitely become injured in. Men will not scream in pain, unless it truly is an injury (as a rule), but women don’t mind screaming a bit, or crying, but that does not mean an injury is occurring…just means it hurts and they can get through it,” Larry explained. “I have definitely blown a whistle too early on females, and they get up, look at me, like ‘why did you stop it? I’m fine.’ Usually, I just look confused and apologize. It has taken time to learn the best ways to officiate the difference between male and female.”
At Ironhawk, Larry has learned he needs to prepare his female wrestlers differently, if they want to compete at the collegiate level. The transition for men to college has no changes in skill sets, while women wrestle in a whole new style, freestyle wrestling. This is why he asks each wrestler their goals for the year and for the end of the high school season.
“For some, it is to just win more than they lose in high school. For others, it is to wrestle in college. The female athletes who want to wrestle farther, I cater their workouts and skills sets so it becomes an easier transition, such are more takedowns, more throws, more action,” he shared.
He also regularly brings in female mentors to talk and train with the girls, especially Ironhawk alum Katie Lange. She’s an NCAA champion, United State World Team member and is currently a contender for an Olympic spot at age twenty. Nina Markham has also played a significant role in encouraging area wrestlers.
“Her story is amazing! She’s also an NCAA Champion, an immigrant and a woman who had to wrestle the boys in Nigeria growing up,” Larry said.
Other visitors have been Alli St. John (Ragan), who is a former World Team member and now runs her own women’s wrestling team, as well as head coaches from Grand View, Buena Vista and Gary Mayaab, who is currently the assistant women’s coach from the University of Iowa.
“I am not a female and I will never pretend to assume it is the same. I choose to celebrate the differences and want them to see strong women who have walked in their shoes, had the same struggles, and have similar stories,” he explained.
He especially enjoys watching these wrestling pioneers battle. He said with boys or men, they tend to get irked when there’s a loss. Females are different. “They still will be frustrated in a loss, but I cannot begin to tell you how many women and even collegiate athletes after a match, will give their opponent a hug and tell them ‘That was a great move, could you show it to me later?’ or just say, ‘Wow, if you don’t win this tournament, someone has cheated!’ The level of sportsmanship is beyond measure.”
He added that with anything, some take it more seriously than others, “Overall, girls have an innate ability to be competitive but find joy at the same time. I wish I could do that, ha-ha!”
Okoboji Head Girls Wrestling Coach
Excitement arises whenever a new program is introduced, and area schools like Okoboji and Spirit Lake Park both started their girls wrestling programs in 2021-2022, a year before the state of Iowa sanctioned the sport. The schools had a handful of girls interested in wrestling and they created programs with support from their administrations and school boards.
“The main thing is providing opportunity,” shared Okoboji Head Girls Wrestling Coach Todd Gonnerman. “This is a very individual sport and helping them find their way and providing the opportunity to compete and learn the sport has been key.”
Todd said that preparation is a little different for each athlete, as some girls wrestle AAU, and others wrestle freestyle during the summer months. “The ‘in-season’ prep is much the same for all the athletes; in the off-season, it becomes a more personal choice,” he added.
A tough mentality plays a huge role in a wrestler’s success, and Todd said it’s best to be a little naughty mixed with a little nice - with aggression. “You ultimately are wanting your opponent to submit to your will,” he explained. “So, aggression, tenacity and mental toughness is good.”
Okoboji has been represented at the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union’s State Wrestling meet in both 2023 and 2024, with Avery Ballis and Amelia Sirrola. They also are proud of Alex Koep in furthering her wrestling career at Iowa Lakes Community College, who started last year and is looking forward to contributing to the Lakers team again this year.
“It's been a great to see something explode like this sport nationwide, as it provides something for young women that you can't necessarily get in other sports,” Todd said. “The support for the sport locally has been great and the numbers keep growing.”
Spirit Lake Park Wrestling and She Wrestles
Impulsively stepping out for Spirit Lake Park wrestling her eighth-grade year, Aroura Preston is now competing for the Buena Vista Beavers Women’s Wrestling program. Barely weighing eighty pounds, every time on the mat was a literal battle, since girls wrestling wasn’t sanctioned until her junior year, and she wrestled on the boys’ team.
“Opportunities were limited, and competition was scarce. The lowest weight class was 106, while I was only 83 pounds (I’m barely 90 now), but practicing with boys pushed me to my limits and made me a better wrestler,” Aroura shared. “Every day was a battle mentally and physically. All these things were hard, but I was determined to grow and be a better wrestler. The sport pushed me to work hard in areas on and off the mat; it got me in the gym and inspired me to excel in school. It pushed me as a person. The idea of becoming one percent better every day pushed me to keep going.”
When girls wrestling became a sanctioned sport in Iowa, opportunities arose for female wrestlers like Aroura. She gained teammates like Cassie McKeen, Joley Schmahl and Audrina Bennett. The following year Avery Beisell, Reece Logan and Rayvena Ussery became SLP wrestlers.
In mid to late October 2022, Cassie McKeen came home to tell her parents she was going out for wrestling. “She was a freshman, and we were surprised. It was news to us!” her father Chad McKeen remembered. “We asked when it started and what do you need? How did you decide this?”
Teammates Aroura and Jolie encouraged Cassie to try, and she wrestled in the first sanctioned tournament for Spirit Lake Park in Sioux Rapids. The gym was filled with excitement, as both beginners and experienced wrestlers competed on the mat.
“Fast forward two years later, Melissa and I’ve learned a lot and are still learning – it’s been a crazy intense emotional ride. Cassie had a great second year, going 2-2 at the Iowa State Tournament,” Chad shared. “There are great coaches in Iowa, helping lead the nation in a national top growing sport, with growing opportunities every day for high school and college girls.
In the 2024-2025 school year, the Iowa Girls Athletic Union has added two classes to girls wrestling, 1A and 2A, showing the ongoing growth of the program in the state.
Aroura’s mother Kerbee Polenychko joined the SLP girls wrestling staff in 2023 as a girls assistant coach and has enjoyed helping the girls grow and compete. “It’s been amazing in such a short time to experience where the sport has been and recognize the potential of where its going,” she said. “Seeing the girls build lasting friendships and a strong sense of teamwork for what is generally considered an individually based and traditionally male-dominated sport is truly inspiring. It’s not always about winning, it’s about personal growth, self-belief and breaking barriers. Being a witness to this transformational journey has been a privilege.”
Besides competing for SLP, in the offseason, the girls have found success under Ironhawk Wrestling Academy in AAU and USA Wrestling competitions. “Repetition is so important in every sport but especially in wrestling,” Aroura explained. “You do it repeatedly till you get it right then you do it again. My technique aids me in times my size does not. In addition, working in the offseason perfected my technique but also built my endurance and confidence on the mat.”
With the growing sport and the desire to help other female wrestlers in the region, Chad and Kerbee have co-founded a 501c3 non-profit, “She Wrestles.”
“The McKeen family and I have felt the struggle trying to find our girls opportunity and the truth is there is still work to be done. It’s not the girls; they are showing up and the numbers undeniably show you the participation rates won't slow down,” Kerbee shared.
The mission at “She Wrestles” is to build a supportive community, while providing new opportunities, and enhance accessibility to girls wrestling programs and competitions in Northwest Iowa. The organization desires to provide more local opportunities, while in the past, hours of driving took place. As the president and co-founder of “She Wrestles,” Kerbee 100% believes in the mission and the empowerment of girls wrestling.
“I want every girl to feel like she has a future in wrestling and the opportunity to continue wrestling, especially as she transitions from high school to higher education, if she so chooses,” she added.
Chad said the non-profit club will be for awareness, opportunity and for fund-raising, as well as help girls wrestlers with college recruitment, scholarships, clothing, etc. “It’s called ‘She Wrestles’ because we get asked all the time what’s your daughter(s) doing, well ‘She Wrestles,’” he said. “We are just starting, but we have a board and had a few smaller fundraisers, but looking forward to a successful Bingo night to help raise substantial funds to start achieving the goals we have set. Our girls deserve it!”
“Being a “pioneer” was difficult, but I would not be the wrestler I am today, and other female wrestlers would continue to lack opportunities,” Aroura said. “This community is full of amazing people who aim to grow themselves and others around them.”