Written by: Cynthia Elliott
Salem Middle School is one of many in the area seeing an increase in female wrestlers. According to USA Wrestling, women's wrestling had record-high participation in the last year.
Locally, sixth grader Andee Steepleton was one of three on this year’s team. She is part of the movement of a young generation of women in the sport.
Steepleton has been wrestling for eight years and has had many accomplishments already. With wrestling running in her family, she has many more years of competition ahead of her. She is one of four children in her family and all three of her other siblings wrestle as well: older brother Brayden Walters, who has set many records at the high school level; sister Harley Walters-Steepleton (who is a former wrestler) and younger brother Joe Steepleton.
Steepleton placed second in the 100-pound weight class for a state championship win.
¨Something I can be proud of is I can beat boys and I get a lot of podium finishes,” she said.
Sometimes, the motivation is low to keep going when so few girls wrestle. However, Steepleton doesn't let that get her down.
“To all the girls out there, you're not weak and don´t let the boys change your mind on how you wrestle,¨ she said.
The motivation in women's sports all together is that it’s not just a competition, it's a community in building each other up and not just trying to compete with one another.