The growth has been steady and the results have been solid.
Aberdeen Central continues to grow its girls’ wrestling team and this year the Golden Eagles have a returning state champion on their squad.
The team will be led by Katrina Gibson – who last year became the first state champ in program history – and Madyson Gillen, a multi-time state place winner.
“Both of our state placers are back and then a lot of our girls who were close to making it to state, all of them are returning,” said Central coach Jake Flakus. “We should have a strong team this year.”
While the team features some familiar names, it will definitely rely on Gillen and Gibson for leadership.
“Madison has placed the most. She has the most experience, been doing it the longest time. That experience is big on leading the team,” Flakus said. “Katrina winning state, even though the year before she didn’t even place at state, just kind of shows even if you’re a newcomer to this sport, you can make great strides.”
The duo has also had a big impact on the squad off the mat.
“They’ve been big on recruiting other girls and kind of laying the foundation for the next generation of wrestlers,” Flakus said.
Wrestlers who just missed out on qualifying for state last year who are returning this season are Avery Bendewald, Allison Neitzel, Ula Martin, Lin Paw Jones, and Jasmine Maas.
Central has 13 wrestlers out for the sport this year and will come close to filling all of the dozen weight classes. Flakus said the challenge when growing a program from scratch is not having much of a feeder program to draw from.
“Probably the biggest challenge is there’s not a ton of really young girls. Most of the sports you can do some form of it when you’re in elementary and middle school. There’s some girls down in the youth wrestling program, but there’s not a whole lot,” Flakus said. “So a lot of the new girls that you get, you either try to convince them as middle schoolers or as high schoolers. It’s great to have high schoolers come out, but it can make it kind of hard to compete with some of those girls that have been doing it since they were really little.”
That said, Flakus is happy with those girls who are willing to come out and give the sport a try.
“There’s been a lot of girls, they weren’t really basketball or volleyball players or gymnasts, and it’s good to see them find a winter sport that they actually like,” he said. “I got a couple last year and a couple this year who after practice or two, they seem to be hooked.”
This year, the girls’ squad will begin separating from the boys’ team. While they will still compete at the same duals, they will go to different tournaments, including the season opener when the girls head to Viborg for a dual tournament on Friday, Dec. 1.
Flakus said one of the initial goals is for both Gibson and Gillen to continue to enjoy high-level success, noting they will have a target on their backs.
He would also like to see the Golden Eagles earn a spot on the podium as a team,which would require a top-six finish.
“As team goals, I want to get as many as my girls as possible to state,” Flakus said. “Last year I took three. I’d like to take all 10, and if that doesn’t happen I want to take as many as I can get. That leads into my next goal which would be placing as a team.”
The Eagles finished 11th as a team last year.
“If we got another girl or two to place, we could climb up the ladder,” Flakus said.
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