The Huskies walked off the mat a winner eight times during the IWCOA girls state tournament, led by Angelina Roling, who won three matches. 

Five of the six Highland wrestlers won at least one match during the weekend. 

“We had some wins and we had some losses that I thought could have went our way,” Highland coach Nick Cole said. “But as I look back, and what I told the girls on Friday and Saturday was that this tournament means more than the results.  I see it as a success no matter what, because six girls from Highland High School were part of history.”

Like Roling, Abbie Grout was 0-2 at last year’s tournament. She set a goal of making it to Saturday. She won her first match in 13 seconds before a loss sent her to the consolation bracket. She achieved her goal with a 4-1 decision over Starmont’s Taylor German. 

“When I heard the whistle I had no idea that I had won until I saw coach Nick and Pickle,” Grout said. “I immediately looked for my mom and Jon (Wheeler) and they told me that I made it through to Saturday.  That’s when all the emotions hit.  

“Having support from my mom, Jon, my siblings, coaches and my team is what wrestling is about and I would not have improved as much as I did this year without all of them.  Wrestling teams have a bond, support system and strive to make each other better, that bond is like no other sport I’ve been a part of.”

 Mackenzie McFarland, Jaydee Macareno and Maddie Peiffer each picked up a win on Friday. 

“There aren’t many people who want to win more than I do, but this was something special and something I’ll remember forever,” Cole said. “To be able to be on that floor with the girls was an honor.  They put in the time, they showed up everyday, they battled in the room and went through blood and bruises and injuries and they went out and were competitors.”

The tournament has grown from 87 competitors in 2019 to 472 last year to 695 wrestlers on 12 mats this year. 

“The game is changing in girls wrestling,” Cole said. “No longer is this a participation sport.  It has now jumped a few levels.  Girls are going to be training harder than ever, they are going to be seeking other training opportunities in the offseason and the techniques of the girls will be getting better.  

“How are we going to respond and go from being a participant to a team who is training to acheive the ultimate goal — and that is to be wrestling on Saturday night.”