Sports : History Made: Vikette wrestlers start a new era

VINTON - The year of disruption and loss in the world of athletics. Schedules have been turned upside, middle school sports have been put on hold and some colleges are even dropping sports.

But at Vinton-Shellsburg High School, there was been historic growth.This past Monday, 12 girls reported the wrestling room for the first practice of the brand-new Vikette wrestling program. Junior Bailey Weeks is the lone returnee from the 2019-2020 season when she was one of three V-S girls (along with graduates Amelia Birker and Lillie Lamont) who had to share the mat with the Viking boys. But through Weeks' recruiting efforts and the support of head coach Brian Sheston and his staff, this year the Vikettes are a seperate squad.
"It all came together pretty fast," Sheston said. "Bailey talked to a lot of people and did a great job of recruiting. We're pretty excited about the numbers and the work the girls have put in so far."
"It's been fun," said Weeks, a sixth-place finisher at last year's girls state meet. "It's nice not to have to share with the boys. We're all just starting out and this makes it easier to learn for everyone."
Along with Weeks, freshman Kalley Kerkman has mat experience from middle school. But for the rest of the team, it's all a new thing.
"My dad wrestled in high school, and that was a big thing," said senior Carly Williams, "and I've done a lot of different sports, so I decided why not; it's my senior year."
"I'd always wanted to try it," said junior Rachel Bane, "but my mom said no until I explained it was just going to be girls."
The growth of girls' wrestling in Iowa has been astronomical. The first Iowa Wrestling Coaches and Officials Association girls State tournament was held in Waverly in 2019 with 87 wrestlers. The 2020 tournament had 376 entries and interest and growth has reached a point that the 2021 tournament will be move from Waverly to the new Xtream Arena in Coralville's Iowa River Landing.
The Iowa Girls' High School Athletic Union has not yet recognized wrestling as a sanctioned sport. According to IGHASU policy, 15 percent of the member schools (roughly 50) have to had informed the state they have a full-fledged, seperate girls' program. While updated numbers aren't available at this time, the Vikette team is appears to be about the 40th in Iowa.
Sheston is a veteran in the field of coaching girls. He was on the staff at Eddyville-Blakesburg for two years when Megan Black competed for the Rockets.
Black is the only girl to have ever medaled in the traditional boys' state meet, finishing 8th at 103 in Class 1A in 2012. She went on to wrestle at McKendrie University and won a spot on the women's US national team in 2017; she'll be inducted into the Dan Gable National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2021.
"I've always coached girls," Sheston said. "To me this is nothing new, but having a seperate team is great.
"It's only been a few days," he added, "but I already see a lot of good things with this group."

The team includes seniors Carly Williams and Geordyn Webster, junior Bailey Weeks, sophomores Emma McDaniel, Isabel Mullinex, Rachel Bane and Alexis Rumelhart and freshmen Anabelle Hernandez, Bree Swenson, Emma Gillen, Kaley Kerkman and Maci Goodell.

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