With over 50,000 participants in the United States, women’s wrestling is the fastest growing sport in the country. Despite this surge in popularity, for much of its history wrestling has been a male dominated sport. However, this past season the Lightridge girls wrestling program took the mat by storm and rewrote the narrative.

“It wasn’t until three years ago that it started to grow a little bit,” said head coach Ryan Barden.

For many of the girls on the team, the increased interest in their sport excited them. Senior Aeryn Ajot, one of the captains of the team, was the first girl to join and felt increasingly comfortable as more girls became a part of the team.

“It brought more awareness to the sport and it was just more fun genuinely because we got to practice moves that were better and easier for our body types,” Ajot said.

Senior Dunah Helbo, the other captain of the team, agreed, saying that she felt as if the environment had become more comfortable.

“We became friends right off the bat,” said Helebo. “And you know that you can be good at wrestling because you’re wrestling other girls now, and the strength level is similar and you don’t have to always feel like you’re not great because you’re wrestling a guy.”

In the 2024-2025 season, there were ten female wrestlers on Lightridge’s wrestling team.

Participation in martial arts helped spark this surge in female interest. Almost all the players on the team had prior experience with martial arts before joining the team.

“I did jiu jitsu last year and enjoyed it a lot, so when I heard that wrestling was similar to jiu jitsu, I decided to try it,” said freshman Valentina Leib.

“I started weightlifting in 6th grade, and in 8th grade I found out about wrestling,” Waribo said. “I thought it would build up my confidence in combat and make me stronger, and that’s exactly what it has done for me. I have confidence on and off the mat.”

The team had high expectations for the season, with some girls aiming to qualify for the state tournament.

“This season I want to get stronger and just challenge myself,” said Waribo. “I have hopes of qualifying for states this year, and I will aim for my goal.”

Ajot shared similar goals.

“For regions and hopefully states, I hope that I place at a tournament and I hope I get a few matches against good opponents,” said Ajot.

Other girls on the team focused on improving their overall skills as wrestlers.

“[I want to] gain muscle and lose fat,” said sophomore Marilyn Bush. “And also do my best to play hard and be humble.”

The coaching staff was also committed to ensuring that every member of the team reaches their full potential.

“I just hope that the girls that show up, learn wrestling, and hopefully enjoy it and love it,” said assistant coach Nathan Tye.

The team’s expectations seemed to have been fulfilled. At the Class 5 state championship, Marilyn Bush made history as the first female wrestler from Lightridge to earn an all-state placement, finishing in 6th place.

The team also made impressive strides overall, with Lightridge having the largest girls wrestling team in Loudoun County and placing 5th out of 47th in the state qualifier. Barden commented that he was excited for the team to move forward with both new and returning players, and is looking forward to seeing what the team can accomplish next year.