FARMINGTON — Western Maine Women’s Wrestling has made a call on Facebook for all girls interested in learning more about wrestling to join their club.
Heather MacDonald has made several posts in local community pages on Facebook asking all girls that are interested in wrestling to reach out to her or anyone already involved in the club. Also involved in the club is Mike Hansen, wrestling coach for Mt. Blue middle and high schools.
“Women’s wrestling right now is fastest growing sport in the country. So, we’re trying to jump on that wave and be on the right side of it,” Hansen stated in a phone interview.
Hansen, currently lives in Roxbury, went to Mountain Valley High School where his children attend, but teaches at Mt. Blue. He sees the club as a way to build a bridge between the two communities and build a strong roster of wrestlers that can support each other.
“We operate as a club with the women’s wrestling program, and we open our doors to everybody, all ages,” he said. “Kindergarten, right up into our oldest age group, U-23, which is college age.”
Number of girls involved in the programs have fluctuated over the years due to COVID-19, which saw a decline due to masking restrictions and other factors.
“When [COVID-19] came, everything just dropped off,” Hansen commented. “So, we kind of had to get a fresh start, because most of the people involved at that point were graduating high school.”
Restrictions started to loosen up around 2021, allowing wrestling programs to come back, but according to Hansen it was a slow build back to the numbers the programs saw previously.
“We had to start over,” he said. “We had to get new girls that have never wrestled before, or girls that had wrestled at a younger age and try to get them back. High school numbers are finally starting to build.”
Recently, several girls from Mt. Blue had strong showings at state championship, which were held on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at Wells High School. Mt. Blue had five girls place in the top three, with Grace Allen and Kendall Foster becoming champions in their respective classes.
According to Hansen, Grace Allen, currently a freshmen, is the first female state champion in the history of Mt. Blue High School, followed shortly by Kendall Foster at the same tournament.
Hansen also highlighted the accomplishments of Brooklynn Webber, who placed second after losing to Oceanside junior Maddie Ripley, who made history by being the first girl in Maine to win an open state championship.
“Maddie would tell you herself, there’s not a boy out there in the state of Maine that gave Maddie a better wrestling match than Brooklynn Webber did.”
Five girls received medals at the tournament, with Logan Smith and Sadie Lee placing third, and Hansen added that four of them [Allen, Foster, Webber and Smith] will be competing at the Youth New England Wrestling Championship this weekend, starting on Friday, Mar. 17, through Sunday, Mar. 19, at the Game On Sports Complex in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.
“Mt. Blue is sending six competitors, two boys and four girls, to their New England championships. So that I’m pretty proud to say I helped coach that,” Hansen commented.
Hansen’s own daughter has even found her way to the wrestling mat.
“She was a gymnast since she was like five and been to the national tournaments and done very, very well,” Hansen stated. “And she’s a super competitive girl. So wrestling was an easy transition for her.
“I was heading to a girl’s event in Florida, and it was near Disney World. And she was like, ‘Well, I want to go’ and I’m like, ‘wrestlers only’,” he continued. “So, we go to Florida and compete with no masks on, and my daughter went to her first tournament and she got beat up by everybody down there, but she didn’t cry. And she said, ‘I think I like it. And I want to do it.’”
Hansen’s daughter signed up for the wrestling program at Mountain Valley Middle School in 2022 and she has stuck with the program, according to Hansen. “I think she’s hooked,” he said.
Hansen helps run the Western Maine Women’s Wrestling club along with Heather MacDonald and Sarah Rowe. He also said anyone interested in the program can simply reach out to him or anyone involved in the program for information on registration.
Currently the program operates at Greater Rumford Community Center, 50 Congress St. Hansen also encourages anyone interested in donating to the program to also donate to the community center.
“I would recommend reaching out to the community center and offering their donations to the Rumford Community Center to help with all of their programs, because with their programs, they help out the special needs community, they help out the elderly community, they help out the veteran community,” Hansen stated.
Hansen believes strongly in the confidence that wrestling can afford kids, especially girls, based on his own personal observations. Hansen shared a story about a middle school girl who was homeschooled for most of her life.
According to Hansen, she showed interest in wrestling, but her father wouldn’t allow it.
“Her mother was lying to her father, just to get her to some all-girls practices and practices alone were boosting her confidence,” Hansen shared. “And then her father at home was like, ‘Man, I don’t know what’s changed in her but she’s just different.’”
For those interested in the program, please contact Hansen, MacDonald or Rowe through Facebook, or contact the Greater Rumford Community Center at [207] 369-9906.
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