Colfax-Mingo is leading way for girls wrestling

Colfax-Mingo can take some of the credit for starting the rise of girls wrestling in the state of Iowa.

The Tigerhawks have brought at least seven wrestlers to all three state tournaments. Not a lot of programs in the state can say that.

They finished in the top six of all three of those tournaments, too.

There’s something in the air at that school. Girls just want to be part of that program.

What’s been the key for head coach Erin Hume? In my opinion, it has a little bit to do with the fact that Hume sees them as wrestlers.

“It’s just wrestling to me,” Hume said. “That’s what I try to tell everyone involved. I tell our boys, they are not girl wrestlers, they are your wrestling teammates. They contribute to the girls team, the varsity team and the JV team.”

The Tigerhawks brought nine wrestlers to the state tournament this past weekend. Eight of them won at least one match. Four of them brought home top-five medals.

Juniors Mariah Webster and Kylie Doty were the only girls in the wrestling room in seventh grade.

They were participating in a “boys sport” before it was cool.

“Kylie and I were the only girls wrestling in seventh grade,” said Webster, who finished third at 120 pounds this weekend. “Now we have a whole team and we are competing right with some of the biggest schools in the state.”

The Tigerhawks finished third in the final team standings. It came down to the last match, but Colfax-Mingo held off a few Class 2A programs.

Colfax-Mingo was the only 1A program in the top 15 and one of only six in the top 40.

This year’s tournament featured more than 450 competitors. That doubled last year’s number of around 220. And in the first year there wasn’t even 100 participants.

How long will it take for the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union to sanction the sport?

“I honestly don’t know what it will take. I think we’ve tried everything,” Webster said. “Just being in this big arena with all these media people here, that will help get it out to who needs to see it and they hopefully realize that it needs to be sanctioned.”

Hume has been at the forefront of building girls wrestling in the state of Iowa. And he thinks sanctioning it will make it grow even more.

“There are over 400 girls wrestling in what you call an unsanctioned sport,” Hume said. “In my opinion, if you sanction it, more would come out. They would feel more comfortable.

“Schools would figure out the financials. The schools have to show interest and jump through hoops and show the state that they can do it.”

Jasper County itself has been big in the rise of the sport. While Colfax-Mingo was there from the beginning, Baxter brought its first two girls to the state wrestling tournament this weekend and each of the two girls who competed, Kailee Conradi and Hope Good, won two matches.

“The more girls we have, the easier it is for the state to pull the trigger,” Hume said.

C-M junior Danica Linn wrestled this year and placed fifth at state three months after testing positive for COVID-19.

“Our team is getting better and better every year and the sport is growing more every year,” Linn said. “I will try to keep spreading the story. We just need to keep showing girls that it’s not just a guys’ sport and it’s fun.”

Colfax-Mingo’s team isn’t going to get any smaller. Eight of the nine girls who competed at state this year are back next year. And all four medalists return.

“It’s just going to get better. Some of them aren’t satisfied with the medal they got and some aren’t satisfied with not getting one,” Hume said. “And they are going to bring some friends with them. They are not satisfied.”

Doty, who was fourth at 138 this year, didn’t think the sport would ever get to where it is. Now it’s time for the IGHSAU to step up and push it over the top.

“The bigger and bigger it gets, they can’t keep turning it away I wouldn’t think,” Doty said.

Contact Troy Hyde at thyde@shawmedia.com