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Photo courtesy of Angelina Jiang

Junior Angelina Jiang is declared the winner by the referee in the California Interscholastic Federation tournament at Bakersfield.

This year, Louisiana joined the 45 states that certify girls wrestling at the high school level. Of these states, Kentucky, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania hosted their first state-sanctioned girls wrestling tournaments.

In the broader scope of women’s wrestling, the National Collegiate Athletic Association announced plans to add the sport as the 91st NCAA championship sport in winter 2026, with the vote set for next January. These recent developments mark the progress of girls wrestling as the fastest-growing high school sport in the country, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.

Despite the uptick, wrestling remains a coeducational sport at Gunn due to a matter of numbers, according to head coach Jorge Barajas.

“Financially, we would have to figure out the number to grant another coach for a girls team and recruit more female wrestlers,” he said. “But (a girls wrestling team is) definitely the goal.”

Aspects of the coed practices, in which both genders drill against each other and compete with their respective gender brackets, have been ideal for junior Angelina Jiang.

“For me, (the routine is) mostly drill with the guys during practice and then go out and compete with girls,” she said. “It’s honestly a lot easier to compete with girls after drilling with these heavier, stronger guys. It just toughens you up.”

Wrestler sophomore Aurora Woodley embraces the opportunity to grapple with her teammates’ different styles.

“Being coed is being able to wrestle with a bunch of different people, which is more important than just wrestling with people who are stronger than you,” she said.

This season, the number of female wrestlers on the team has doubled. Alongside the returning members — senior Isabella Lee, Jiang and Woodley — the team welcomed five freshman girls: Mei Elgierari, Thea Kissiov, Avni Lochan, Zara Vivekanand and Mina Van Roy.

While these girls are the minority in the male- dominated team, this imbalance is the very thing that creates camaraderie, according to Elgierari.

“During the SCVAL (Santa Clara Valley Athletic League) sectionals tournament, (the girls) each went to one another’s matches when we could, and although some of us didn’t qualify, we still stayed together and supported one another,” she said. “It really helped, especially for those who weren’t done and were really nervous.”

Emerging players may shy away from the sport because they don’t know what the wrestling experience is like for girls.

“Wrestling is super intense, but people don’t understand that it’s not something that you should fear while being a female because the team is supportive of you,” Woodley said.

At the collegiate level, women’s wrestling is still something of a niche sport, as only four NCAA Division I institutions have varsity women’s wrestling teams: South Carolina’s Presbyterian College, Connecticut’s Sacred Heart University, and Missouri’s University of Iowa and Lindenwood University.

“Right now, there are only four colleges that have DI women’s wrestling, and a lot of colleges only have clubs or they don’t have women’s wrestling at all,” Jiang said. “So it’s really hard to get a scholarship. I know a lot of really good wrestlers, some who got into Stanford, (and) couldn’t wrestle anymore because there wasn’t a women’s wrestling team up until now.”

This limited opportunity does not deter Jiang from further pursuing the sport. Rather, fellow female wrestlers — such as 18-year-old Audrey Jimenez, who became the first girl to win an Arizona state high school wrestling title while competing against boys on Feb. 18 — have become role models for Jiang.

“There have been a couple of times where I’ve considered challenging one of the boys for a varsity spot for duels, because at duels, in all technicalities, a girl (is allowed to) challenge and wrestle guys, like in a lot of other states like Arizona,” Jiang said. “It’s not allowed the other way, just because of physiological differences. It brings up the whole thing of women in men’s sports and how women can bring themselves up to the challenge if they want to.”

Barajas recalls how 2014 Gunn alumna female world-level wrestler Cadence Lee, known for pinning down boys during her high school wrestling career, paved the way for girls in the absence of sanctioned girls’ wrestling. Because of women like Lee, along with women’s wrestling advocate Lori Ayres, who co- founded the organization D1 Women’s Wrestling and helped start the Stanford University women’s wrestling club, Barajas’ wrestling perspective has experienced a full-circle moment.

“I’m able to see where (wrestling) was to where it is now,” he said. “I think (local female forefront wrestlers) help our community of wrestlers. We have a good support system for girls’ wrestling just down the road at Stanford, where Lori Ayres is that voice (saying) that girls wrestling is something that needs to be going.”

For Barajas, coaching Jiang and Lee at the Feb. 22-24 California Interscholastic Federation State Wrestling Championships came against an important cultural backdrop: larger girls wrestling tournaments in the future. Girls state tournaments are now held at the same level as the boys’ and have full brackets. According to Barajas, brackets were around 20 girls, but now they reach 32-40 girls.

“If (this growth) continues, I could see the girls, within next year, at a 64-person bracket as well,” he said. “It’s just that fast-growing.”

Woodley has found that wrestling entails more than mere physical prowess, requiring intellectual and mental strength.

“I think it’s so important that wrestling teaches women how to deal with pain and loss and how to fight for yourself in the real world,” she said. “I’ve learned to just have the fearlessness to stand up for myself.”

According to varsity boys basketball player sophomore Rylan See, this event was the first coeducational professional basketball competition hosted by the NBA and WNBA.

“Even though Sabrina lost, it was exciting to watch, as we got to see the best shooters from both the NBA and WNBA duel it out for the first time,” he said.

According to See, Ionescu’s ability to score at a similar level to contestants from the men-only 3-point contest is encouraging.

“(Ionescu) actually tied Damian Lillard’s score, who was the (men’s) 3-point champion this year,” he said. “(She) showed that she was able to shoot the ball just as well as the best shooter in the world, which will encourage more girls to play.”

The showdown drew 5.4 million viewers, making it the most-viewed competition during All-Star Saturday Night. According to varsity girls basketball player sophomore Lena Duggan, the contest’s popularity — combined with Curry’s — improves the WNBA’s outreach.

“People love to see Steph Curry, so seeing him associated with a WNBA player will likely bring more attention to the WNBA,” she said.

Boys junior varsity basketball coach Matt Passell hopes that Ionescu’s performance will help audiences better recognize WNBA players’ skills.

“Hopefully, other events like this — where you have good competition between men and women — (will make it) so that the people who wouldn’t tune into a women’s basketball contest get to see how talented they are,” he said.

Duggan echoed how the contest garners not only more attention but more regard for women’s basketball.

“It shows that the WNBA should be respected more because the best shooter in the NBA was competing against one of the best WNBA shooters,” she said. “This brings more attention to the talent that the WNBA has.”

Although this was the way I was brought into the world of collegiate basketball, the reality is quite the opposite. Much to the surprise of my 12-year-old self, women’s basketball at all levels has significantly fewer followers compared to men’s.

Since 2021, however, this narrative has begun to change. Over the past couple years, there has been an influx of new talent among collegiate women. Some of the biggest recent names — University of Connecticut guard Paige Bueckers, Stanford University forward Cameron Brink, University of Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, Louisiana State University forward Angel Reese and University of Southern California guard JuJu Watkins — bring so much talent and skill to the court that women’s basketball has become impossible to ignore.

In 2024, arguably the most famous of these names would be Clark. The 6-foot senior’s deadliness from the three-point line has consistently brought her national attention, but it wasn’t until she started smashing long-held records that her talent truly went viral. On Feb. 15, Clark broke the National Collegiate Athletic Association scoring record set by two-time WNBA national champion Kelsey Plum at 3, 527 points, scoring 49 points in one game to bring her total up to 3,569 points. If that wasn’t legendary enough, Clark went on to break the all-time scoring record of any woman or man in Division I basketball, set by Pete Maravich, a Louisiana State guard who went on to play in the NBA. His record had stood for 54 years at 3,667 points before Clark broke it by scoring 35 points against Ohio State University, bringing her tally to 3,684 points.

Needless to say, Clark is one of the most deco- rated women to ever pick up a basketball — and she hasn’t even started a professional career. Leading the Hawkeyes, Clark flushed the University of Connecticut out of the March Madness Final Four on April 5, ending senior Paige Bueckers’ college career. Bueckers, another icon of this current era, has been riddled with injuries for a large portion of her college career: She was out with a knee injury for most of her sophomore year, returning just in time to lead her team to a national champion- ship. There, Bueckers tore her ACL, leading her to miss her entire junior season. In her senior year, Bueckers has beaten the odds, proving she is still an elite player as the 2023-24 Big East scholar-athlete of the year, an Associated Press First Team All-American and a member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association’s 2023-24 Women’s All-America Team.

Also on this All-American team is Stanford’s Brink. The 6-foot-4 senior is an absolute powerhouse inside the paint, her unmatched skill bringing her national attention. Selected as the 2023-24 Pacific-12 Conference women’s player of the year and defensive player of the year, Brink is just as decorated as Bueckers and Clark, and has led her team to many victories.

A new player on the scene, USC’s Watkins is carving her own path, showing endless potential in her freshman season. The 6-foot-2 guard is averaging an insane 27.1 points per game (in their freshman seasons, Brink, Bueckers and Clark averaged 9.9, 20.0 and 26.6 points per game, respectively). Although the Trojans did take a dive out of the March Madness Elite Eight to Bueckers and the Huskies, basketball fans can’t wait to see Watkins’ next season.

Whether it’s stewing over the next All-Star 3-point contest (possibly involving Caitlin Clark), or keeping an eye out for courtside Warriors guard Stephen Curry (who is the son of Dell Curry, Brink’s godfather) at the Maples Pavilion, collegiate women’s basketball is catching fire and no one can look away. However, this ground-breaking talent isn’t the only thing raising the audience numbers.

Women’s basketball has shown it has a flair that men’s basketball just can’t match, whether that be the unbelievable outfits Louisiana State head coach Kim Mulkey wears while leading her team, or the increased intensity of play. Being the animated coach that she is, it only feels right that Mulkey has the craziest style of anyone in the realm of college basketball, from bedazzled and feathered blazers to tiger-print suits. Countless videos of her circle the internet, with her screaming herself hoarse at a referee while the ruffled sleeves of her jacket shake and her pump heels click against the court. A true icon of women’s collegiate basketball, Mulkey is just one non-player aspect that keeps viewers wanting more.

As for the increased intensity of play, there’s been an uptick in physical altercations in women’s ball over the past couple years — and the publicity surrounding them. Not uncommon in men’s games, fights between players are a rarity in women’s games. As to be expected, the NCAA has a zero-tolerance policy toward unnecessary violence, but that doesn’t stop the fact that an explosion of emotion can sometimes be one of the most interesting parts of a game. Viewers (including myself) go wild for a good, juicy fight and love seeing passion and emotions running high on the court.

While March Madness may be over, with the University of South Carolina Gamecocks coming off an undefeated season to take the tournament win over Clark and the Hawkeyes, the fame of women’s basketball will continue growing. All eyes may be looking at the collegiate competition right now, but fans will follow these idols past graduation — Clark, Brink and countless other collegiate firecrackers have already declared for the WNBA draft on April 15, with Clark projected as the top pick.

My 12-year-old perception of the popularity of women’s basketball was plainly incorrect, but the tables are turning. A new era of basketball is upon us — one that brings women’s sports one step closer to the recognition that they deserve. One that lets little girls stand at the three-point line and not dream of being the next Stephen Curry, but the next Caitlin Clark.

In April 2014, gymnast Amanda Thomashow, a Michigan State University graduate, filed a Title IX complaint against team physician Larry Nassar, alleging inappropriate behavior during a medical examination. However, the university’s inquiry dismissed Thomashow’s complaint and ruled Nassar’s behavior as “medically appropriate.” Nassar was allowed to continue working at MSU for two more years until Sept. 20, 2016, when he was finally fired. It took until 2018 for Nassar to be convicted and sentenced to 60 years in federal prison, after 18 victims filed a federal lawsuit against Nassar, MSU, USA Gymnastics and Twistars USA Gymnastics Club, alleging sexual assault, battery, molestation and harassment between 1996 and 2016.

Negligence in addressing these complaints causes repercussions extending beyond individual cases, eroding trust in entire organizations. Although the resignation of the USA Gymnastics board in 2018 was a step in the right direction, it came years too late for those who had suffered Nassar’s abuse. In 2021, Olympic gymnast Simone Biles shared in an interview that she wouldn’t be comfortable with her daughter’s training with USA Gymnastics, given the organization’s lack of accountability. This sentiment is just one example from the many gymnasts who felt the sport’s governing body had failed to protect and listen to them. USA Gymnastics’ failure to take complaints seriously and act swiftly exacerbates survivors’ trauma and perpetuates a culture of impunity for perpetrators.

While Nassar’s abuse may be the most prominent example of sexual misconduct in sports, it is not an isolated phenomenon. Similar patterns of abuse have emerged in other high-level sports organizations, including USA Taekwondo, where coaches like Jean Lopez have been accused of exploiting their positions of power to prey on female athletes. Lopez was accused of abuse by multiple female athletes and banned from coaching for life by the organization, after a 2018 U.S. Center for Safesport investigation concluded that Lopez had “a decade-long pattern of sexual misconduct” and used his power to “groom, manipulate, and ultimately sexually abuse younger female athletes.” However, in December 2022, the International Court of Arbitration lifted the lifetime ban, as it had been based on the 2011 Code of Ethics, which was only instituted after the incidents had occurred.

The lifting of this “lifetime” ban raises serious concerns about the efficacy of disciplinary measures and the prioritization of justice for survivors.

Moreover, misconduct in the sporting world extends beyond staff and coaches to the executive personnel of sporting organizations. At the 2023 Women’s World Cup award ceremony, Luis Rubiales, former Royal Spanish Football Federation president, kissed Spanish national soccer player Jenni Hermoso without consent.

In an emergency meeting called by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Rubiales denied any wrongdoing and claimed the kiss was consensual. Later that year, at the Federation’s Extraordinary General Assembly, Rubiales claimed that he had been the target of “social assassination” and continually restated that he would not resign. The Royal Spanish Football Federation sided with Rubiales, accusing Hermoso of lying about the kiss and threatening to take legal action against her. Rubiales’ resignation came only after more than 80 other Spanish soccer players put their names on a statement supporting Hermoso, saying they would not return to the national team if the case were not resolved fairly.

Nassar’s exploitation of female gymnasts, Lopez’s predatory behavior toward female taekwondo athletes and Rubiales’ refusal to accept accountability highlight systematic failures that require meaningful reforms. The delayed responses, inadequate actions and sometimes even complicity of sporting institutions erode the trust of female athletes, fans and staff members. A commitment to accountability at all levels of sports governance is crucial, as female athletes should not have to publicly fight for their complaints to be taken seriously.

Moving forward, sports organizations must prioritize the well-being and safety of all involved parties. They should implement robust safeguarding measures and ensure swift and decisive action in response to misconduct. Abuse should not have to escalate into yearslong patterns before accusations are taken seriously — every complaint should be thoroughly investigated.

If misconduct isn’t addressed at the professional level, it sets a precedent of impunity, meaning that abuse at the high- school level may also go unpunished. By actively listening to survivors, addressing systemic flaws and holding perpetrators accountable, organizations can create sporting environments in which everyone can thrive without fear of exploitation, fostering a culture of integrity in the sports community.

Estrada Nakamatsu’s parents first introduced her to the Marinera to help her and her sister connect to their culture. Although Nakamatsu sometimes disliked attending practices, she eventually grew to love expressing her emotions and culture through dance.

“I was the only Peruvian at my elementary school for around four years, which made me feel very isolated and scared to represent my own culture,” Estrada Nakamatsu said. “It was kind of hard to try to accept my culture and be proud of it (because of) the really deep seated fear of being judged. As I got older, I definitely started to become more proud of my culture. Now, I’m very open. I love to show it off.”

Through the Marinera Nortena community, Estrada Nakamatsu surrounds herself with people who share her Peruvian culture, giving her a sense of belonging. The excitement that comes with dancing gives her an opportunity to cherish her culture.

“Sometimes, I’m so focused on the excitement of the dance that I block out the cheers of my family and I’m completely in a state of happiness,” she said.

Estrada Nakamatsu participates in several competitions during the year, though schoolwork and parent availability limit the number of practices and competitions she can attend.

“I was really happy to be (at the Marinera Siempre Juntos competition in January) because I hadn’t competed in such a long time,” she said. “I got a lot of compliments, and it felt really good to be in traditional wear.”

Competitions usually consist of three pairs dancing while four to six judges watch, with multiple rounds if necessary. Pairs are judged based on the spontaneity (the personality of the dance), grace, coordination and zapateo (the footwork). Through these competitions, however, she’s had to face the hard truth that certain dancers pay to win, even at the major national championship in Peru.

“It’s clear when someone who wins first place only won because they paid or because the judges weren’t good at deciding,” she said. “Sometimes it gets super frustrating that you just want to cry, because you’ve worked so hard and you have so much experience just to lose against someone that isn’t as experienced as you are.”

Despite this challenge, Estrada Nakamatsu continues to dance at competitions and for her own enjoyment.

“I basically just want to have fun,” she said. “I love to represent my culture. One day, I want to maybe even go to Gunn in my traditional clothing that I dance with to be able to show it off and be able to see other people wear (their) traditional wear.”

Although the local rivalry between Gunn and Paly doesn’t quite bring this level of drama — barring incidents like September 2022’s football game, which was canceled due to student misbehavior — Gunn athletes find that it has its own intensity and competitive spirit.

When it comes to basketball, boys varsity team co-captain senior Ethan Fu feels that the larger crowds that rivalry games attract create an immense pressure to win.

“The crowd is always huge (when we play) Paly, and it’s disorienting at first,” he said. “But the pressure from the crowd isn’t just pressure to represent my school, but also pressure to show (up) for my friends and family who are there watching me.”

Varsity point guard junior Sam Little also highlighted the benefits of playing to an audience.

“The fan turnout definitely makes our team play better,” he said. “It keeps us alert and more in touch.”

Although Little acknowledges the idea of home-court advantage, he believes his wins and losses mean more when they happen at Paly.

“Especially when we play Paly at their home court, there’s this feeling of, ‘I want to crush this team in front of their own support, on their own home turf,’” Little said. “Above all, the game just feels more competitive.”

Both Fu and Little also emphasized how being the underdogs — Gunn is usually projected to lose matchups against Paly — imbues a game with extra emotional charge. While Paly has to defend their previous wins, Gunn is able to fight from the bottom up.

“When we win, it’s especially gratifying,” Fu said. “(It) feels like we’ve beaten the odds.”

Girls varsity lacrosse team member junior Sophia Howell finds an opposite dynamic to be true for her team, which has won every game against Paly since the 2021 season.

“Most of the pressure the team faces when it comes to playing Paly is around maintaining our winning streak,” she said. “But at the same time, having wins behind us alleviates pressure while playing.”

According to Howell, there isn’t much of a difference in crowd size when their team plays against Paly, so spectators don’t play a role in raising the stakes. However, similar to the competitiveness the Gunn boys basketball team brings as the underdogs, Paly girls varsity lacrosse brings its own spirit, fighting to break Gunn’s winning streak.

“We play a pretty clean game and tend to keep our cool (as a team), but when Paly is down (on the score-board), the game gets more physical and they sometimes commit petty fouls,” she said.

Fu sees a similar pattern in basketball.

“Both our team and Paly’s are pretty well disciplined, so I don’t think a fight or anything would ever break out, but it gets chippy out there sometimes,” he said. “It gets more physical, harder fouls, harder defense, but it’s all part of the game. That’s what makes it fun.”

For girls varsity track-and-field member senior Avery Adelman, the Gunn-Paly rivalry manifests itself differently due to the nature of her sport. Adelman competes in the 400-meter dash and 300-meter hurdles — both non-contact, individual events — which present a new kind of competition.

“For track, it’s less about racing your opponents and more about racing for time,” Adelman said.

Even so, she found that competing against Paly with the rest of the varsity girls team brought them together in a special way.

“In the last season, varsity girls beat Paly and we were all so excited on the way home,” Adelman said. “It definitely would’ve been a different feeling if we beat (another high school) or something, but we beat our cross-town rivals, so it felt like a big deal.”

However, the cross-town rivalry runs deeper. Last season, Paly runner Hillary Studdert — who is the sister of this article’s author — was one of Adelman’s biggest competitors.

“In the 400(-meter dash), Hillary had times that were similar to mine, so I was always really nervous before we (met) with Paly,” she said. “I was also just really excited to race because I knew she would push me to run a fast time whether she beat me or not. It was all good energy and she was a great competitor.”

Adelman feels that the local aspect of the rivalry makes the competition more personal.

“The girls who I run against from Paly, I’ve mainly ran against before,” she said. “We get to talk here and there, so there’s always a kind of sense that I know who I’m running against, which makes me want to compete harder.”

Fu also finds a sense of familiarity among his Paly opponents.

“A lot of the kids that I grew up playing club basketball with now play for Paly, so I’m friends with basically the whole team,” he said. “It adds a mix of intensity and fun, which you can’t find really with any other team.”