Female Supremacy Articles - Page 13

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She hopes to draw the top varsity girls from around Alaska as well as up-and-coming junior varsity girls. She also hopes to get O'Donnell to town to hold workshops and provide some motivational speeches.

That could be a portent of things to come for girls wrestling in Alaska. Some coaches and athletes said they'd like to see a separate girls division at the large- and small-school state tournaments, although the numbers statewide would need to increase before that becomes a reality.

With the growing number of girls becoming interested in a sport long dominated by boys, however, the prospect of an all-girl division at state -- something other states have done -- could happen, even if the numbers seem slim at first.

"There won't be very many at first, but there will be soon," Costello said. "The girls are here, they wrestle hard and they're good. There's no doubt (an all-girl division will happen)."

Most of the girls wrestling in high school today are less concerned with how much they draw newcomers to the sport than how well they do in their respective matches.

But there's no doubt that as ambassadors for the sport, wrestlers like Leah Bachert and Abby Gillaspie are there to inspire young girls the way Melina Hutchison and Tela O'Donnell have inspired them.

"I would encourage them," Bachert said, "even if they're not getting it right away."