Here are the things they discussed:

Preece: What is the overall state of girls wrestling In Utah?

Gray: The overall state of girls wrestling is growing, getting stronger, growing in skill, and is a positive place for girls to be. Utah especially has invested in women’s wrestling and is dedicated to helping it grow and become a state known for their girl’s wrestling.

It is on its way to that point. We have 10 girls in the national high school rankings, we have had a Fargo Champ two years in a row, we have had Under-17 world team members, and we have a number of girls competing at the college level including two of them at the University of Iowa.

Preece: How do we compare with other states?

Gray: We had a strong showing at the Junior duals where we went 15-4 between freestyle and Greco-Roman (competitions).

We are starting to get noticed by other states and coaches. Comments from other state leaders have been very positive and girls are no longer looking forward to pulling a girl from Utah at a big tournament because they know how tough and how successful we have been.

We are working our way into the discussion for one of the top states for women’s wrestling, and as our numbers grow, that is only solidifying.

Preece: What issues still lay ahead to grow the sport?

Gray: A few issues that lay ahead when growing women’s wrestling are schools not investing in a women’s coach. Having the boys coach run both programs is not realistic for either program. One of them suffers and more often than not it is the girls program.

Investing in recruiting girls to your programs is another hurdle. Holding the girls to the same standards and expectations as any other team regardless of gender is going to only help the sport grow and teach our young women so many of the crucial lessons that wrestling has to offer.

We are doing a good job of pushing past the stigma of what a female wrestler “looks like.” We are highlighting all of the amazing young women that participate from all body types, backgrounds, and experience levels.

Preece: Why is it that some schools with outstanding boys programs still lack good girls programs, or don’t really have one at all?

Gray: Many of the programs that have stellar boys programs often are so invested in that they are not willing to work with or help the girls’ side grow and thrive. Sharing space, time, and helping each other succeed is going to be the secret.

Helping those programs support each other through mutual respect, compromise, and promoting each other is going to make it all better. Show up for each other, when possible, cheer for one another, help make things better, don’t talk down on each other, don’t allow disrespect from any of the members towards the others.

Unity in the school as representing wrestling boys and girls is going to help increase participation, level of wrestling, and perception in the community.

It is not easy to have to change things up and now allow for compromise when before it was, this is the wrestling room and our boys deserve this space. They have earned it, they need it, and anything that could disrupt that is the enemy. This is a fear of change and needs to be confronted.

We need to offer our girls the same opportunities for access to the room, to the best times to practice, and to the respect that all of our athletes deserve. More people involved in wrestling is not a bad thing and we need to give reasons for 50 percent of the population to join.

Preece: Can girls wrestling enhance a school where the boys program is struggling?

Gray: Girls wrestling can absolutely help a school where the boys wrestling program is struggling. They can help with funding for equipment needs, entice better and more coaches to join, they can learn and grow together, and there are so many benefits to learning that respect for each other.

Wrestling had a decline for a while, and the growth and addition of women’s wrestling has saved wrestling on all levels including the Olympics.

Preece: Is there any difference between urban and rural expectations and support for girls wrestling?

Gray: I think the same expectations for rural and urban teams should be the same as it is for the boys. Yes, there is generally less of a population to pull from so teams are often smaller, but some of the toughest wrestlers I have ever met were from schools of maybe 100 kids. They find ways to be great despite all the reasons they shouldn’t be.

The person you are picturing is probably a male, but I can think of at least five women that fit that description as well. Urban and rural (areas) will have their own challenges, and as wrestlers, we need to find a way forward, find ways to be successful and get people involved.

Preece: Do we need more female coaches in the state? And if so, what needs to happen to better cultivate that?

Gray: I think it is a great thing to add women to women’s programs, but I do not think that all programs must have a woman (coach) to be successful. I have seen some of the most successful programs started, led, and continued by men. The best person for the job needs to be in that position. Oftentimes women can offer a different perspective that really helps our girls teams.

As our Utah girls graduate college and look to come back and give back to the state and the sport, we will have more women involved in programs. We need to offer women the same financial incentives we give males to come back and coach. That will help get quality and dedicated women to get involved. The more we allow them to be involved and matter to a program the more they will.

Girls Wrestling

A total of ten Utah female wrestlers are nationally ranked by USA Wrestling including four from Utah County programs.

Westlake’s Keilikki Nau Rarick is ranked No. 3 at 235 pounds while her teammate Celeste Detoles is ranked No. 21 at 135 pounds. Also hitting the national rankings is Maple Mountain’s Aurelia Ramos, ranked No. 15 at 190 pounds, while Mountain View’s Isla Baeza broke into the rankings at No. 30 at 130 pounds.

Big Time Performance of the Week: Those previously mentioned national rankings might get shaken up a bit as Baeza pinned Detoles in the first round at the Bruins All-Girls Invite hosted by Mountain View.

Traditional weight classes weren’t used in this tournament but grapplers were grouped together by similar weight and experience. This particular weight grouping had some significant firepower. Besides Baeza and Detoles, the grouping also had Union’s Evie Davidson, who Baeza actually beat in the Ross Brunson All-Star Dual by a single point in one of the most action-packed bouts of the night. Also in this weight class was Uintah’s Sydnee Dick, a highly ranked wrestler in 4A. Baeza defeated this trio of wrestlers to claim gold.

Match of the Week: Provo High’s Taliah Hew-Len won her weight grouping at 105 pounds by going 3-0. But her finals match with Pine View’s Brynn Helt had plenty of drama.

The match was scoreless going into the third period but the last minute provided plenty of fireworks. Hew-Len started the round in the down position, received a penalty point but then gave up a penalty point. She then escaped and took down Helt with 53 seconds remaining to go up 4-1. But then the Pine View wrestler reversed Hew-Len with 15 seconds left but could not turn the Bulldog grappler, who would hold on for a wild 4-3 victory.

Boys Wrestling

In the first annual Battle for the Buckle, host Spanish Fork ran roughshod over their competition going 9-0 in the dual meet tournament. One of their victories was a perfect 84-0 win over rival Maple Mountain.

Winning for the Dons in order were Brady Vogelsberg (113 pounds), Karson Shelley (120), Kyler Spencer (126), Cahill Simons (132), Porter Olson (138), Edward Sears (144), Junior Wetzel (150), Ryker Olson (157), Alex Koyle (165), Easton Branin (175), Hyrum King (190), Tyler Brown (215), Braysen Roberts (285) and Taegen Leavitt (106).

The match at 120 pounds featured Shelley versus Maple Mountain’s Caleb Jackson. At the Rockwell Rumble the previous weekend, Shelley won the 113-pound class while Jackson was the champion at 120 pounds. Shelley is a 2-time state champion while Jackson placed second in state last season. But in this go-around, Shelley won the match with a third period pin, which helped launch his team’s run to perfection.

Spanish Fork picked up another shutout win beating Alta 80-0. The Dons also beat Emery 75-6 and Hurricane 66-6 in a very dominating weekend of wrestling. All of which was pleasing to Don head coach Kip Spencer, who also knew of the historical significance of this tournament..

“I told our team this was the last time any Spanish Fork wrestler would get the opportunity to wrestle an official wrestling match in this school building because it will be torn down this summer,” Spencer said. “I said (to them) they were wrestling not just for themselves but for the past wrestlers as well. I asked them to go out on top and wrestle hard in every match. They outperformed expectations and are showing they are where we need to be to be ready (for the state tournament) in one month.”

Mountain View won the Bruin Duals while Westlake won the Tiger-Grizz Invitational in Idaho. Mountain View just missed perfection as the Bruins beat Timpview 83-0 and Westlake’s Brayden Robison remained undefeated at 33-0 when he claimed the 152-pound title from his third seed at the Tiger-Grizz invite.

Big Time Performance of the Week: Spanish Fork’s Edward Sears went 9-0 in his matches in the Battle for the Buckle. Sears had four first period pins, including three pins in less than a minute. His fastest fall came in just 14 seconds.

Match of the Week: In a rematch of the 6A 138-pound state title, Westlake’s Josh Fish avenged his loss to American Fork’s Tege Kelley as Fish defeated the Caveman grappler 6-4 in dual meet action this week. The bout took place at 150 pounds.

Kelley has mostly wrestled 144 pounds this season, occasionally going up a weight when needed by his team. Kelley recently went undefeated at the 6A Duals. Fish normally wrestles 150 pounds but competed at 145 pounds at the Tiger-Grizz tourney hosted by Skyline, Idaho. Fish, from his fifth seed, placed second losing his championship final in sudden victory overtime.