Traditionally in high school sports, co-ed teams are not common. Wrestling is usually known as a boy’s sport, but it is also open for girls to join. Although it is open to girls, it is rare for girls to be a part of a high school wrestling team.

Junior Kayla Bell joined the wrestling team as the team’s only female member.

“I’ve wanted to join for a while, mainly just to play a second sport. I’ve turned out to really love it. It’s really fun competing, in cheer we never have any competition. It’s very different,” Bell said.

This is Bell’s first experience with wrestling. This was the first year she had the opportunity to join, so she took it. The past two years she was held back because of cheer.

“The conditioning is definitely challenging. We run a lot and I’m not used to running constantly without stopping. Even though it’s hard, it’s worth it,” Bell said. “I love learning new moves and getting to use them against opponents.”

According to Bell, the team of 23 boys have accepted her as a member of the team.

“It’s really not that big of a deal,” junior Jacob Brauner said. “I wrestled on a club team and there were always a few girls. But she’s the first girl I’ve wrestled with at West.”

The head coach, Zeke Allison, is also accepting of Bell joining the team.

“When I found out Kayla was joining the team, I thought it was a great thing for our program. It shows that not only at our school, but at all schools girls can be wrestlers, too. One of my favorite things about the sport of wrestling is that it is the only sport that males and females can compete against each other in the same playing field,” Allison said.

At the beginning of the season, Bell got a concussion from doing a stunt in cheer practice.

“My concussion has definitely been the biggest obstacle I’ve faced,” Bell said. “It took time to heal and I missed a lot of practice.”

She was cleared last week, but was unable to wrestle in the Parkway quad match on Tuesday because she was out sick.

“Even though she’s been injured for the most part of the season, she has still shown growth throughout the season. She has attended every practice and payed attention closely. She has become a better teammate by always being at meets and tournaments to support her team. In the practice room, I can tell the moves are becoming more natural to her than when she started,” Allison said.

Bell has yet to wrestle in a match. The next JV wrestling match is on Feb. 4, but Bell is given the opportunity to challenge for a varsity spot every week so she could possibly wrestle before then.

“I hope I’ll get the chance to wrestle in a varsity match. I think I will get to this season because I have managed to master many moves and I have good and simple strategies,” Bell said.

Bell likes being the only girl on the team, but there are some things she finds difficult about it.

“It’s kind of hard when you don’t have another girl to talk to,” Bell said. “I like being with all guys, but sometimes I feel like I would be more comfortable talking about certain things with another girl.”

Although Bell is the only girl, she feels she is treated as equally as any other member of the team.

“One of my favorite qualities about Kayla is that she is a very respectful young woman. She also has the drive to come to practice everyday and get out there on the mats. I think it takes a lot of courage on her part to do a sport that has mainly boys in it,” Allison said.