Dreams will come true for female high school wrestlers throughout the state this weekend at the first-ever Louisiana High School Athletic Association girls wrestling state championships.

Several Southwest Louisiana wrestlers are ready to be a part of that history by winning a state championship.

“To take it (state championship) home would mean making that little girl proud, like the little girl in me who always had to wrestle boys,” Sam Houston senior Chevy Coleman said. “It’s finally taking one that is actually sanctioned, so it actually is real in a way, like it’s real on paper. I feel like it will bring a sense of accomplishment in me.”

The girls state tournament will run concurrently with the boys state tournament today and Saturday in Bossier City.

South Beauregard senior Cece Buller is excited to compete in an all-girls state tournament.

“I’d say that there’s a lot more new girls that are starting to come out because it’s sanctioned and more competition,” Buller said. “Louisiana is progressing, so I like it.

“I like how wrestling makes me feel because it makes me feel strong. We’ve all been working all year long. We look pretty good, but it’s because we practice really hard and we push each other. So, I’d say our team deserves every bit of it.”

Girls wrestling is the fastest-growing sport in the United States, said the National Federation of State High School Associations, and Coleman said she hopes that the first state tournament will bring more growth in the state.

“I really hope that means that the sport of wrestling will grow in both the men and the women divisions, more so in the female division,” Coleman said. “Now girls see that they’re not having to battle men with brute strength, that they get to battle someone with their own physical characteristics.

“I feel like that’s going to make girls feel like that they can actually compete in this sport, and that it’s just not a male-dominant sport.”

Coleman, along with South Beauregard sophomore Sarah Cervenka, is chasing perfection.

Coleman is 28-0 and the No. 1 ranked wrestler at 106 pounds. She said wrestling boys for years has only made her stronger, but she had to make a few changes this season.

“I feel like wrestling guys all along prepared me for moments like these,” Coleman said. “But then, at the same time, it’s like I had to learn a new style of wrestling with girls because they’re different from boys.

“I feel pretty good going into it, though. It is also learning that girls’ weights are in their hips and guys are upper muscle. So, it’s like changing from always attacking the legs and trying to find something else.”

Cervenka (30-0) is the top seed at 145 pounds and is one of five ranked Lady K’s.

“I have been more aggressive and taking more shots and working harder at practice,” Cervenka said.

Buller (26-2) is the No. 1 wrestler at 126 pounds and has wins against No. 2 (Isabella Guillory, East Ascension) and No. 4 seed (Quetzicalli Guevara, Lafayette).

“I’ve changed how I take my shots,” Buller said. “I’ve been trying to be more technical instead of more aggressive because I’ve been told that I come out the gate really fast, and I notice at practice that I wrestle better if I just watch what I’m doing.

“I’m excited to win and eat and eat. I’ve been cutting a lot of weight, so I’m excited.”