In fourth grade, Chevy Coleman watched her older brother Pollex Coleman wrestle. It wasn’t long before Coleman, a sophomore at Sam Houston High School, decided that was the sport for her.

“I am the only girl that grew up in my house, and my older brother started wrestling,” Coleman said. “I saw him throw some kids, and I was like ‘That looked pretty cool.’

“Wrestling has taught me discipline. It has taught me how to never give up and always keep my eyes forward. I want to go to college and wrestle and see (what happens) from there.”

Despite the obvious challenge of wrestling against mostly boys, Coleman, who also has three younger brothers, has excelled and is part of the exponential growth in high school girls wrestlers throughout the nation. She is 45-20 wrestling in the 106-pound weight class.

“There are always difficulties no matter what you do,” Coleman said. “Being a female in high school, there is no girls division. We are wrestling guys. You have a girl going against pure power. Boys are going into puberty, and that is one of the worst times to wrestle them.

“The season has been pretty good. This year I decided that no matter what loss I took, I was just going to build up from there.”

According to an article posted on the National Federation of State High School Association website dated Dec. 20, 2021, 25 states added girls wrestling from 2018 to 2021. From 2005 to 2020, girls participation in high school wrestling went from 4,975 to 28,447. In Louisiana, girls participation in the sport has grown considerably in the last decade. In 2013-2014, trackwrestling.com listed 16 girls wrestling in the state. This season there are 122 listed.

According to the Louisiana High School Wrestling Association website (lhswa.org), Kellie Odinet (Andrew Jackson) became the first girl to win a match at the Louisiana High School Athletic Association state championships in 1998. Two girls have placed at the state championships, Benton’s Sharon McDonald (2004, fourth) and Doyline’s Brittany Bates (fourth, 106, Division III).

There is a push throughout the state to get the LHSAA to add girls wrestling as a sanctioned sport, but there are a few hurdles to clear, namely that a minimum of 80 schools are needed.

While girls will wrestle alongside boys this weekend at the state championships in Bossier City, 37 schools participated in an all-girls high school tournament last weekend in Baton Rouge — the JV Select State Championships. Coleman breezed to the 106-pound title, winning all five matches by pin and four in less than 40 seconds to earn outstanding wrestler honors.

South Beauregard’s Sarah Cervenka won the 126-pound title.

“The coach from Zachary (J.P. Pierre), Brusly (Jimmy Bible) and several coaches that are pushing to get it taken care of,” Sam Houston head coach Michael Roach said. “It is taking some time. It is kind of a long game.

“Wrestling, to a lot of people, was dying off. Maybe it was not as popular as it was, but with girls getting involved I think it is going to revive everything. I think that there is no question that a kid will wrestle if his mom wrestled. It is also exciting to watch two girls go out there and wrestle and use good technique.”

Coleman said he wants to see more girls join.

“I would tell them to, honestly, do it,” Coleman said. “You have to push through it.

“I think that it is going to grow a lot. Even now we are building numbers. There is a possibility, but a lot of girls are too scared to come forward. Once we get those (girls divisions), I tell you there is going to be a girls state.”

Roach said he believes it is only a matter of time before Coleman puts her name in the record books.

“There is hope that she can get in the top six this year,” Roach said. “I don’t doubt she will place at state in her junior and senior year.

“Every time she gets on the mat she thinks she is going to win. She is confident. She takes the defeat pretty hard, but it motivates her to work harder. Over the years, they have had a couple of girls wrestle with Sam Houston, but Chevy is just at a whole other level.”