The Anderson High School girls’ wrestling team had their first official season from 2024 to 2025. The team consisted of 12 determined girls, whereas the average girls wrestling team consists of 8 girl wrestlers. The girls however were not the only ones who were determined. Head coach David Scaramazzo felt very honored to be the first coach of the Anderson High School girls’ team. “Seeing them as a team bond and [watching them] build a team relationship,” he makes it clear how proud he is of the team’s opportunity to grow together.
The girls started their season off strongly at their New Palestine Invite, placing 12 out of 24. Junior wrestler, Ashante’ Jackson describes their first tournament as, “it [the meet] was fun and carefree, until I actually had to get onto the mat then it was pretty nerve-wracking.”
They continued their season by placing twenty-second out of twenty five at their two day tournament at Columbia City.
And finally, at their Beech Grove Holiday Classic, they earned their spot of 9 out of twenty-five.
The team contained many girls, which made it difficult for all of them to wrestle at once since other teams did not have as many wrestlers. “All our dual meets, we had the most girls and probably the one time where we all went actually went against other girls was our first ever meet [against] Lawrence North,” Jackson reports. Despite this fact, their dual meets consisted of seven wins and two losses.
Scaramazzo proves the advancements that were made with time, “We did well on some of the tournaments. Had one sectional champion, Tannesha Samuels.” Samuels is a great example of the improvement the girls had, even with little to no experience. She fearlessly joined the new sport without having any prior experience whatsoever, proving the great effort that the lady tribe put into their season.
Although it is the first official season of AHS, it is not the first season overall. From 2023 to 2024, five girl wrestlers were courageous enough to wrestle regardless of the title of an official team. Alexandra Renteria, Maryah Elliott, Layrana Elliot, Ashley Jeronimo, and Aubreeana Walker were a part of this off-the-record team. The girls would wrestle against other schools while attempting to encourage others that wrestling is worth it, eventually becoming successful.
“I think they should be recognized in this school as long as this school is here.” Coach Scaramazzo reveals his true opinions of the team’s importance. The team preserved through the hardships of their first season and are elated to come back even better for their next season.
