As the winter sports season begins at Fox Chapel Area, there is a new offering available. For the first time, Fox Chapel Area has a girls wrestling team. Girls wrestling had never been a sanctioned standalone sport in Pennsylvania until the summer of 2023.
A roster of 15 girls is taking to the mat for Fox Chapel Area. After a scrimmage this week against Pine-Richland, the girls will get their first taste of real competition Saturday in a tournament at Butler.
Coach Michael Frank has a young roster with just one senior and three juniors, but they do have some background in the sport.
“We do have some girls that joined our team last year in the hope that girls wrestling would be sanctioned,” coach Frank said. “So, we do have a little bit of experience. A lot of them are just brand new to the sport. That comes with its own set of challenges.”
Something that doesn’t seem like it will be a challenge is the girls’ work ethic.
“They’re awesome to be around,” he said. “They all have great attitudes. They all show up. They want to improve. They’re really eager to start some competition to see how they’re developing. It’s inspiring to have such a great group of kids to work with. Hopefully, they all have a great experience with it.”
Since the program is in its inception, it’s a little tough to see who might be some of the standouts on the mat this season. The team has girls who participate in other sports, bringing a nice mix of athleticism.
“We’re still trying to figure out where all their weights are going to fall,” coach Frank said. “We have a couple returning from last year who we’re excited to see continue that development and compete.”
One name he did mention is junior Yuqi Zhou, who also is a member of the school’s track and cross country teams.
“She’s put in a lot of work,” coach Frank said of Yuqi. “She did a lot of work this summer trying to improve. She’s just a super awesome kid. She’s really committed to improving. I’m excited to see her get a chance to let the hard work pay off.”
Coach Frank will be assisted by some of his staff for the boys team, as well as Dr. Laura Ward, high school librarian.
“We have her as a female presence for the girls,” coach Frank said. “We really wanted to make sure that was there. They’re high school girls, and to only have an all-male staff may not be the easiest thing.”
Coach Frank is just excited to get going with the new program.
“The goal for us really is steady improvement, a lot of personal improvement every time out, learning from what they do, positives or negatives,” he said. “I’m just really proud of them. To try something brand new at the high school level, I give those kids all the credit in the world. Wrestling is such a difficult sport, and to do it at this age for the first time, I think it’s wonderful.”