Girl's Wrestling Gallery
Girls' Wrestling Gallery
.sno-67aa7f3eaf442 { background-color: #ffffff;border: 5px solid #870202;box-shadow: -1px 0 2px 0 rgb(0 0 0 / 12%), 1px 0 2px 0 rgb(0 0 0 / 12%), 0 1px 1px 0 rgb(0 0 0 / 24%);float: left; margin: 30px 30px 30px 0px;} .sno-67aa7f3eaf442 h5 { color: #000000; }Move over gentlemen, and make room on the mat. Girls’ wrestling has made its way to Stroudsburg High School. Stroudsburg wrestling alumni and Coach Jacob Jones, the boys’ coach, and young program coach, Jess Bryant, have undertaken the trailblazing sport.
Although girls’ wrestling is new to Stroudsburg, 18 girls quickly filled the roster; the majority of them already wrestling at varsity level. They wrestle one hour before the boys during their weekly matches and have tackled multiple matches and tournaments–they even brought home some medals.
They placed first and third at the Coal Cracker tournament last weekend.
“We started from scratch, at the very bottom. Between them working hard in practices and gaining experiences from matches, they are miles ahead of where they were when they first started. We are excited about the future of the program as they will continue to grow and get better,” explained Jones.
Matches are about an hour long. 13 different weight classes fight to overpower their opponent and win their match through the use of strength and technique. Girls’ wrestling has become an increasingly popular sport and is both mentally and physically demanding. Two individuals grapple, throw, and hold their opponent’s shoulders to the ground resulting in a pin for the win. Otherwise, they must outscore the opponent by the end of the third period. Each period is two minutes long, no rest time. Wrestlers can “score” anywhere between three to six points per match.
Coach Jones has been a boys’ wrestling assistant coach for several years at Stroudsburg High School, but this is his first time as a head coach and first time coaching girls. Jones said, “To give girls the opportunity to compete and learn this great sport was something I could not pass up.”
Wrestling, for him, is “a way of life.” He says, “The life lessons this sport teaches you go beyond the mat. It forces you to work hard, and that work ethic transitions over to life and the work world. The traits and qualities this sport teaches you are so valuable and beneficial to being successful in life. I became a coach to share my love of the sport and to give back to the sport that shaped me into who I am.”
Coach Bryant has coached in the youth wrestling program. This is a wrestling club located in Stroudsburg that includes high school, junior high, and youth ages. This will be Bryant’s second year in the program, and her first year as a high school sports coach.
“I have always loved the sport since I was a little girl, starting by wrestling for fun in coach Jakobsen’s old wrestling room. I wrestled in the youth program and stopped after my freshman year. As I got older, the competition with the boys became too much for me to handle on a physical level and back then, there wasn’t a big push for girls to continue through to the high school level, so I ended my wrestling days there. Not a day goes by that I don’t regret that decision. I want to help be the change and push all the girls K-12 to succeed through this program. I want them to be confident, strong, and most importantly have fun while doing it,” said Coach Bryant.
Many members of the girls’ wrestling team are new to sports, and looking to try something new. Some use wrestling as an outlet to release anger and frustration or keep in shape for another sport. Others did wrestling or some sort of fighting sport beforehand and wanted to get back into it.
Izabella Wozniak, ‘27, says, “I joined girls wrestling because I always had an interest in the sport, and I looked up to my brother who did it. When I heard we were making a girls team, I just knew I had to be a part of it.” When asked what goes through her head before a match, as she is new to sports, she said, “Before a match I just always have a winning mindset, hyping myself up, and getting rid of any doubts so I can be the best I can out there.” Her favorite memory from the ‘24-’25 season was, “Receiving our first ever singlets, seeing everyone so excited and trying them on boosted everyone’s confidence. Also, getting them really made the girls feel official.”
Even with the odds against them, the team still did well. They significantly improved just from their first match to their second match. For their first match in school history, they faced Emmaus and lost 0-78. A rough start and a hard loss for the team, but nevertheless, they preserved.
Not even a week later, they swept William Allen 54-18 for their second-ever home match.
Lucia Espitia, ’27, says “Wrestling is harder than it looks. It takes a lot of determination and dedication for this sport. I have learned a lot like endurance and managing my health a lot better. I will be returning next year. This sport has been nothing but fun. I love my team and coaches.”
According to Mountie Athletics, they finished out their winter season traveling to Jim Thorpe, Liberty, and Wyoming Valley. During the MLK weekend in January 2025, they took first and third place at an open tournament. At the Spartan Invitational, the girls took 1st place and had ten straight wins, making their record 17-4.
Arianna “A-dog” Thomas, ’27, was the first ever Stroudsburg girls wrestler to win by pin. “My goals are to have a positive win/loss rate and to increase my stamina. I’ve learned to not give my opponents so much credit just looking at their record.” She expressed her gratitude for the pin by saying, “It felt great. The Stroudsburg Home of the Mountaineers Facebook post got over 400 likes. Everyone is showing love and support, and I like the attention. I love it!” Her victorious match made history for Stroudsburg High School.
Stroudsburg students were more than intrigued to see the girls start their inaugural season. We can’t wait to see them back on the mat next year to break even more societal boundaries. These girls have set the bar high for students, athletes, and females.
“Resilient and inspiring” are the words coaches Jones and Bryant used to describe the team.
They concluded their first season with their last tournament at Wyoming Valley West. Almost all of the first-year female wrestlers will advance to Districts to represent Stroudsburg High School.