Lakeview's Stine, Harper Creek's Stiltner part of the growing sport of girls wrestling

BATTLE CREEK - Lakeview's Kennedy Stine and Harper Creek's Alexandra Stiltner have become the new faces of girls high school wrestling in the state of Michigan.

They are female athletes that tried the sport in middle school, liked it. And because there are more and more opportunities to compete in the past few years, they are excelling at the high school level.

"It used to be us girls could only wrestle dudes. I would have people doubting me when I was wrestling dudes, thinking I shouldn't be out there, or whatever. But I would go out and work 10 times harder than the guys to try and keep up and I would hold my own," Stine said. "But, now, as I get to wrestle other girls, I have a confidence I can compete. I know I can compete and win and that's the mindset for us girls. We get to compete as girls and that's the mindset for any success we might have."

The Michigan High School Athletic Association has had a girls state wrestling tournament the last two seasons. Stine, a senior on the Lakeview wrestling team, has qualified for states both years. She placed at the state tournament as a sophomore and was a regional champ last year as a junior.

Stiltner broke onto the scene last year as a freshman on the Harper Creek wrestling team and placed at the state tournament in her first shot on the big stage.

They are both products of a growing sport in the state.

"Last year, the state of Michigan had 700 females wrestle and this year, that number is up to about 1,300. So it's doubling and it's one of the fastest growing sports in the state," said Lakeview coach Nicholas Eckstein. "We have three girls that wrestle here at Lakeview, but there are some school that have 13, 14, 15 girls on the their team.

"There are more girls tournaments this year. I think it's great. It's really good to build confidence as it is great to have females wrestling against other females so they can enjoy some success."

Boys wrestling still included four divisions, while the girls postseason has all schools included in one tournament. That might change going forward if there is a demand for it.

"It's great to see it growing," Stiltner said. "There is a lot more competition and better experiences for the new girls, even this year with more weekend tournaments than ever. Hopefully, they will add more regions for the state tournament, and even some districts in years to come. Not too long ago, you couldn't find any girls wrestling, but now there is almost too many for the tournaments we have now."

Harper Creek coach Dave Studer, who has seen it all in his almost 60 years of coaching high school wrestling, is excited about the changes.

"I used to teach wrestling when I taught phys-ed," Studer said. "I remember a lot of girls back in the day that I figured could compete if they came out for the team. But there was really no space for it back then. It's just awesome that there is more of an opportunity now.

"I think it's tremendous how it has grown. I have had some girls wrestle for us over the years, but they were always competing against the boys and it was different. Now, the girls are really competing, going against other girls, really building their skills and it's great to see. You see a girl like we have in Alex do well and that will get more girls coming out because they see it is possible."

Harper Creek opened the season with five girls on the wrestling team in Stiltner, Isabella Martin, Destiny Robbins and Kayla Miller as well as Alyssa Martinez, who is now injured. Lakeview has three with Stine, Biak Sung and Adrianna Simmons. In the city, Pennfield has two female wrestlers as well in sophomores Kylie Daghuer and Zoey Wilkins. Battle Creek Central has one female wrestler in Akira Shepherd.

All of them suit up and compete in the boys wrestling events for their schools when there is an opportunity, either at the varsity or junior varsity level.

They all hope to compete in the postseason exclusively in the girls tournament, which can be a challenge for them individually because the skill sets can be different.

"My brother was a wrestler, so I knew how it went. I started in eighth grade and I learned the moves pretty quickly," Stiltner said. "But there are different moves when you wrestle girls than when you wrestle boys and I kinda have to know both, so it's a lot."

Coaching female wrestlers is different, as well.

"I have been coaching Kennedy since she started in seventh grade," Eckstein said. "When you are coaching females who are wrestling males, it's a totally different technique. But when it is females wrestling females, it opens things up, so that they can actually compete. A lot of times when it is females vs. males, it's more about, 'wrestle tough, do the best you can'. But, in females vs. females, they can really go after wins."

Stine and Stiltner are both favored to get back to the state tournament to go after wins when the postseason begins with girls regionals scheduled for Feb. 18.

"Want to get to the podium at states. That's the goal. Get to the top of the podium, if I can. That's what I am working toward," Stine said.

Bill Broderick can be reached at bbroderi@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on X/Twitter: @billbroderick

This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: Locals shine as high school girls wrestling grows in Michigan