"Misfits" at heart, Julia and Jodie Horger found their perfect fit in girls wrestling

When Julia Horger's mom signed her up for wrestling, she hoped it would have a positive impact on her daughter's life.

It did just that.

But Jodie Horger never dreamed it would change her own life so much.

Julia has been wrestling for as long as she can remember, and Jodie has been a wrestling mom for nearly as long as she can remember.

But she never imagined that she'd become a wrestling godmother to more than 1,000 aspiring female athletes. And it was all inspired by daughter Julia.

Longing to be ‘one of the girls’ as PA wrestling grows

Five years ago, Julia’s wrestling career was flourishing, as she competed in prestigious tournaments across the country. But she wasn’t finding as much happiness in the sport as she once did. In fact, she was sometimes downright mad.

“When I first started wrestling, boys didn’t want to wrestle me because they thought they were too good for it,” said Julia, a Conwell-Egan sophomore. “But later, they didn’t want to wrestle me because they were worried I might beat them.”

Julia frequently bested the boys.

“I actually felt angry a lot of the time after practices and matches,” she said.

That’s when Jodie stepped in with a simple idea that would change everything.

“Julia needed a place where she could go and not be the only girl,” said Jodie. “So I called around and found wrestling rooms in the area willing to give us one night a week to hold practices for girls.”

Jodie found plenty of support from local wrestling coaches, and held practices all over Bucks County. Twelve girls showed up for the first session, and girls’ night quickly became so popular that Jodie needed a permanent home.

She found a site in Bensalem, and opened Misfits Girls Wrestling on Bensalem Boulevard.

Girls find their perfect fit at Misfits Girls Wrestling

The outside of Misfits is bright, colorful and beckoning.

The inside is filled with strength and agility equipment, wrestling mats, climbing ropes and monkey bars.

And more often than not, it’s filled with female wrestlers from novices to state champions.

“The girls love the equipment, but they also love having a place to hang out with other girls,” Jodie said of Misfits, which hosts ages six through college. “Most of the girls don’t want to leave.”

While Jodie was a college athlete, playing basketball at Penn State Abington, she had never wrestled and didn’t have any direct experience with the sport.

“What I'm good at is organizing,” said Jodie, who founded Rick’s Expert Tree Service with her husband. “And I knew enough to find trainers who did know about wrestling.”

She estimates that well over 1,000 girls (and the occasional kid brother) have worked out at Misfits, coming from as far as Maryland, New York and Ohio.

As girls wrestling grew, with the PIAA sanctioning the sport in July 2023, so did Misfits, forming travel teams. They added additional locations, including one in South Carolina, and even began offering college scholarships.

“It’s a lot of work but it’s easy to do Misfits because of how grateful and appreciative the girls are,” Jodie said. “The girls listen well and are so eager to learn.”

While Misfits has made a difference in the lives of numerous girls, Jodie never overlooks the impact it’s made on her own daughter.

“I’m so proud of her because wrestling is, by far, the toughest sport I’ve ever witnessed,” Jodie said.

Julia has had plenty of opportunities to feel proud of her mom as well. In 2022, Jodie was awarded the Coaches Torch Award for Growing Women’s Wrestling at the PA Ultimate Club Duals.

Julia Horger forges way at Conwell-Egan

When it came time to start high school, Julia, who had always dreamed of attending Conwell-Egan, decided to go to Bensalem instead so she could wrestle. She went 37-12 wrestling both boys and girls, and finished second in the state at the MyHouse Girls State Wrestling Championships.

Julia still felt drawn to Conwell-Egan and transferred her sophomore year despite the fact that, at the time, she wouldn’t be able to wrestle since the school didn’t have a girls wrestling team and the Catholic League doesn’t allow girls to wrestle boys.

Then a wrestling miracle happened.

“The Conwell-Egan coach (Chuckie Connor) called my mom and asked, 'Did you register Julia yet? We’re getting girls wrestling!’” Julia recalled. “I was so shocked and thrilled when that happened, and I know my mom had something to do with it.”

Jodie won’t claim credit, but she certainly had some influence.

“I’m a member of the Sanction PA committee which helps develop and grow girls teams in the state,” Jodie said. “I called and wrote letters to lots of schools in the area and explained how fast the sport was growing.”

Statistics from Trackwrestling.com show that the number of girls participating in high school wrestling has nearly doubled in the last year.

More: Two ACL tears didn't stop Mya Aizen from making an impact on Conwell-Egan basketball, soccer

Enjoying wrestling's fringe benefits

Julia was eager to recruit friends, but today the Conwell-Egan girls wrestling team consists of Julia and freshman Megan Embrico. That hasn't stopped her.

“At the end of March, I’m going to Estonia for a tournament,” Julia said. “I like traveling and I’m so excited about going there. It’s something I will remember forever.”

Jodie will be accompanying Julia on the trip where she will wrestle in the Tallin Open, one of the largest wrestling tournaments in Europe. While Julia is excited for the trip, she is now focused on the first-ever PIAA Girls Wrestling Championships.

Making history in Pennsylvania girls wrestling

Julia is 18-0 this season, and is ranked No. 1 in the state at 106 pounds by Pa-Wrestling.com. She won the 106-pound title at the first-ever PIAA District One/12 Girls Wrestling Championships, and last week she won a South East Regional championship.

Julia’s wins put her in the history books, both for the PIAA and Conwell-Egan.

“Last year, there wasn’t much excitement at the girls championships. It seemed like just a regular, everyday meet,” said Julia. “Now (as part of the PIAA), it feels like a huge deal. It will be a really cool experience to be part of the first-ever girls state championships.”

When she takes the mat this weekend at Hershey, Julia will have a large cheering section, but she knows there’s one fan who will be the loudest.

“My mom will always be my biggest supporter,” Julia said. “I would never have made it this far if not for her.

“Everything I do now is for her.”

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Pennsylvania Girls Wrestling: Conwell-Egan's Julia Horger makes history