FHN’s girls wrestling team‘s expansion has led to the girls getting the opportunity to go to out-of-town tournaments, including Kansas City, Branson and Columbia. This will be a benefit for the girls’ wrestling team as it will provide them with the opportunity to compete at higher levels and puts them in a better position for future meets.

Because of the variety of competition in places out of town, the girls will get new wrestling experiences and have new interactions with girls they can learn from by going up against girls with different skill sets, advancing themselves, and gaining insight.

“More schools are coming out to the bigger tournaments, and the girls are at a higher skill level,” Hollis said. 

Not only will it be better competition, but it will also be better exposure for the girls, as they will get to watch more girls at all different competitive stages. Staying ahead of the other girls puts them in a better position for when they’re going face-to-face with them.

“It will be beneficial for us to see different girls to see how they compete,” wrestler Ashlynn Alexander said. “It’s also beneficial to wrestle with people we don’t normally go up against.”

The opportunity for out-of-town competition will also be beneficial for the girls individually as wrestlers to strengthen their skills, which will also be reflected in their matches and will reflect well on the girls and the team as a whole. 

“I think it’ll push me farther in my wrestling career because I’ll get more experience with more technical girls,” Hollis said.

Girls wrestling coach Kim Skwira is also excited to see the benefits that will be shown through the girls’ development. The chance to have more out-of-town tournaments will open more opportunities for the girls to view their competition as well.

“We are hoping to see various teams from various different areas of the state, rather than just locally,” Skwira said. “ This just means we can see how they compete before we actually see them at state.”

The girls know that different teams from different areas have a variety of wrestling styles, and you might encounter one you are not used to. Having the advantage of getting to see these girls before big tournaments like state helps the girls stay prepared. 

“The teams from the Kansas City side just wrestle differently,” Skwira said. “Their competition level is a different type, so I’m looking forward to seeing them in Branson and Kansas City in a couple of weeks.”

Being able to have prior intel on teams is so pivotal for future opportunities like state, because for the girls on the team, they have an end goal for the season, and getting these chances is gonna help them meet these.

“The ultimate goal is how you finish,” Skwira said. “They want to place or place higher than they did last year, and the only way you can do that is by competing against the best throughout the season and growing from that.”