Wrestling, long defined as a ‘men’s sport’, has quickly evolved into a symbol of resilience, strength, and grit, especially for women. Lady Panther Wrestling represents progress, as women’s wrestling continues to grow across the country, and this team, though small, is making history.
Currently, the team consists of Allison LeBlanc, Nalani Jordan, Caydee Eden, Eleasah Horsley, Avery LeBlanc, Aubrey Blount, Stella Schmidtverger, Elora Joy, and Ellidi Joy. The team is coached by Jeriah Horsely and is making a name for itself.
On December 13th, at the Cody Invite, four girls placed in the top four. In Belgrade, out of seven, five girls placed, and the team placed sixth out of forty-eight teams. And most recently, at Ron-Thon, LeBlanc took home first place in the 110 lbs division, Horsley and Jordan were runner-ups in their respective divisions, Eden placed fourth in the 100 lbs division, and the team took home seventh.
Though all the individual wins are a true testament to resilience and strength, what’s more fascinating is that Powell’s small team is competitive against larger ones.
“At the Tiger-Grizz Tournament in Idaho Falls, we competed with four athletes… all four girls placed while competing against experienced wrestlers from Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming,” head coach Jeriah Horsley said. “We earned two third-place finishes, one fourth-place finish, and one sixth-place finish, and placed tenth as a team out of 43 teams—most of which brought 10 or more wrestlers. This outcome is a strong testament to the quality and competitiveness of our Lady Panthers.”
To be able to regularly place and take home sweepstakes titles is a testament to the unique strength and grit that the Lady Panthers bring to the mat. The drawback of having a smaller traveling team is that the full competitiveness of the Lady Panthers often cannot be measured to its full potential.
“Throughout the season, our athletes have faced some very tough competition from Montana schools, both in tournaments and duals. While our dual results have been solid, it can be difficult to fully assess team performance since many programs—including ours—do not always complete lineups across every weight class,” Coach Horsley said. “This gives a lot of forfeitures and exhibition matches to allow for the girls to still get a match, but does not count toward their high school season record.”
Despite this, it’s no understatement to say that the history being set by the Lady Panthers is unrivaled and even competitive in comparison to the boys’ Panther Wrestling.
LeBlanc recently reached 100 wins and then championed Ron Thon, while in comparison, the boys’ wrestling only took home two medals in the JV division.
“Looking ahead, we are excited to see how we match up against Wyoming competition,” Coach Horsley said. “Our girls have gained valuable experience competing out of state, and we are eager to bring that toughness and confidence back home.”