Girls wrestling team set to have pivotal year

With its biggest team ever, Blaine girls wrestling head coach Damon Higgins is hoping this will be a pivotal year for the program.

Nine girls are came out to wrestle – enough to justify the team having its own practice, rather than practicing with the boys. Higgins thinks that will go a long toward growing the program.

“Now, girls are growing up with the idea that wrestling is a female sport, which has been a tough sell in Blaine,” He said. “There are a few girls that can thrive on being on the mat with the boys, but for the most part, they want to sweat in their own space. They want to be motivated in their own way.”

The girls wrestling program has been slowly picking up steam this decade. Olivia Adams, a 2015 Blaine graduate who earned two state wrestling medals, was the only female wrestler in Blaine for much of her high school career. In the years since, Blaine has consistently had a few female wrestlers, but not enough to warrant their own practices until now.

Higgins thinks the program should continue to grow, since Blaine Middle School has a healthy wrestling program.

The girls team this year is young, with just two returning wrestlers from last season – senior Taylee McCormick and junior Kylaya Armstrong. Josy Delgadillo, who went to state last year as a Borderite, moved to Bellingham. Six of the nine girls are freshman or sophomores.

“We’re really young,” said head coach Damon Higgins. “Those two are my veterans.”

The Borderites started their competition season by winning most of their matches at an unscored jamboree on December 7. At the Everett Lady Classic on December 14, against teams from about 40 other schools, freshman Genesis Vasquez took fourth place in the 115-pound weight class. She was Blaine’s only placer at that tournament.

The Borderites wrestle next at the Scramble at Stanwood on Thursday, December 19. They’ll wrestle at home again at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, January 22.