As girls step foot on the mat for what feels like the longest six minutes of match time, a new standard for Kingsway history is in the making with the first ever girls wrestling team.  Under the direction of head coach Farid Syed on  January 21,  the girls team recorded their first dual meet wins by beating Rancocas Valley 48-12 and Raritan.

In the beginning months of the 2018-19 school year, word was going around that girls wrestling has now be sectioned at Kingsway Regional. The hype of the new sport brought attention to a vast group of 40 plus girls, one girl in particular who was on the boys team last year, made another appearance for the girls team this year.

 Anna Neff, a junior wrestler at Kingsway who has pinned an opponent this season, had lots to say when the girls team became the new talk. “I feel like it should have happened sooner but now that it’s here I’m excited for the opportunity for girls to progress in the sport,” said Neff. 

She elaborated, “Because it’s a male dominated sport, the girls think they don’t belong or think they can’t physically do it or that they shouldn’t be there but are working hard to create an atmosphere within the team that reminds them that this is their sport too.”

As far as training differences, there really is no difference between the girls and boys teams. Head coach, Farid Syed, Physical and Health Education teacher stated, “It could be man, woman, child, or beast. We train them the same way.” 

The girls practice every day after school from three-thirty to five-thirty, as well as Saturday mornings from eight o’clock to eleven.rt. Ali Fink, a sophomore in the high school said being a  part of the largest girls wrestling team in South Jersey is “…pretty great. I never experienced anything like this before, and it’s crazy how we are all on the Philly Inquirer. It’s great that so many girls want to start the movement of girl power.”  

The girls team could not have happened without the dedication to the student body and drive to seek the best for the future of the students at Kingsway from athletic director June Coffi. Coffi put months of long work and meetings and time into trying to make the girls team possible. Cioffi’s take on the newly progressed team was filled with pride and excitement.

“Something I’m extremely proud of,” Cioffi stated.

Links to other stories:

http://highschoolsports.nj.com/news/article/-4371007770633154961/kingsway-girls-get-five-pins-in-48-12-victory-over-rancocas-valley/

http://www.philly.com/high-school-sports/new-jersey/girls-wrestling-new-jersey-high-school-kingsway-20181212.html