This year, three girls – one returner and two new – joined the wrestling team, a sport that has primarily been male-dominated. The wrestling team is a perfect example of true Patriot spirit, accepting and making the girls an equal part of the team.

Madeleine Hsiao was on the team last year. This year, her fellow sophomores Morgan Fitzpatrick and June Ricks joined her. According to the girls, they were interested in the sport because of the physical fitness inherent in the sport.

For Fitzpatrick, the chance to try something new was also intriguing.

“I’ve wanted to join since seventh grade but I was very self-conscious about joining something when I knew no one on the team and about weight. It has changed my mindset giving me more drive, leveling me out, and making me more positive,” Fitzpatrick said.

The girls feel they are changed by participating in a male-dominated sport. They report that the physical workout included in the sport is geared towards gaining the strength needed to pin any opponent. There is also a mental side which teaches how to be more aggressive. Gaining confidence in themselves and creating plans are more qualities the girls believe they have been taught.

And how do the boys feel about having girls on the team?

“If there were more females on the team, a lot of the members won’t be as ignorant and have the understanding that girls can wrestle too,” Drew Fritz said.

On a team, the girls say, it is important for everyone to get along, especially one where their practices mean wrestling possibly wrestling against a boy. The boys on the team believe that their acceptance of their fellow teammates as equals creates a stronger bond and, therefore, a stronger team out of the Liiberty wrestlers.

“The three of us are very much combined in the team. We are a big happy family,” Madeleine Hsiao said.

The team lost to Highline 36-43 in the first week of competition but came back and won last Thursday’s match versus cross-town rival Issaquah.