Wrestling has become a popular sport for hundreds of high school girls across Wisconsin.
That’s especially apparent this season at Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School, as the team’s roster of almost 30 wrestlers includes 12 girls. Those 12 girls include junior Brooke Huffman, a two-time defending state champion who headed into the Chargers’ Central Wisconsin Conference meet with Pittsville and Rosholt Jan. 20 with a 108-0 record.
Huffman didn’t wrestle at the Parents’ Night meet but already has more than 30 wins under her belt this season, all of them by pin.
Sports Illustrated listed Huffman as the top-ranked 190-pound girls wrestler in the nation as of mid-January.
“That’s what I’m working for, so I’m not super-surprised,” she said. “I work really hard, and I want to pursue all my goals, so I just keep pushing myself.”
Besides Huffman, other girls on this season’s team include senior Brenna Marsh; juniors Mykenna Jansen, Jersey Bradham, Taylor Marien and Christina Mattsen; sophomores Faith Weso and Addison Schmid; and freshmen Claire Rogalla, Izabell Schulist, Malayna Starr and Olviia Storkson.
The influx of girls into the program came as a surprise to longtime coach Duane Potrykus.
“Our senior girl (Marsh) went out and recruited this year, and a couple of others recruited,” he said. “All of a sudden, we had a bunch of girls that decided they wanted to try it. They struggle at times, because they’re new to the sport, but they really enjoy it and enjoy being around each other.”
Potrykus said he hasn’t seen a wrestler like Huffman dominate a sport like she has the last three seasons.
“I’ve been around Brooke ever since she was in first grade,” he said. “I was her youth coach all the way up. I’ve seen her dominate for many years. She’s fun to watch, and there’s not much competition that wants any piece of her.”
Huffman started wrestling as a first-grader and has stayed with the sport for a decade.
“It took a little while, but then I got the hang of it and started whooping butt, I guess,” she said.
Huffman said the transition from middle school to high school wrestling wasn’t difficult for her.
“It wasn’t too hard, because I wrestled at high school competitions in middle school,” she said.
Huffman, whose younger brother, Reid, also wrestles for the Chargers, is glad to see so many girls join her on the team.
“It’s pretty fun once you get pretty good,” she said. “They probably want to join something where other people have had success.”
Huffman wrestles boys in practice, but is matched up against other girls in meets and tournaments.
Her goals include winning four straight state championships.
“That’s definitely a goal and what I’ve been working for,” she said. “I’ve pinned everyone (this season). I’ve wrestled 35 matches, but some of them were forfeits.”
“She’s only gone to the second period two or three times in her career,” Potrykus said.
Although the WIAA, which oversees high school athletic programs in Wisconsin, has allowed girls to wrestle on high school teams for several years, girls didn’t have their own weight class brackets at the WIAA State Individual Wrestling Championships until 2022.
Huffman won the 185-pound championship as a sophomore last year and the same weight class as a freshman in 2024. Both matches ended with pins in the first period.
Four straight championships — which has not been accomplished yet on the girls’ side — is not out of the question for his most successful wrestler, according to Potrykus.
“I believe a girl from Lena is going for her fourth straight title this year,” he said.
That wrestler — Taylor Whiting — won the 114-pound championship as a junior last year for Lena after winning the 107-pound title as a sophomore in 2024 for the Wildcats and the same weight class as a freshman while wrestling for Oconto Falls in 2023.
“It’s going to take a pretty good match by somebody to knock Brooke off,” Potrykus said. “I would be shocked if she doesn’t win four straight titles.”
Huffman often uses a submission hold that seems to work on most of her opponents and accounts for most of her nearly 100 pins.
“I do the armbar,” she said. “I’ve known about it for a long time. It works great. I’ve never had a full match, but I’ve gone to the third period.”
“She likes to run the armbar,” Potrykus said. “That’s been her signature move since the second grade. She’s very good at it, and she should have success for a lot of years with it.”
Huffman isn’t worried about losing her first match.
“I’m confident in myself,” she said.
Huffman plans to stick with the sport after graduating next year.
“I’d love to wrestle in college,” she said. “I’ve talked to some schools. (A scholarship offer) usually doesn’t happen until senior year.”
Huffman didn’t hesitate when asked what wrestling means to her.
“Everything,” she said. “It’s given me everything. I do volleyball, but it’s just my fun sport. Wrestling’s my main sport. I’ve been doing this for a long time. It’s second nature now.”
