By Karen Cruz
Wrestling is a difficult sport that requires a lot of dedication, discipline, proper nutrition, and strength. Wrestling is a sport that doesn’t discriminate regardless of gender. It doesn’t discriminate your body type, height, or weight. It challenges the wrestler to test how much strength they have.
There is always a place for you to wrestle based on your weight class. There are 10 weight classes all ranging between the lightest which is 125, and the heaviest which is 285. You don’t need to qualify to be on the team as long you want to be a member, the drive is all you need. Women’s wrestling has grown in the past year years.
This year the ElAC Wrestling team hosted an all-day tournament “The Brawl” at the South East Gym at ELAC. Some of the colleges that participated include Rio Hondo, Santa Ana College, Moorpark College, Fresno City, Cerritos College, Palomar College, and Bakersfield College.
The Brawl Tournament at East Los Angeles College was a great experience. It was indeed a great match. Brandon Sotomayor did an excellent job wrestling, and the crowd did way better than expected. He was the No. 1 State- Ranked heavyweight wrestler and defeated the reigning champion of the Brawl tournament, Chance Eskam from Palomar College.
A lot of families were happy, taking photos and reacting loudly. It was an individual tournament for the coaches Monico, and Coach Valle. The wrestling match was a great experience, especially watching the girls compete against other girls.
You could see the excitement and eagerness on their faces and how much fun they were having. Seeing girls wrestle makes it different because women are seen as more feminine than masculine.
Instead of being seen as girls who look nice or are weak, they were being noticed for their moves and skills, which was very different in a good way.
Even though, there is sexism about girl wrestling, more female wrestlers are competing today than ever before. It must be hard trying to find the right gear for a woman to wear. In today’s society, a lot of women still face discrimination when they wrestle because are called too manly.
Some states have prevented girls from wrestling or even some cultures because of their clothes being too tight and the fact that they may come in contact with men.
This year was the first time that woman competed at the California Community College level against other women at every weight-class. Because of the new law that ensures equality between female and males, no matter who wins, the opponent is always required to shake the other’s hands after each match.
Every sport is competitive, but wrestling is different because your team becomes your opponent. To stay, you must make it to the practice and always train harder than your opponent. You need to fight for it, and that will help you become a better wrestler.