Wrestle Like a Girl

At Peddie, the wrestling team is a place where you can find community, learn discipline, and build character and physical strength. But the team is not just a solace for boys; girls are welcome to participate too — and they do.

Sarah Karlekar ’26, Addison (Addie) Collins ’27 and Amelia Kenney ’28 make up the girls roster for the 2024-2025 wrestling season. The three young women each hold significant pride in being members of the team, and boasted about how competing made them feel. While their journeys all started out differently, all three share the same love of being on the mat.

Before wrestling at Peddie, Karlekar was already participating in combat sports, having grown up doing Taekwondo and kickboxing, which made her comfortable and interested in trying out wrestling.

“Everyone was surprised because, I mean, girls wrestling is pretty new and it’s not super common,” shared Karlekar. “I feel like a lot of people were surprised, and not just my friends but teachers as well. They’re always really shocked when I tell them.”

Collins started out managing the team, and after watching a few tournaments, felt “FOMO” (the fear of missing out), and decided she wanted to give it a try. “A lot of my friends were encouraging me to do it, and then Coach [Austin] Frank was super supportive as well,” shared Collins.

“I saw during the first tournament, there was a whole girls section, so I was like, ‘Oh, girls can actually do this,’” said Collins. “The team culture is so great that I felt comfortable enough to start wrestling. Everyone was super supportive and super nice about me joining.”

For Kenney, wrestling started out as a way to break out of her comfort zone. She initially started winter term as a member of the basketball team, but promptly decided that it was time for a change, and joined the wrestling team midseason.

“I started talking to some of the freshmen boys who were on the team, and they were like, ‘You should totally do it,’” said Kenney. “So I reached out to Coach Frank, and he was super welcoming about it and he’s like, ‘we’d love to have you,’ so we got right into it.”

The ladies share the sentiment that wrestling is not about winning or losing, but winning does feel pretty sweet!

“When I won this year, it was the first match that I wrestled this season and I won 15-2 … I was pretty proud about that. Last season, I was out for almost the entire season because I [had] a third stage shoulder separation,” shared Karlekar. “It just felt good coming back to the mat and getting the win first.”

Collins has also found success on the mat. “My first win was pretty cool. It was a JV home meet here, and I don’t really remember how it happened, but I remember pinning her, and it was super exciting,” she said.

Joining the team midseason, Kenney knew it would take some time before her first win.

“Getting out there my first time, I did go down really quickly, but I just kind of threw myself right into the mix,” Kenney said. “I knew that the outcome was probably not going to be favorable for me since it was after my third day of practice, but I kind of just got right into it, and I’m really proud of myself for doing that.”

The girls will often wrestle other girls from different schools, but they also have the opportunity to wrestle boys when they’re in the same weight class.

“Whenever I wrestle boys, I’m just proud of trying and proud of not giving up before I even start,” shared Karlekar. “At some tournaments, I’ve had to wrestle with guys that play football or are visibly really strong, and it’s just about trying even though you know you’re kind of at a disadvantage.”

All three girls shared that they feel extremely supported by the team. “Everyone who’s on the wrestling team is friendly with each other,” Collins said. “People who are friends in wrestling are also friends outside of wrestling.”

“We truly have a team of students who are dedicated to working hard to improve while always supporting and respecting one another.” said two-year captain, Connor Pawliczak ’25. “In particular, Sarah, Addison and Amelia have shown extreme progress as they are a clear minority in the room, yet never let that be an excuse to give less effort or play a smaller role on the team.”

Kenney shared that her favorite part about being on the team is being able to rely on her teammates. “They’re so supportive of me and I’m just really appreciative of every person on the team. The three freshmen boys on the team are always encouraging me. After my matches, they’re always giving me feedback,” she said.

Karlekar remembered a moment when a senior teammate gave her a shoutout for continuing wrestling all three years she’s been at Peddie. “They acknowledge that it’s hard, and being a girl kind of just makes it harder. The coaches really recognize the effort that I put into it, and they don’t really treat me differently,” she said.

Kenney said she hopes to see even more girls try wrestling. “There’s even been people who have talked to me, and they’re like, ‘I love seeing girls in wrestling, now this is something that I’m considering trying.’ And I’m really glad that I’ve inspired other people to consider the possibility. That really means so much to me,” Kenney said. “I just want to see the sport continue to grow for girls.”

Frank shared the three girls have fit into the culture of wrestling. “To be a wrestler requires grit and toughness, so it comes as no surprise that girls wrestling is on the rise,” he said. “I’m proud of Addie, Amelia and Sarah for their commitment to the wrestling program.”