Northfield sophomore becomes first Minnesota girl to win medal at boys state wrestling tournament
NORTHFIELD, Minn. — History was made at the Minnesota boys' state wrestling tournament on March 1, when a girl took home a medal for the first time.
Northfield High School sophomore Caley Graber earned fifth place after winning two of her three individual matches.
"I've been working for it for a long time and then to finally have that come true and see all the people cheering me on at the Xcel Energy Center, it was truly amazing," Graber said.
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"She went out and pinned him in the first minute and then it was alright, let's just keep rolling, see how far this takes us," said head coach Geoff Staab.
Graber started wrestling when she was only 4 years old, inspired by her older brother who was already competing in the sport.
Being one of only a few girls in wrestling growing up, she often competed with boys, which helped establish a reputation and respect.
"(The boys) know that I've been wrestling for a long time, so a lot of them treat me just like another one of them," she said.
Once in high school, she competed against more girls and won first place at girls' state as a freshman.
Graber could have continued to compete against the girls this season, but instead, she requested that she train with the boys and compete against them all season long.
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"Where I can't beat those boys in strength, I have to beat them in technique," she said.
"You have to really be able to fine-tune your technique and be that good at it in order to be competitive as a girl, against these boys that do have more muscle and they're a lot stronger," Staab said.
He hopes Graber's success this season helps with future female recruitment.
"We're hoping that helps bring in more girls, not only (in) our program, but throughout the state," he said.
