Sophomore Reilly Baughman has set the standard for new girl wrestlers at Windsor High School. Baughman is the first ever girl to qualify for state in wrestling.

After wrestling five matches at the district tournament, Baughman finished in third place to advance to the state meet. On the girls side, Baughman heads into the state tournament with a 15-4 record. Baughman will be joined at state by two boys–sophomore Luke Longtin and junior Grant Pauli.

While girls have been allowed to wrestle in previous years, the Missouri State High School Athletic Association set up a separate girls division for the postseason this year. Baughman is not the only girl on the Windsor wrestling team. Jalia Carmello was also a part of the girls wrestling team this season.

Head coach Ryan Bollinger said, “Jalia Carmello was a great addition to the program this season.  She had never wrestled before and decided to give it a try. She picked it up fast and improved very quickly. She finished her freshman season with a 9-14 record, which for a first year wrestler, is a great accomplishment.”

Windsor has high hopes for more girls stepping into the wrestling program, so they can start a new trend. 

Bollinger said, “We look forward to getting the word out and promoting the girl’s team more and more as we go and we welcome all girls that are interested in giving this awesome sport a try.  I think once we start getting the word out that girls have their own season, we will see this thing take off and continue making Windsor wrestling history.”

Baughman got ready for this 2018-2019 wrestling season by getting in great shape in the offseason by running cross country team in the fall. She also trains with Coach Ty Van Valkenburg daily.

The state wrestling meet will take place February 14-16 in Columbia, Missouri.

Bollinger said,  “We were all very excited when the word came out that the girls would have their own postseason.  This is such a big deal for this awesome sport and to have a wrestler like Reilly get to be a part of the very first Missouri High School girls state tournament is definitely special.  The even better part is that Reilly is only a sophomore. The sky’s the limit!”