Trio of Lakers make school history at girls wrestling state finals

WEST BLOOMFIELD — Don’t let the smell of perfume or the bright smiles fool you when you step into the gymnasium.

Girls across the state of Michigan have displayed fierceness and competitiveness in wrestling, whether it’s facing the boys in a co-ed match or going head-to-head with another girl.

Since the Michigan High School Athletic Association added a girls-only wrestling division for the 2021-2022 season, numbers have grown exponentially for numerous high schools across the state.

Girls have been wrestling for decades at the high school level, in small numbers, but this was the first opportunity where girls were prioritized in the sport of wrestling.

In its first year, nearly 400 girls wrestled in the regional meet, which was split up into just two regions prior to the state meet.

Now holding four regions consisting of nearly 800 wrestlers, and over 1,000 who competed this year in meets across the state, there’s hopes of potentially holding district meets, like the boys side does, next year because of the numbers increasing.

“It’s (numbers) almost tripled since last year,” Birmingham Groves wrestling coach Joseph Jones said. “It’s growing really, really fast.”

Jones and Groves were the host of the first-ever tri-county all-girls wrestling meet as schools from Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties went head-to-head. Local all-girls tournaments are becoming more and more popular in the surrounding counties, whereas past years saw teams traveling two-three hours in order to compete.

A majority are learning the sport in high school, and some have seen siblings compete, but the one thing they all share in common is the love and passion for it.

As all-girls tournaments become more common, longtime coaches such as Warren Mott’s Paul Salyers, an assistant coach on the boys side and girls head coach this past year, are still getting used to the environment.

“You go into a wrestling gym where a boys tournament is being held, and oh my God does it stink,” Salyers said. “There’s BO (body odor) everywhere. You go into a girls tournament and it’s a cacophony of perfume. It’s hilarious to me. The girls will get down after beating the crap out of another girl, and with boys, they’ll get done and they’re strutting around like they’re the king, but the girls will get done, get their hand raised and go over and hug the girl they just beat up on and go, ‘Honey, this is what you need to do next time, because I was able to do this because you were doing this wrong.’ It’s just funny. You don’t see that with the boys.”

As more girls continue to join, local teams are wishing upon a star that the popularity of wrestling and the success of their current girl wrestlers is only a sign of more wrestlers to come.

 

West Bloomfield
The Lakers were one of many teams to witness a historic season as freshman Eva Zimnicki, junior Tamari Khizanishvili and junior team captain Alexa Hampton all punched their state finals ticket this season, becoming the most female state finals qualifiers in West Bloomfield history.

“Their confidence is growing,” West Bloomfield coach Greg Alessi said. “To wrestle girls and compete against girls and actually place in tournaments is a big confidence booster for them.”

Hampton was the regional runner-up in the 145-pound weight class after compiling an impressive 16-5 regular season record, but would put a final stamp on her junior campaign with a fifth-place finish at the state championship meet March 2 at Ford Field. Hampton, who’s been wrestling since seventh grade, placed fourth as a freshman and fifth as a sophomore at the state finals.

Hampton’s twin brother, Alexander Hampton, was a league champion on the boys side for the Lakers.

“She’s (Hampton) really smart and she has a good mat sense,” Alessi said. “She’s learning the sport, and what I mean by learning the sport, I mean learning as time goes by to do things reactionary instead of thinking about it. As you get more comfortable, you react to certain situations and things like that. That’s where she’s getting better at.”

The Lakers trio dominated throughout the season as Zimnicki and Khizanishvili both took first at the Macomb County Invitational and Zimnicki earned first at the Tri-County Tournament at Groves High School, while Hampton took runner-up.

The development of more all-girls tournaments allowed the female wrestlers for the Lakers to compete in more girls-only matches, and Alessi said it’s only going to keep growing.

“As the years go by, even in the short three years, it’s becoming more popular, so it’s becoming more competitive,” Alessi said. “There’s more girls out and more competition. You can see the development of the sport. It’s coming.”

Hampton will headline the senior leadership next season as a three-time state qualifier alongside Khizanishvili, a two-time state qualifier, while Zimnicki will look to build on a sensational freshman season. Tarra Long and Janay Beardon were also key contributors for West Bloomfield this season.

As the sport continues to grow, the Lakers are hoping the team’s success and sister-like bond attracts more girls in the school to wrestle.

“All of our girls are really close-knit,” Hampton said. “It doesn’t really matter if you’re, like, a freshman or a junior like me. We had a few new girls come out this year, and they’re kind of like sisters to me.”