Wrestlers from Choate and Philips Academy Andover at the first all-girls dual meet on January 6.
By Grace LaPlaca ’25
The wrestling team made history on January 6 when they competed in New England’s first-ever all-girls dual meet at Phillips Academy Andover. Although typical wrestling meets are co-ed and separated by weight class, the Andover meet was an opportunity for every female athlete to compete exclusively against other female wrestlers.
Despite the 24-39 final score, Choate had its share of success. “Calli Gilchrist [’25] pinned a girl who was a national champion, and Sara McLaughlin [’26] pinned a girl who was a national runner-up for Andover,” Head Coach Ryan Roddy said. Tashi Bista ’26, a first-year wrestler, also pinned her opponent.
“We made New England Prep history,” Co-Captain and All-NEPSAC wrestler Elsa Holmes ’25 said. “Even though we didn’t win, it was a huge learning experience for a bunch of our girls. All of them were able to compete, and some even ended up winning their matches.”
Being a part of the first all-girls dual meet meant a lot to Gilchrist. “It feels like you’re making history,” she said. “Just being a part of women’s wrestling every day feels like I’m a part of something bigger than me.”
Gilchrist feels empowered through wrestling. “We’re not just having individual goals; we are laying the stepping stones for others to follow,” she said. “I think that’s a really powerful idea.”
Coach Roddy viewed Choate’s participation in the Andover meet as a signal to other high school female wrestlers. “It lets girls know that if their high school is not allowing space for them to wrestle, we will,” he said. “And we’ll put a lot of time and effort into it.”
Since Coach Roddy joined the coaching staff in 2021, the team has grown exponentially. The first female athlete on Choate Wrestling was Gabby Nirmal ’23, who joined in the 2020-2021 season, followed by Sachi Mehra ’23, who joined in 2021-2022. Now, there are a record 16 female athletes on the team.
At Andover, all of the attention was on the female athletes, an unusual occurrence in wrestling. “Not only were all of the girls supporting each other, but we also had all of the guys on the sidelines supporting us,” Gilchrist recalled.
The mutual support in women’s wrestling is something Gilchrist loves about the sport. “There’s just such a culture of holding each other up, of being proud of each other regardless of the outcome of the match, and of congratulating each other for the small things,” she said. “We were all excited to be there … hugging your opponent after you win or lose, just having real respect for one another.”
Ella Fraser ’27 began wrestling this winter and felt her teammates’ encouragement. “My first time competing, I was so nervous, but an upperclassman [Ella Martino ’25] came up to me and told me how her first time she lost badly in front of everyone, and [that] it’s really not that bad because everyone loses their first time.”
McLaughlin appreciates how the coed team fosters a caring and respectful environment. “Everyone makes sure everyone has food for after their matches, and that their headgear is tightened.”
As a newcomer to the team, Fraser felt welcomed. “When I first met everybody on the team, I noticed that it was a very close knit community… I could just tell that the atmosphere was kind and funny, and everybody was really friendly and open to me.”
As a new sophomore, McLaughlin noticed a difference in how female wrestlers are viewed at Choate compared to her previous teams. “Boys on the team are like, ‘Oh, they’re just other wrestlers,’ and not, ‘Oh, they’re just girls.’” Gilchrist shared the sentiment. “What I love about Choate is [that] we are a family, guys and girls,” Gilchrist said.
Nevertheless, challenges still exist for female wrestlers in such a male-dominated sport. “Girls and boys definitely wrestle differently,” McLaughlin said. “Girls are a lot more flexible, and guys have a lot more strength.”
These anatomical differences not only lead to more challenging matches, but also an expectation that female athletes will be beaten. McLaughlin has witnessed coaches forcing male wrestlers to forfeit matches against girls. “It’s happened a couple of times in the past few years,” she said. “It’s really sad to see how immature some people are.”
As a female wrestler, Gilchrist has faced her share of struggles. She started wrestling at age seven as one of the only female athletes on her team. As she got older and her drilling partners grew with puberty, she grappled with the reality of being a female wrestler. “It was really hard coming to this realization that if I wanted to be successful in this sport as a female, I had to work harder. I had to do more pushups, more workouts, and I had to stay after practice. I did that — I put the work in, and it shows.”
The Andover meet was a reminder of girls’ wrestling’s growth and strength. “I’m so grateful for what this sport has done for me,” said Gilchrist. “It has made me a stronger person, a better person, and has completely shaped me.”
