As the sport of girls wrestling in Nebraska continues to grow, so has the numbers among the Wayne High girls program.
Numbers are on the rise with 20 girls including one senior out for Blue Devil girls wrestling.
Jason Trautman has been coaching wrestling for nine years and will be entering his second year as head coach with Wayne.
Coach Trautman, who will be leading the girls program is seeing the team work hard and push themselves.
"We are a young team, but the leadership that we have at the younger levels is really great," said Trautman. "They're helping push these new girls that haven't wrestled before or maybe they're freshman to getting to a point where they're comfortable with being uncomfortable."
Last year, Jason Trautman and Levi Pofahl were co-head coaches while coach Trautman will take over the girls program this season.
Assisting coach Trautman will be Brooke Languis, Carly Wemhoff and Terry Beair.
The lone senior, Yessenia Alba will be graduating early in Dec..
Returning state qualifiers are junior Nyla Bolles and sophomore Essynce Owens-Webb.
"Essynce has obviously put in a lot of work over the summer doing a lot of the club circuit, she went over to Bahrain," Trautman added. "She's really spent a lot of time on the mat and you can tell that her heart is there...Nyla is a little monster and she works her butt off all the time. Does what she needs to do and she's really stepped up as a leader this year. She has really high expectations for the team."
Ahead of the Blue/White Dual on Nov. 26, the Wayne High girls had all weight classes except the 170 lb. filled.
Coach Trautman started his coaching career in Schuyler where it was popular in the middle school ranks for girls wrestling and it has grown during his time in Wayne.
"We had three girls I think start and what is this four to five years later we're at 20," Trautman mentioned. "I think that it's a great thing that they split state. I think that it gives the girls a chance to showcase what they have, not saying that they didn't have that before but giving dedicated time to it really kind of adds something special to it."
The Blue Devil girls wrestlers are working on the basics while making sure they're great at what they can do.
Coach Trautman said the staff is pushing the mentality of going for broke, then recovering and then going again.
"Wrestling is a really mental sport," said Trautman. "Finding out that you can go to those places that you need to be is really the thing that I'm trying to get through to them right now, especially with how young we are. A lot of first year girls, lot of freshmen and quite a few sophomores too."
The Wayne High girls wrestling team will join the boys program on Thursday, Dec. 5 to open their season with a home triangular with Wisner-Pilger and Summerland starting at 5 p.m.
Other home competition includes Thursday, Dec. 12; Monday, Jan. 6; Tuesday, Jan. 7 and Thursday, Jan. 16.
