NEWPORT NEWS, VA (WAVY) — Wrestling used to be considered by some as a boys sport. But the way girls are taking over, especially on the high school scene, is a welcome sight to Woodside head coach Cameron Mix.
“I’m going to be honest with you, coaching girls in a male dominant sport rips at me because it went against everything I was taught to believe,” Mix said. “But to see her have the success she had has changed the way I go about things. Once you step inside the circle, you’re not male or female, you’re a wrestler. Go out there and leave it all out there. If your technique is better than my technique, it doesn’t matter.”
It made Woodside senior Jordyn Anderson better as an athlete when she shared both the football field and wrestling mat with the boys.
“It was kind of like I became one of them. If I had just wrestled girls from the start, it would’ve been hard to match that level of competition. That helped with my mental toughness,” Anderson said.
So much so, that she became an elite wrestler in the 126 pound division, and won a 2024 state championship, the first wrestling state title in Woodside’s history (boys or girls).
“I didn’t entirely think it was going to happen. It didn’t hit me until later in the night and it hit me that I was a state champ,” Anderson said.
“She embodies what it means to be a student athlete,” Mix said.
Yeah, he’s right about that. Check the résumé.
- 126 lb. VHSL girls wrestling state champion (1st wrestling state champion in school history)
- National Honor Society member
- National Social Studies Honor Society member
- School Athletic Leadership Team member (SALT)
- 4.32 GPA
- Ranked #20 in the nation at 126 lbs by USA Wrestling.
- 22-2 Record this year
- 2nd at the 2023 Girls Beast of the East Wrestling Tournament.
Through all of her successes, Jordyn said the younger generation of women that want to dive into anything in life that may seem tough should just take the plunge.
“Go for it. There’s definitely bumps in the road and obstacles. It isn’t easy, but you’ll grow to love it,” Anderson said.
Jordyn will head to Washington State on April 12 as she tries out for a spot with the U-17 World Team before heading off to wrestle at Missouri Baptist University