A Fenton wrestler takes the mat and faces off against their opponent. Pinning them to the ground, the Fenton wrestler takes the victory. The winner, freshman Ella Turnblom, is a part of the JV wrestling team and is one of the few girl wrestlers in the league.

“It gets difficult at times being one of the only girls,” freshman Ella Turnblom said. “No one is really used to a girl being on a male-dominant sport, but I think being on the team with all the guys is really good, they are all like brothers to me and they are all super nice. I definitely want to continue on with the sport.”

Being in a male-dominated sport, Turnblom is still treated the same when it comes down to the competing.

“Ella wrestles whoever is in her weight class,” Athletic director Michael Bakker said. “It is not done by gender, it is done by weight class so she wrestles whoever is in the same weight class as her and she follows the same rules and guidelines that everyone else does.”

Standing up against other opponents, Turnblom has been able to pull off a record of 11 wins and nine losses.

“Ella has been a big part of our team success,” Varsity wrestling coach Brad Beverly said. “She won a big match against reeths-puffer which helped us win by two points. She is 11-9 on the year with four pins, nine takedowns, seven escapes, four reversals, 2 two point near falls, and 2 three point near falls. She will also receive her varsity letter as a freshman girl in a boy dominated sport, she is one of the hardest workers in our room.”

Despite Turnblom’s freshman season coming to an end, many hope that she will make a return to the sport next season.

“Ella works very hard and she has the right mentality for it,” Beverly said. “I for sure see her wrestling and possible being a starter in our varsity lineup very soon, hopefully full time next year.”

With the 2017-18 season coming to its end, the wrestling team is currently 17 wins and 7 losses. The team will compete next on Saturday, Feb. 10 at Goodrich High School for the MHSAA Individual districts.