Girls’ wrestling program at Ozaukee gets going

Mya Delleree’s inspiration is beginning to come true for the Ozaukee High School wrestling program.

The Warriors have a girls’ team this season, not just girls who wrestle with the boys. The eight-member squad has its own schedule and competes in its own tournaments.

It’s what 2024 graduate Delleree had been working to build while racking up medals for second, third and fifth in the girls’ state tournament during her career.

The team even has a separate coach. Brant Murray, who brings two decades of coaching experience, is the Ozaukee girls’ coach while Ted Schanen leads the boys.

“It’s really exciting. I was pretty shocked there were so many girls interested from a relatively small school when I talked with Ted prior to the season,” Murray said.

“It shows the commitment Ted, the school, the youth programs and this community as a whole has toward wrestling.  We even have some young ladies interested in coming on late in the season and hopefully they will.”

All eight team members are freshmen and none came in with any wrestling experience. The roster includes Ruby Torres, Khloe Allen, Ava Hollnagel, Juliette Stielow, Leah Stubbs, Kylia Wetzel, Syra La Fond and Chloe Majeski.

“All the girls are pretty even right now.  They all work hard and have shown a commitment to the sport, the team and growing this program,” Murray said. “We have seen tremendous growth in the short time we have been working and are hopeful that growth will continue as the season progresses.”

Team goals, he said, don’t involve records.

“Have fun and fall in love with the sport of wrestling,” Murray said of the objective.

“New wrestlers can sometimes get too caught up in wins and losses. My goal is to help them all fall in love with the sport, trust the process and focus on growth. If we can do that, there is no telling where we will be come the end of the season.”

The Warriors have already displayed notable improvement.

“I’m not sure they fully believe me when I tell them, ‘The wrestler you were last week wouldn’t stand a chance against the wrestler you are this week,’ but that’s genuinely how this season has gone. They learn, they ask questions, and they soak up everything,” Murray said.

Murray has also had to adjust.

“This year has been a new experience for me too. I’m working with girls and parents who are brand new to the sport, and it’s pushed me to slow down, reflect and recognize when I’m assuming a knowledge base that isn’t there,” he said. “It’s been an exciting challenge, and the understanding from both the girls and their families has meant a lot. The grace and patience they’ve shown has been refreshing. It’s allowed me to feel more comfortable, more trusting and more grounded as we move through our inaugural season together.”

Murray said he loves seeing the growth of girls’ wrestling.

“I have recognized in the last three or four seasons that if a school puts even a slight emphasis on promoting a girls’ program, the interest is pretty significant.  I just wish more schools would give this sport the promotion and hype it deserves,” he said. “We have that here in Ozaukee.  That’s why a small school has more girls wrestling than many much larger schools out there. I’m humbled and honored to be even a small part of this adventure.”

The girls have competed three times this season. 

On Dec. 12 at the Brillion Invitational, seven girls went 0-2. Torres scored the team’s only point. Ozaukee finished 49th of 51 teams.

At the Oostburg Lady Dutch Invitational on Dec. 19, Torres went 1-1 and finished fifth, pinning Ava Stys of Manitowoc Lutheran in 1 minute, 45 seconds in the fifth-place match.

Wetzel went 1-2 and finished sixth.

The Warriors scored 19 points and finished 19th of 24 teams.

At the Lomira Invite on Dec. 22, Torres and Hollnagel each went 2-1, and Majeski went 1-2.

The Warriors were to wrestle in a tournament at Lakeland University in Sheboyugan on Tuesday, Dec. 30. They wrestle Saturday, Jan. 3, at West Allis.

Delleree often wrestled boys during her career until the sport grew among girls and their own state tournaments were held. She  hoped other girls would follow in her footsteps at Ozaukee. She now wrestles for the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. The sophomore is 8-5 on the season and finished third at 131 pounds in the Carthage Classic on Dec. 7.

Sterling better than silver for the boys

Sterling Schanen went 5-0 and won the 106-pound weight class at the Willard Schmidt Invitational in Green Bay on Dec. 20. He won by pins in 1:14, 2:40 and 11 seconds and by a 17-2 technical fall in 2:42 before beating Neenah’s Jack Czechanski in a 19-4 technical fall in 3:10 in the finals.

Jake Delleree went 3-1 and was third at 120 pounds. He won a 15-0 technical fall, a 1:08 pin before losing an 11-0 major decision. In the third-place match, he beat Jordan Crump of Ripon, 6-0.

Ozaukee scored 65 points and finished 10th of 14 teams. Kaukauna won with 251.

On Dec. 8, Ozaukee lost at Living Word Lutheran, 36-29, and to Racine St. Catherine’s, 35-34. Schanen, Delleree and Gustavo Hernandez each earned two pins.

At the Tom McGarvie Earlybird Scramble on Dec. 6, Schanen went 5-0 at 106 pounds. He won a 15-0 technical fall in 2:24, a 9-1 major decision and pins in 42 and 29 seconds before beating Antonia Montmurro of Badger, 9-3, in the finals.

Delleree went 2-2 and finished fifth.

On Dec. 4 at Elkhart Lake-Glenbeulah, the Warriors beat the hosts, 30-27 — winning every match by forfeit — and lost to Reedsville, 48-30. Schanen, Wyatt Borchardt and Fritz Hoffmann each had a pin.

Nine of the 10 Warriors are freshmen or sophomores.

The Warriors host a triple dual on Tuesday, Jan. 6, against Random Lake and Cedar Grove-Belgium.