NEENAH (NBC 26) — Once a rare sight in wrestling rooms, girls in Neenah are now making their mark on the mat. Under Head Coach Maddie Ruckdashel, the Rockets’ girls wrestling program is growing—and winning.
“I think representation matters, and once you have won, it just makes everybody else believe that they can do it,” Ruckdashel said.
Ruckdashel grew up in the wrestling room with her dad and younger brother.
She started as a manager for her dad’s team but quickly realized she wanted to be out on the mat.
Ruckdashel wrestled for Lakeland on the first women’s college wrestling team in Wisconsin. Now, she is the head coach at Neenah.
“When I first started as a little girl, there were barely any girls at tournaments," Ruckdashel said. "It was hard sometimes wrestling boys and just going through the changes and the growing pains of growing women's wrestling, but I think it's so rewarding now that I get to see 14 girls here with me enjoying this sport. And it's just like, it's so rewarding and just makes me feel like it was worth it."
One of Ruckdashel’s wrestlers is Kylee Kurszewski, who has been wrestling for five years and is the Rockets’ first girl to place at state. She credits Ruckdashel for the program’s growth, with almost three times the number of girls compared to her freshman year.
“She really puts up flyers and spends a lot of time promoting the girls program and making it fun too," Kurszewski said. "It's not like—I feel like a lot of people think wrestling, and they're like, ‘That's really scary,’ but she finds a way to make it fun and girly almost. My freshman year, there were like five girls on the team, and this year, there were 14, I believe. So it's been really fun just growing numbers."
One of those new wrestlers is Julia Rangel, who joined the team last season. Just a year later, she has 19 wins and just won the conference championship at 132 pounds.
“Last year I barely won any matches, and this year I've won so many more," Rangel said. "It's just really cool to see that growth. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made."
Wrestling regionals are this weekend, and while some of her teammates, like Rangel, might be new to the sport, Kurszewski said every girl on her team has a killer instinct and is determined to win.
“I hope there's just a wall for the girls. More girls will be up there by me,” Kurszewski said.
