Pioneering a new age of girls wrestling at Sandpoint

SANDPOINT — Two Sandpoint wrestlers will be competing in the second annual Idaho Girls Wrestling Finals today in Pocatello as the sport continues its rapid growth in the state of Idaho.

Sophomore Kayelin Johansen (KJ) and senior Heather Wallace are the two Bulldogs that will have the chance to show the rest of the girls around the state what they are capable of.

Johansen took part in the invitational last year, placing fourth in her weight class, while Wallace couldn’t make it in 2019 because she was in the Bulldogs varsity lineup for a senior night dual with Moscow on the same day.

This tournament isn’t sanctioned by the Idaho High School Activities Association so it isn’t an official state championship, but the girls are proud to be apart of the event and help continue the push for a girls wrestling state championship in Idaho.

“It’s pretty cool to be making history,” Johansen said.

“I think its pretty surreal to be honest,” Wallace said. “It’s pretty new for all of us and we kind of get to help get it started. It’s a cool feeling.”

Over the past few years, the number of girls wrestling in the state of Idaho has skyrocketed and the 250 girls that will participate in today’s invitational are just another sign that shows the demand is there for a state sanctioned tourney.

“Every state around us is sanctioned and actually has girls teams like California, Oregon, Washington and Montana,” Johansen said. “There’s got to be a point where you think we’re doing something wrong.”

But Sandpoint head coach Jake Stark believes one is in sight and could be established within the next few years.

Plenty of girls have come before Johansen and Wallace and had success at Sandpoint, but Stark said this duo is ushering in a new age of girls wrestling at SHS with their involvement at the state level.

“They’re kind of the pioneers of girls wrestling at Sandpoint and setting the tradition for what girls wrestling at Sandpoint will be like,” he said. “It’s kind of awesome to see them be the stepping stone off a couple other girls because they weren’t the first, but they’re the ones that are stepping in the limelight now.”

Johansen recently took part in the third annual Jaybird Memorial Tournament in Nampa, which became the first sanctioned all girls high school wrestling tournament in 2018, and placed third at 109 pounds. She also has been apart of Idaho’s national wrestling team the past few years when she’s not wrestling for the Bulldogs.

Johansen’s offseason only lasts two months — August and September — and she already has her eyes set on wrestling collegiately.

Her passion for the sport came from her dad, who is a wrestling coach, so from a young age, Johansen knew what she wanted to do and Stark said her dedication is undeniable.

“She lives and breathes wrestling,” he said. “I mean its like her life.”

Wallace recently became the first SHS girl wrestler to receive a scholarship to wrestle collegiately when she accepted an offer from University of Providence in Great Falls, Montana.

Wallace said she is looking forward to getting on the mat in Pocatello and wrestling in her first ever all girl tournament.

One of the difficulties the pair faces when competing for the Bulldogs is most of the time they have face to boys at duals and then occasionally wrestle girls at tournaments.

“It’s definitely a challenge because at this age the boys are more physically capable,” Stark said, “and then they have to realize that they are good enough to beat half of those boys.”

Wallace said she feels more pressure when facing girls because they are more evenly matched and she really has to focus on her technique.

But both admitted they aren’t afraid to wrestle anyone that lines up across from them and would like to see high schools across Idaho have all-girl wrestling teams in the future.

Johansen said some teams they face still refuse to wrestle girls but they have seen that attitude change dramatically with the influx of girls participating and it was never a problem when she became a Bulldog.

“Sandpoint’s a lot more of a welcoming team then I feel like a lot of other teams,” she said.

“When I first joined I was kind of really surprised because the team became my family super fast and they never treated me any different,” Wallace added.

Johansen will wrestle at 106 pounds at the tournament and Wallace at 120. Johansen is hoping to place in the top three in her weight class while Wallace just wants to enjoy the experience.

“I just want to go out there, do my best and have fun doing it, that’s kind of where I’m at,” Wallace said.

Stark said Wallace and Johansen are an inspiration to the next generation of Sandpoint girl wrestlers and is looking forward to coaching them in Pocatello.

“I’m really excited because I know what our girls are capable of and I’m going to tell them they have to represent a whole town,” he said. “I expect both of them to be really successful because they’ve put in the work.”