The Westside girls wrestling team will be back for their second season with new young talent and hopes to win the state championship.

The first year of sanctioned wrestling proved to be a good year for the girls team, with two out of the three wrestlers making it to the state tournament. 

Regan Rosseter returns this season after winning the state title at 126 lbs. and a perfect record of 42-0. The Westside junior is excited for the season with the new talent on the team.

“We’ve gotten transfers from all over and, with two returning state champs and girls who’ve competed at the national level, I think we have a good chance at the team state title,” Rosseter said.

Head coach Bob Mulligan expressed his excitement for the beginning of the girls wrestling season.

“I couldn’t be more excited, we have a great team with great wrestlers and I can’t wait to show off our skills as a team,” Mulligan said.

34 states have girls wrestling programs with sanctioned state championships. The  growth and push for girls wrestling has really improved in Nebraska.

“It’s great, It’s the fastest growing sport in Nebraska and I think we’ll do very well this year,” Rosseter said.

There are 68 high school girls competing on the wrestling mat this season in Nebraska. Mulligan talked about the popularity of the sport in the Westside community.

“The growth of the sport is amazing. It has definitely helped us grow our program. We went from three girls to nine and seventeen in our middle school program,” Mulligan said.

The girls wrestling season will begin on Monday, Nov. 14, and they will hope to show their talent at the Dan Gable tournament on Dec. 2-3 in Iowa City.