Perry senior Taylor Atwell remembers the exact moment she found out the state of Iowa was sanctioning girls wrestling.

“I was at the state tournament last year in the stands and on the next to final day, they turned the lights down and the arena became a radiant pink.  The pink lights were flashing, and they brought out some prominent people to announce that the state was getting on board with girls wrestling.  We all went crazy and it is something I will never forget.”

Atwell had waited her entire high school career for that moment, and the senior didn’t disappoint, placing 6th at the 2023 Iowa Girls State Wrestling Championships in Des Moines.  Atwell wrestled 8 matches over two days posting a 5-3 record.

Atwell started wrestling before her freshman year, traveling with her dad to get some reps in open tournaments.  “I traveled with my dad a lot to several tournaments before my freshman year.  Like so many girls in the state, I joined the boy’s team my freshman year.  I just love the sport and the family feeling that comes with it.  I wouldn’t be here without my teammates.”

The Atwell name is certainly a familiar one to wrestling fans in the area.  Taylor becomes the first female in a line of successful wrestling Atwell’s to cement her spot as one of the state’s best.

“Yeah, my family is big into combat sports,” she smiles.  “At our family dinners, we will eat and then grab some boxing gloves, start wrestling around and a quiet dinner suddenly becomes pretty noisy.  My grandma yells at us to settle down a little bit and by the time we’re done, someone usually has a bloody nose or black eye.  I love it.”

Atwell was one of six state qualifiers for Perry.