ROANOKE, Va. – There are a number of reasons things may catch our eye when scrolling social media--a funny video, a great play or just a viral sensation that has drawn huge numbers. That’s the case for a recent TikTok video I recently came across with millions of likes.
The viral female wrestler in the video is Mary Smith who happens to be a senior in our neck of the woods at Cave Spring High School.
“I just think it’s kind of insane that my video got that many likes and views,” Smith said. “I never expected it, especially from a video of me wrestling boys.”
The power of social media. The senior’s viral moment is just a snapshot of what it’s like being a female wrestler in Southwest Virginia. Mary was one of three girls at a midweek practice in the Cave Spring wrestling room.
She’s not treated any differently than her male peers. If you’re there to work hard, you’re an equal.
“The guys in the room have definitely warmed up to us being there,” said Smith. “I would say it’s not as accepting outside of teams that have girls that wrestle with them.”
The ratio is slowly changing after the Virginia High School League made girls wrestling a sanctioned sport two years ago. At Cave, it was important for head coach Mike Noell to bring in a female coach, not only to bring more girls to the sport, but mentor wrestlers like Mary.
Enter Katrina Anderson, a former Ferrum College wrestler who, until college, was the only girl wrestler in the room.
“Just seeing no female role models, not seeing female coaches, it just meant a lot to me to be that female role model for these girls,” said Anderson. “Because I know just being surrounded by guys all the time, they don’t know the struggles that girls deal with. They’re like, yeah, wrestling’s hard, but just because you’re a girl, it means you can still do it.”
The back-to-back state qualifier is shining a spotlight on a sport still dominated by boys by showing girls can compete too.
“I think they should 110% go for it. It’s the best decision I ever made,” Smith said. “I’ve made countless friends and I consider the guys and the girls on my team to be my family.”
From power moves on the mat through the power of social media, the sport continues to grow.
