A freshman at West Hartford’s Conard High School was the first girl to earn a varsity letter for wrestling.

By Liana Eisler

The Conard High School boys wrestling team welcomed four new freshmen last season, with one being the very first girl to join the team: Emma Alford.

Emma started wrestling when she was 7 years old. At just 6 years old, she had gone with her dad, a former youth wrestling coach, to one of his practices. After observing a practice, Emma said she “fell in love with the sport and knew I wanted to wrestle during the next season.”

“Conard wrestling was lucky to have Emma Alford on the team,” said head coach Chris Glowacki. “She is skilled, dedicated and committed to the sport. That she is a female is an interesting part of the story, but male or female, she is a wrestler.”

As she reflected on her first high school wrestling season, Emma described it as being much more challenging than she expected. She often faced boys who were bigger and stronger than she is, but they motivated her to practice harder. “I was used to being on an all boys team, but the competition seemed a lot more intense on the high school level,” said Emma, who competed in the 120-pound weight class.

Having Emma on the team had a positive impact on the overall dynamic, coach Glowacki said. “I have had a few girls try out in my 27 years as coach, but none had the grit and determination of Emma. She is a credit to her parents and she received her letter due to being a starter on the team the whole season.” He said that her dedication to the sport enabled Emma to overcome the challenges of being the only girl on the team and she challenged her male teammates to work as hard as she did.

Fortunately, Emma also said the team dynamic was comfortable and she was embraced as “one of the guys.”

Emma said her favorite part of wrestling is “going out there and competing; I just love the feeling.” In addition to practicing every day, the wrestling team competes in two to three matches a week. The team consistently demonstrated impressive work ethic and dedication to the sport. Emma said, “Once the boys realized that I knew how to wrestle and to work hard, the team accepted me and it felt normal.”

Notably, after a challenging, yet exciting season, Emma Alford was the first girl at Conard High to receive a varsity letter.

“I was not expecting it, but I knew that I had accomplished a lot during my season,” she said. She said her supportive coach and team enabled her to grow as a competitor throughout the season. Additionally, her family expressed how proud they were. Emma said her mother cried while she was awarded her letter.

Though none of her female friends wrestle, Emma described the team as being “a tight-knit team, like a family because everyone gets along, and everyone supports each other. It is a very comfortable vibe that I really only feel with the wrestling team.” She also said that her teammates were her biggest motivators.

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