Mazama girls wrestling wins $7,000 grant

May 22, 2026 / When the Mazama High School girls wrestling team had two of its own make a case before the Oregon School Activities Association committee, they weren't just asking for grant funds. They were telling the story of a program that has quietly become one of the strongest in the region.

Their pitch paid off.

Mazama recently received a $7,000 grant from the OSAA Foundation toward the purchase of a new $12,000 wrestling mat -- funding the school is supplementing with money already set aside for athletic improvements. The new mat will expand and modernize the school's wrestling room, which hosts one of the largest girls’ programs in the Skyline Conference.

MAKING THE CASE: Wrestlers Shyla Sells and Abigail Irish represented the program in a Zoom interview with the OSAA grant committee, speaking to both the need for better equipment and the growth they've witnessed firsthand in girls wrestling.

"I just told them we needed to build on the program that we have," Abigail said. "Our coach is great. He really advocates for us, helps us, and lets us go far."

For Shyla, who has been wrestling since fifth grade, the pitch was personal. She's watched girls wrestling evolve from a rarity to a genuine movement. "I've definitely been able to see the growth in girls wrestling," she said. "It's awesome."

Mazama’s Athletic Director Ian O’Brien says the students' voices were the deciding factor. "I think we had the nail there, but they were the ones who drove it in," he said.

OLD MATS, NEW NEEDS: The wrestling room at Mazama currently has one quality mat -- the rest are borrowed equipment or pieces pushing 30 years old. On busy practice days, with upward of 70 athletes sharing the space, not every wrestler gets equal footing.
"Some people are on a mat that is not as nice as others," said head coach Matt Penrod. "With the new mat, we'll be able to put everybody on an equal footing no matter where they're practicing in the room."
The upgrade is about more than comfort. Modern wrestling mats are lighter, thicker, and significantly safer than older models -- and for a program attracting and retaining young athletes, the environment matters.

"If you don't have the space -- the ability to put those kids on a nice mat that they feel safe on -- they're going to leave," Penrod said. "So the equipment aspect of having the room is really important."
O’Brien agreed and framed the grant as part of a larger commitment to equity across Mazama's athletic programs. "There's always a perception that this program matters more and that one matters less," he said. "To me, all of our programs matter at Mazama. You've got to give kids the same tools."

A PROGRAM THAT'S GROWING FAST: Mazama currently fields the largest girls wrestling team in the Basin and among the largest in the Skyline Conference, with around 26 girls completing last season — a number that peaked closer to 35 at the start of the year.

The boys program runs alongside the girls, finishing last season with the number of athletes in the low 30s. Together, the combined roster of roughly 60 athletes creates an energy Penrod says is essential. "It's easier to practice when there are lots of kids working together on the same thing," he said. "Having all those girls come in really buoyed the practice level."
A key piece of that environment, both the coach and athletic director agree, is assistant coach Victoria "Tori" Crowder, who travels with the girls’ team and serves as a vital presence on the coaching staff.

"Having a woman on our coaching staff who understands the sport -- but also understands everything else that goes into it -- really helps our numbers stay where they are," O’Brien said. "I've been part of other programs where we had a strong girls’ program but didn't have a strong female coaching presence. It makes a real difference."

STATE-LEVEL SUCCESS: The growth in numbers has come alongside genuine competitive achievement. Last season, Mazama's girls wrestling program produced multiple state-level competitors:
• Liz Henderson, a graduating senior, won the state championship the previous year and finished second this season. She will continue her wrestling career in college in Oklahoma.
• Shyla Sells finished fourth at state her freshman year and was the state runner-up last season.
• Abigail Irish also competed at the state level this past year.

A SPORT TRANSFORMED: Girls wrestling at the high school level is still a relatively young official sport. The OSAA sanctioned it as a standalone girls’ division roughly four to five years ago -- before that, girls who wanted to compete had to wrestle in the same brackets as boys, advancing through the same weight classes.

"Prior to the OSAA branching off at the state championships, if a girl were to make it to state, she had to go through the same weight class as the guys," O’Brien explained. It's only in recent years that girls have had their own specific brackets at the state tournament.

The change has opened doors at the collegiate level too. Southern Oregon University and Eastern Oregon University both now have women's wrestling programs, and Oregon State is working toward adding one.

For O’Brien, funding for the new mat is a signal to current athletes, to incoming students, and to young girls in the community that this program is serious and here to stay.
“This kind of investment sends a message,” he said. “Girls wrestling isn’t secondary here -- it’s part of what we’re building, and it deserves the same level of support as every other program.”