In today’s episode of This Hits Different, Shelby Cassesse tells the story of North Allegheny’s Try It Night, which brought together the school’s cheerleading and girls wrestling programs.
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Wrestling and cheerleading. Not exactly known to have a lot in common.
But as the girls wrestling team and cheer squad at North Allegheny found, they may be more alike than they thought.
“Some people think that cheerleading isn’t a sport and we don’t work hard for it,” says junior Emma Flanders. “But we really do.”
Flanders was one of several cheerleaders to participate in Try It Night, an event where girls from other school teams meet the girls wrestling team and learn the basics.
The girls wrestling program is only a few years old at North Allegheny, and the events are to build interest in the program and debunk misconceptions.
Leyna Rumpler says they can be pretty common playing a traditionally male sport in high school.
“I think it’s really important because it breaks a stigma that guys are the only ones that can be tough or strong,” Rumpler says. “But girls can be just as strong as them, and do what they want to do.”
No one knows shattering misconceptions quite like Kimberly Horikoshi, the guest speaker at Try It Night. Last year, she was crowned Ms. International Beauty. But before that, she balanced her high school days as a wrestler and a cheerleader.
Her platform during her pageant run warned against letting stereotypes limit girls and women.
“Don’t be afraid to try,” she says. “Be bold enough to take chances on what you want to do. And don’t put yourself in a box.”
She shared her experience both wrestling and cheering in 2004, when resources for girls wrestling were even less available than they are today. She pushed for girls wrestling to become a PIAA sanctioned sport.
The message hit home for Rumpler.
“It’s just really inspirational to see that people before us have done it,” Rumpler says.
Though not every cheerleader may decide wrestling is right for them, many, including junior Angelina Franz, left Try It night with a new appreciation for the team's mission, and a commitment to help.
“I thought that they competed and it was official,” Franz says. “Hearing that it wasn’t was kind of very surprising and it makes me want to join and help because it’s so cool what all these girls are doing. They’re doing so much hard work to achieve a goal.”
As for Kim, she'll continue traveling the country instilling in young girls that the possibilities are endless.
“It’s so important to break those stereotypes,” she says. “You can be beautiful and you can be tough. And you don’t have to chose one or another.”