With the 2024-25 wrestling season set to begin in a few days, senior Josaline Blevins will be on the hunt to repeat as a state champion. Last year she won the Class 5A state title at 120 pounds with a record of 33-3 with her only losses coming to wrestlers who were eventual state champs themselves. This success continues a steady tradition in girls’ wrestling according to coach Chris Henry. “The first year Oklahoma allowed girls’ wrestling we had a girl make the state finals. Last year Josaline and teammate Adrianna Chronister racked up 59 points between them to give Stilwell a fifth-place finish as a team with just two wrestlers.”

So how did Josaline ever get interested in wrestling? “I really wasn’t ever interested in it until a friend of mine talked me into trying out my freshman year. It wasn’t anything like I expected it to be. It was very physically and mentally hard. I started out at about 140 pounds and by the end of the season I was down to 120. I had some hard matches and got beat up a couple of times that first year. It was fun but hard,” said Josaline who has a career record of 101-18. “My role model was Isabell Limon who was a senior my freshman year. She taught me a lot and I really looked up to her.”

Although there is a team aspect to wrestling, a lot of it is pushing yourself according to Josaline. “You have to have a good mindset when you step on the mat, and you have to pretty much motivate yourself. At the finals last year, I was really nervous, and my mind set was kind of skittish, but when I stepped on the mat that all kind of went away, and I pinned my opponent in the first period to win. My advice to any girl who is thinking about getting into wrestling is to try it because otherwise you’ll never know.”

After high school Josaline wants to wrestle in college and pursue a career in the health field.