Olivia Hallam is a junior at Kennedy High School and recently competed in the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) State Championship on Feb. 6. She placed fourth overall in the 2A division of the State Wrestling Tournament.
The Kennedy Girls Wrestling Team is relatively new, beginning four years ago under the leadership of Craig Mallicoat. However, Hallam has been wrestling since her 8th-grade year, along with club practices during the off-season for the past two years.
“I initially got interested in wrestling because my older brother, Jonah, did it and I grew up going to his wrestling meets,” Hallam said. “Because I already knew the rules and the basics, starting actually wrestling on the mat was easier. My dad also wrestled in high school and has always watched meets. This love for the sport transferred to me.”
Until a few years ago, high school wrestling was a male sport. It wasn’t added to the Olympics for women until 2003. According to The National Federation of High Schools, girls’ wrestling has quintupled in participation since 2013 with more than 50,000 girls wrestling for high school teams.
“I was in a transition period where I wasn’t sure where my coaching path was going,” Kennedy girls wrestling coach, Craig Mallicoat said. “I was thinking about stepping away from coaching altogether. Girls wrestling was growing and I had worked with the 10 girls that had gone out the year before. I approached our AD, Aaron Stecker, and asked if Kennedy started a girl’s program and if I could make that program mine. I got the ok, and it has been one of the most rewarding coaching experiences of my life.”
Hallam attributes her advancement at state to the fact that there is a smaller competition pool.
“Men’s and women’s wrestling are two very different sports,” Hallam said. “Because women’s wrestling is such a newly sanctioned sport, most girls haven’t been wrestling for very long. I, who have wrestled for 4 years, managed to get 4th at state and my brother, who wrestled for 10+ years never placed. Practices are also very different, usually less intense and with lots of laughter.”
After the first session, the girls had time to hang out as a team and took a break to go out to eat and shop around at Coral Ridge Mall. The girls’ team has a strong bond, even those not participating in the state were there to support. During the trip to State, the girls all bought matching pajamas and cheered each other on.
“For the girls that buy into what I believe and work hard and support each other, we are a very tight team,” Mallicoat said. “I believe that a tight team doesn’t mean you are all friends, but you all respect each other while you’re together, whether that is in the practice room or competing.”
In the first round at the state competition, Hallam won her first two matches, enabling her immediate advancement to the semi-finals. In Hallam’s second round, she lost her first match, but during her second match, Hallam was able to tech-fall her opponent, meaning she had outscored her opponent by 15 points in a match. She was declared the winner and locked her advancement to the third round in the state tournament.
“My last match didn’t go well, I lost pretty quick and felt pretty bad about it,” Hallam said. “But I was able to talk to someone I sat next to while waiting for the podium, and was able to bring my mood back up to smile in the fourth place sport.”
Hallam shows tremendous sportsmanship on and off the mat. Outside of wrestling, she runs varsity for cross-country and track. Hallam is also extremely academically motivated, being an AP student and Vice President of Amnesty International Club.
“Olivia is a hard worker and a great kid, “ Mallicoat said, “She volunteers her own time to come over to Harding Middle School and help coach and teach the girl’s wrestling team there about the sport. She is an excellent wrestler, but she has no idea how good she can be. She has all the tools to be a champion as long as she remembers that she wants to be good at this sport.
Hallam values pushing limits and improvement. She showcases dedication and always has a positive attitude.
“The most challenging part of wrestling for me is wrestling a bad match,” Hallam said, “Whenever I wrestle poorly on the mat, I always feel worse about myself and find it difficult to come back from what should not have been a loss. When I am wrestling at my best, however, I find that I can keep my momentum and carry that ability into my next matches.”
Hallam wrestles 115 lbs and has a standing record of 46-20. She has 37 pins, six techs (win by 15 points) and one major (win by 8-14 points).
“When I’m on the mat, I am most motivated by progress,” Hallam said. “One of my favorite things is learning something in practice and then using it in a match. For example, at a club practice, we worked lift and returns for 2 hours straight, then at the State Tournament, I was able to hit 3 successful lifts and returns, which were the first I’ve been able to hit at all in matches.”
Girl’s wrestling is an empowering sport where strong women support each other. It requires physical dedication and a resilient attitude.
“Wrestling is a sport that all women should try,” Mallicoat said. “Wrestling can help build physical and mental strength, and teach a resilience that for a long time we were taught only men could have. Wrestling can also help to build self-confidence, self-reliance, discipline, leadership and also help to teach self-defense. All girls should try wrestling and find out what they are capable of.”
Under the leadership of Mallicoat, the Kennedy girls team has continued to grow, as will the sisterhood that the program fosters.
“At the end of the day, there is always a teammate in everyone’s corner of the mat cheering, and everyone tries their hardest at the practices they can be at, “ Hallam said. “I personally have found some incredible friends that know exactly what it feels like to have 2+ hour practices and are right there beside me, supporting me, during every practice, meet and match.”
