Madison Girls Wrestling fosters dedication and discipline
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REXBURG — The tenacity and grit it takes to wrestle is teaching young girls like Madison wrestler Emi Wynne Stokes how to build a stable foundation for life.
Stokes is an 18-year-old senior on the Madison High School girls wrestling team. She says after learning to sharpen her skills because of her coach, BYU-Idaho student Andrea Taylor, she’s been unstoppable.
“My first two years I wasn’t the best wrestler and when (Taylor) came, that technique just went up and I started winning matches and doing great,” Stokes said.
She is hoping this year she’ll make it to state. Last year she only needed to win one more match at districts to qualify.
Stokes, like the other two girls on her team, looks to Taylor, a coach only a few years their senior. The Coeur d’Alene native has been dedicated to the sport since her sophomore year of high school, in 2016.
“I had a weird niche for the sport,” Taylor said. “I just remember watching and being like, ‘I really want to join that sport.’ I made the move sophomore year, and I haven’t turned back since.”
Taylor was the first girl from Lakeland High School to place at districts in girls wrestling and qualify for state. Since being at BYU-Idaho Taylor has looked for opportunities to keep up with what she enjoys. With her experience and love of the sport Taylor reached out to Aaron Peterson during their search for another female coach back in 2023.
“I met Andrea and she was awesome. Spunky, energetic, and really passionate about wrestling,” Peterson said. “She is so reliable. Even though she’s a student with extra responsibilities. She’s here all the time and she’s also a good role model for the girls.”
Taylor’s favorite aspect of coaching is watching her athletes transform through wrestling.
“Being able to teach them new moves and connect with them and build that foundation, and then just, watching them grow is my favorite part,” she said.
Now, Peterson, Taylor and other wrestling staff are preparing their athletes for a
successful district competition this week. The boys will compete on Wednesday, February 19, and the girls will compete on February 21 and 22. Idaho’s State Wrestling Championships is from February 28 to March 1, in Pocatello.
Last year the Madison boys placed fourth in state, which is the highest Madison has ever placed.
“The last three years, we’ve won districts … and expecting to win districts this year,” Peterson said. “This year, our goal is to place in the top three in state.”
Because things are still growing in the sport for the girls, Peterson says it’s more difficult for the girls to progress to State than the boys. He says the girls are competing against schools in every division, not just their own. But he has high hopes.
“Our goal for the girls is to qualify all three girls for state,” Peterson said.
As for Taylor she’s happy to be a part of a growing sport and wants to be a role model for her current athletes.
“Women’s wrestling is really growing, and I’m very excited to see it take off years from
now,” Taylor said. “They just added it to the NCAA which is a really big milestone. … I’m really excited to see just where everyone goes with life and I’m glad to be a
coach here for Madison High.”
Keep up with the Madison High School wrestling team by following them on Instagram — here — or Facebook — here.
To see the teams scores for their upcoming competitions go to trackwrestling.com.
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