CHS Senior, Katelyn Coldren, has taken the wrestling mat by storm this past winter with the Lady Herd wrestlers.

Throughout her time wrestling for the Lady Herd, Coldren fought for the girls to be sanctioned as an official PIAA sport and one that the school would recognize, along with her coaches and teammates. All of their hard work finally paid off on April 20 when the board approved it, making CHS the 108th school in Pennsylvania to offer girls varsity wrestling. Coldren was at the meeting with a few other teammates and coaches to discuss the importance and growth of the sport.

As of May 17, the PIAA has officially sanctioned the sport to debut in the 2023-2024 winter season. 

Despite her success and ability to create change, this past winter was only her second season in the sport. Coldren claimed first place at regionals and second place at states, receiving medals for her performances. She will be furthering her wrestling journey at York College of Pennsylvania as she signed with them during CHS’s spring sports signing day on April 12. 

At first, Coldren was hesitant to start wrestling, but her sister Allison pushed Katelyn to pick up the sport. Coldren explained, “She said, ‘come on you really got to do it, I need a partner.’ So, I just went for her and then I realized that I really enjoyed it.”

Wrestling began to capture Coldren’s attention because of the values it taught her along with the pleasure of learning something new. She’s learned perseverance, determination, and confidence. 

“Confidence is a big one that really affected me ‘cause I wasn’t so confident going into wrestling,” said Coldren.

She opened up about her struggles with confidence approaching the mat, but it’s something she and her coaches have worked to improve with the ‘she’s more scared of you’ mentality. 

Coldren has played softball for most of her life and shines on CHS’s softball diamond as well as the wrestling mat. However, for college, she decided to pursue wrestling based on the principles of perseverance, determination, and confidence it taught her, and because of how the sport energizes and motivates her through its intensity. 

“Two years of wrestling isn’t enough. And I also feel like wrestling helps keep you motivated,” said Coldren. “During practices you’re going to be so tired, but the feeling after practice that you’ve completed it just encourages you to go home and read a book or finish another assignment.”

Now, with the sport being sanctioned, the program within the Carlisle district can continue to grow in both numbers and skill. 

Coldren hopes to have set the standard for girls wrestling and encourages young girls to join in order to sustain the new program for the future. 

As a role model for the younger generation of girls wrestlers, Coldren’s advice is “don’t be afraid of competition because that’s only what makes you better. Confidence is the difference between a good wrestler, and an even better wrestler.”