Badger girls wrestling looking to build off incredible 1st year as a program

In their first year as a separate girls program last season, the Lake Geneva Badger girls wrestling team couldn’t have gotten off to a better start. The team competed in duals, at sectionals, and capped it off with two state champions in Ella Creighton and Carley Ceshker.

“It was kind of the unknown and we didn’t really know what it was going to look like,” Badger head girls wrestling coach Jason Bousman said. “As the year unfolded and we started winning tournaments, it was really amazing to see how that team jelled with girls that were essentially either first time wrestlers or had a little bit of experience.”

Bousman came over from Burlington High School prior to last year. He also serves as an assistant on the Badger football team and is the head coach of the Badger girls track and field team with a total of 27 years of coaching experience.

“The theme at Badger is ‘we over me,’” Bousman said. “I think I added a little piece to that that says ‘we over me equals family.’”

That family that is now attached to the Badger motto is about to grow this season on the wrestling mat for the girls. Bousman expects to have over 20 wrestlers on the team this season compared to just nine last season.

“Going from the nine that we had last year to around 20 is just going to be amazing,” Bousman said. “Even in year two, we still have some questions of unknowns, but I think after the first year seeing how all this unfolded in here and in the state of Wisconsin and it’s a pretty cool feeling to be a part of history.”

Of the 20-something girls expected on the team this season, both state champions return.

Ceshker, just a sophomore, came into her freshman season last year as one of the most decorated young wrestlers not just in the state but in the country. She finished out her freshman campaign by dominating her competition at 126 lbs. by going 8-0 and coming away with a state championship. She was also voted Girl Wrestler of the Year in the state.

“Last year went good, it went as planned,” Ceshker said. “My goal this year is to be another state champ. We have a good team this year, so I want us to win as many duals as we can.”

Creighton was dominant on the mat in her junior season, a season that ended with her winning a state championship in the 185 lbs. weight class.

“Last year went pretty good for me,” Creighton said. “I was kind of surprised how well our girls team took off, both individually and as a team. By the end of the season, I was so proud of everyone.”

Now a senior, Creighton is hoping to finish off her high school wrestling career on a high note not just for herself, but the team as well.

“I’m looking forward to building the team up again with a lot of new people in,” Creighton said. “Individually, I just want to end the season where I’m proud of myself with the work that I have put in. I don’t want to end the season looking back on it and thinking I could have done more.”

Creighton said she plans to continue her wrestling career in college and currently holds an offer from the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh.

But the coolest part about all of it, according to Creighton who began wrestling in third grade, is seeing how much the sport of girls wrestling has grown.

“When I joined wrestling in third grade, I was not expecting much out of it, it was just kind of fun for me and gave me something to do,” she said. “Looking back at it now, third grade me would have never thought I’d win a state title or that I’d help start a girls wrestling team at my high school. It’s crazy. The number of girls in high school wrestling right now is so much more than it was when I was little.”

Creighton wrestled nationally for the first time in a tournament held in Indiana over the summer, which really opened her eyes to how much this sport has taken off.

“I saw all these little girls with these amazing opportunities and it’s so cool to see because growing up in women’s wrestling I was the only girl at the tournaments,” she said. “It’s awesome to see all these other opportunities that these other girls have.”

Bousman can’t say enough about what Ceshker and Creighton have done for the program.

“They’re a part of history,” Bousman said. “For Ella, she's homegrown and has always sort of bought into this. To see Ceshker embrace that leadership role and really buy into what Badger wrestling is about. She knows she can have a huge impact on what it looks like for the future.”

David Davila, the head coach of the Badger boys wrestling team, said both girls have run open mats during the offseason as well.

“With Ella being a senior and the personality that she has, all the other girls kind of look to her like ‘we can be like this,’” Davila said. “If she does wrestle at the University level, she can potentially in the summer start running girls camps. For Ceshker, she doesn’t like to brag about the things that she does and she’s very humble. For all the accolades and accomplishments she has in her career so far, she’s just been grounded the entire time, which credit goes to her other coaches, parents and who she is as a person.”

One of the biggest points of emphasis for both the boys and girls wrestling programs has been about trying to retain wrestlers. Bousman said all the girls who wrestled as freshman last year are back.

Senior Emma Garrett, a transfer from McHenry, Illinois is also new to the team

“With the leaders that we have coming back and coming into the program, there’s a lot of excitement,” Bousman said. “We have had open mats with 12-to-18 girls, which is awesome. And every day there’s new faces come in and it’s like ‘wow, this is kind of neat.’”

Badger will open the season in a wrestling invitational at Waunakee High School Dec. 9.

It was a great first season for the girls wrestling program, so for Bousman, it’s just about continuing to move forward in the right direction.

“We want to retain kids, grow as a program, continue to build that love for wrestling and have these girls understand what part of history they’re a part of,” Bousman said. “What can they do to be that individual that gets their younger sister involved and inspires that sixth, seventh and eighth grade female to start wrestling and come into our room and keep the ball rolling.”