Girls’ wrestling may be a newly sanctioned sport in Colorado, but female wrestlers have been a staple of Calhan’s program for nearly a decade. 

The Bulldogs have had at least one female wrestler on their team since 2014, coach Bryan Jack said. Now, of about 100 students at the school, 10 girls are on the team including newly crowned three-time state champion Ciara Monger. 

Monger, a junior for Calhan, injured her elbow a couple weeks before wrestling regionals. The Bulldogs wrestler took a week off to recover and powered through, earning second place. Saturday night at Ball Arena in Denver, Monger pinned Riverdale Ridge’s Natasha Kuberski in just under a minute in the 235-pound finals to capture state title No. 3. She finished the season with a 20-1 record. 

Her evolution in the sport didn’t come easy.  Her toughness and resilience was forged by wrestling boys since the age of four when her father put her in pee wees as a part of Calhan Youth Wrestling, now Chaos Youth Wrestling. Monger enjoyed beating the boys when she was younger, a feat she would accomplish often. However, wrestling in middle school was a different story. 

“In middle school I was frustrated because I lost a lot against the boys. But then I was like, ‘Well, next year there’ll be girls to wrestle so let’s try out,'” Monger said.

Her patience paid off and girls wrestling gave her an opportunity to shine against other girls who enjoy the sport.  

“I think it’s pretty cool that there’s more girls (wrestling) and having more competition,” she said. “And I feel it’s better for other girls too that are starting out in this sport so late, so they don’t go out and wrestle boys and get their butts kicked.”

Getting her butt kicked in middle school made her a skilled technical wrestler. And she, along with teammate and fellow state champ Taylor Knox, use those skills to become better wrestlers for their school.  

“We practice together,” coach Jack said. “So C.J. (Monger) and Taylor (Knox) and everyone on my girls team has pretty much grown up with that boys team through pee wees, through middle school and into high school. So they’re all workout partners. They all know how to push each other in the practice room and I think that makes for better wrestlers on both sides.”

Monger and Knox expanded their knowledge of the sport, wrestling for Betterman Elite Wrestling Club last summer. It gave them some freestyle and Greco-Roman skills to add to their repertoire. They brought those skills back to the Bulldogs’ wrestling room. 

Jack helped Monger blossom from a 4-year-old in pee wee wrestling to an athlete with multiple state championships. And now he also gets to watch her turn around and help others. 

The two aren’t just making their current boy and girl teammates better, they’re cultivating the next generation of Bulldogs wrestling, especially on the girls side. 

Jack said the girls help coach Calhan’s middle school team as well. They host a week-long clinic for girls who are interested in wrestling, just a couple weeks after the season ends. 

“It’s no pressure, we’re not on a team, we run it for a week,” Jack said. “C.J. and Taylor are in the room. They just talk about the sport, they teach a little bit of technique and they try and motivate other girls to get into the sport. Their leadership on the female wrestling side has just been tremendous.”

Jack said Calhan has 14 girls on its middle school team.  

Monger’s actions in her wrestling community mirror her feelings on the sport overall. While many athletes emphasize a love for the individual aspects of wrestling, Monger embraces her Calhan Bulldogs family. 

“It’s an individual sport but you’re also a team and how you wrestle and the things you do and your motions on the mat affects your team also,” she said.  

Calhan wrestler Ciara Monger is our Peak Performer of the Week. Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)

Calhan wrestler Ciara Monger is our Peak Performer of the Week. Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2023. (Photo by Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)