WCHS junior Parker Jennen, a determined and passionate student-athlete, has spent the past three years carving her own path in the world of high school wrestling. Through her fierce love of the sport, she has challenged both herself and the conventions of the sport as the first female wrestler at WCHS to win a regional competition. However, Jennen’s journey towards becoming a junior varsity captain, Girls Varsity Flag Football captain and Boys Varsity Wrestling competitor takes its own winding path.
“I actually did not want to become a wrestler when I first found out about it,” Jennen said. “After quitting cheerleading my last year of junior high, I had decided to become a manager for my school’s wrestling team. And the first day I walked in to do my management position, the coach said, ‘Put on some shoes, I want you to try it.’ And so I did, and I immediately fell in love with it.”
After starting wrestling during her freshman year of high school at Fayetteville High School in Fayetteville, Ark., Jennen discovered her passion for wrestling. Learning to quickly use complex maneuvers right off the bat and supportive team members helped Jennen’s talent bloom into a formidable skill set. After moving to Maryland, however, Jennen has faced her fair share of obstacles, including during her first wrestling match as a WCHS student.
“It was my first match of the season, and my first match after moving to a new school,” Jennen said. “Everyone was watching because I was the first girl that they had had in years. And I was nervous because I was going against a guy, but I got over it. And I beat him. I remember he was very frustrated—he even threw his headgear down. He was so mad but everyone in the crowd was cheering for me. And that was a big indicator that this was a good sport for me.”
Even though Jennen makes the sport look easy, there is no shortcut to getting good at wrestling. While it has its ups and downs, Jennen believes wrestling has helped her become the best version of herself. Like all dedicated athletes, she understands that one can only receive results for the effort they put in, and you have to keep fighting the battle to keep that understanding. Through months of hardcore conditioning, weight management to stay in her weight class, two duels a week and tournaments on the weekends, Jennen has trained with every ounce of her spirit.
“I know it sounds cheesy, but there will be some days where I have had three tests, but I have to go to wrestling practice, it is sweaty and I still have to cut weight for the next tournament,” Jennen said. “I will have this headache, and I feel like I am at my lowest but then I just get through practice, and I know I am okay because I just did that, so now I can do anything.”
Despite the intimidation around joining a sport for the first time, much less being the first of your gender to do so in your community, juggling school, wrestling, her personal life, and her hobbies, Jennen has formed an incredible support system. At her school in Arkansas, Jennen faced some prejudice from those around her. The lack of support discouraged her heavily from competing at all. But despite all the obstacles, Jennen has found her footing at WCHS, and deeply appreciates her team and coaches for the positive impact they have had on her.
“It has been my privilege to coach Parker,” WCHS Junior Varsity Wrestling coach James Taylor said. “She is a tremendous leader. She has a great work ethic, whether it is in the wrestling room or the football field. She always hits the ground running, even after her injury this year, she has been helping the wrestling team with anything she can. And to me, her involvement really speaks a lot about her character.”
Despite an injury this school year, Jennen has remained an active member of the wrestling team and was one of the Girls Varsity Flag Football captains at WCHS, where she has proven her mettle as a leader and athlete. Through thick and thin, Jennen has overcome the challenges before her with a can-do attitude.
“I am very grateful to my family for supporting me because there is still a huge amount of prejudice about women in male-dominant fields,” Jennen said, “I have been trying to be an example to prove that girls can do anything a guy can do, if not more. And that is one of the reasons I wanted to join wrestling in the first place: I am a pretty big feminist, and I just love kind of pushing the patriarchy a little bit.”
Jennen not only applies this attitude outside of wrestling, but in her personal life as well. Jennen has been challenging herself to pursue her other goals, including raising 300 dollars from donations for a kid’s foster home and creating short films as part of her journey to attend a film school. Wrestling has helped Jennen develop an inner confidence and a greater trust in her abilities.
“Honestly, the biggest challenge in wrestling is the sport itself,” Jennen said, “It’s just finding that personal drive within yourself to keep pushing is the hardest part. If you do not give your all, then you will not be winning anything. Wrestling has really improved my self-drive and willingness to push myself even when things get hard.”
