**Aaliyah Svec**, made history last year as a freshman wrestler at Cooper High School.
Aaliyah began wrestling boys at a young age and continued competing against boys through her middle-school years when opportunities to wrestle exclusively against girls were limited. When she entered high school last year and finally had the opportunity to compete in a full girls wrestling season, she made the most of it.
**As a freshman, Aaliyah went undefeated and won a Kentucky high school state wrestling championship.**
What makes that accomplishment even more remarkable is the history behind it. Cooper High School had been wrestling for approximately 18 years without producing a state champion—boy or girl.
**Then a freshman girl became the first.**
Now Aaliyah is a **sophomore and preparing to begin her second high-school wrestling season**, which I believe makes this a great time to tell her story. Last year was about making history. This year is about what comes next.
Her journey also comes during an incredible period of growth for girls wrestling across the country. More and more young women are stepping onto the mat, and Aaliyah’s story is an example of what can happen when girls are given the opportunity to compete and showcase their abilities.
She went from wrestling boys because there weren’t enough opportunities for girls, to getting that opportunity in high school, going undefeated, winning a state championship, and becoming **Cooper High School’s first wrestling state champion in school history—all as a freshman.**
Now she’s preparing to step back onto the mat for Year Two.
