Her season in a few words? “It’s been pretty successful.”

Senior Maile Manfre is in her fourth season of Englewood High School wrestling. “I’ve been sick for half of it, but I’ve gotten revenge on a girl who beat me earlier in the season, and I pinned her in 40 seconds.”

Competing in wrestling always comes with highs and lows. “I went against the state champ and gave her a good fight. I lost, but it’s okay.”

Throughout the season, Manfre has been steadily improving, working on her consistency and motivation. “I’ve really worked on my technique, and really just focusing in and using multiple different moves and not just trying to stick with one, and really trying to be more confident.”

Reflecting on this, her last year, is hard. “It hasn’t really set in yet. I think it will be on senior night.” Senior Night is January 29, 2026.  

All the hard work paid off, scoring her a spot at Regionals. “They will be at Holy Family this year, and then after that is State.”

Manfre’s success also reflects the rapid growth of girls’ wrestling in Colorado.

Girls wrestling in Colorado officially began as a sanctioned sport in the 2018-2019 season. The Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) approved the pilot season following a few issues with girls wrestling boys and rapid growth for girls in the sport.

Colorado was one of nine states to sanction girls’ wrestling in 2019. By 2021, the tournament expanded to feature more than 400 participants, and later, the championships moved to Ball Arena.

Manfre was along for that ride. This journey made her one of the pioneers of girls’ wrestling. “It makes me feel fulfilled. There’s a lot of pressure with being that kind of a role model, but it feels very good, I’m glad it’s me.”

Manfre recently won her 100th match. For Englewood High School girls’ wrestling, it is groundbreaking. “It feels really good. I’ve been working for it since freshman year. I never thought I would actually make it, but I did.”