Jade Hardee, an eight grader from Tinley Park, won a state wrestling championship in March, continuing the Southland’s success in a sport only recently recognized by the IHSA.
Jade Hardee, an eighth grader from Tinley Park, is declared the winner of a match during the Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation girls state championship. Hardee brought home a state title from the tournament. Tinley Park Bulldogs boys youth wrestling coach Mickey Griffin is stepping down after 15 years of helping produce some of the top wrestlers in the area and state.
“I was pretty cool about it, I didn’t do any of that stuff,” Hardee said. “I’m the type where if I could have done a little better in a match, I’m a little bit harder on myself. But then the next time I know to give it my all.” Now, it has grown to the point where the Illinois High School Association has recognized girls wrestling for three years.
“I like seeing how a boy-dominant sport is going to girls,” she said. “I feel like when people think of wrestling, they think of boys and now they are going to start to think of girls, too.” Homewood-Flossoor’s Attalia Watson-Castro won a state title at 130 at the inaugural IHSA state meet in 2022 and won a 135-pound title in 2023. Also in 2023, H-F’s Ini Odumoso won at 190.Turner’s triumph came a year after competing at Bremen and making history by becoming the first girl in state history to earn a medal in the boys meet when she took third at 106 in Class 2A.
“I do pretty well, actually,” she said. “I practiced against a junior and I was finishing my shots and I was strong.After participating in jujitsu most of her life, Hardee started wrestling a couple of years ago.
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