Sam Knox, the Illinois High School Association administrator for wrestling, will tell you the growth of girls wrestling in Illinois is “off the charts.”
The Hoselton wrestling legacy is growing with it.
Chloe Hoselton, a Prairie Central High School junior, won the 235-pound state championship recently in the Girls State Wrestling Tournament at Bloomington’s Grossinger Motors Arena.
A big deal? You bet. Especially when you consider she was the fourth member of her family to win a state wrestling title.
Her brothers, Drew and Brandon, won state championships for Prairie Central in 2018, with Brandon adding another in 2019. Their first cousin, Andy Hoselton, won a state crown for the Hawks in 2011.
Oh, and Dad wrestled, too. Doug Hoselton was a wrestler at Chenoa High School and operates a wrestling training center called The Compound in Chenoa, about 20 miles northeast of Bloomington-Normal.
“It’s just kind of a big family thing,” Chloe said of wrestling.
That paid dividends this season leading up to the regional, sectional and state. This was the third year for an IHSA girls state wrestling series, but the first for Chloe Hoselton wrestling for her high school.
Drew and Brandon provided competition, and insight, during her preparation.
“Sometimes you don’t have the practice partners you need. They were the practice partners I needed to really push myself to get there,” Chloe said. “They knew what it took to make it to the state finals and what it took to win. They kind of trained me more about my conditioning and keeping going and what would work best for me.
”They mentioned that there was going to be a lot of pressure and stress put on you, especially from peers and everyone around that were expecting me to win. I was expected to win regionals and sectionals, but I think the pressure got to me. At state, I used that pressure and stress to really put it out on the mat.”
Doug Hoselton played a role as well. He has coached her since she began wrestling at 6 years old. Her previous competitions were outside of school in Midwest and national meets.
This year, she decided to “see what Illinois had to offer.” What did she learn?
“It’s one of the toughest states for men’s and women’s wrestling,” she said. “It’s new, but it’s exciting.”
The excitement was high in the championship match. Chloe defeated Phoenix Molina of Tolono Unity, 2-1, in an ultimate tiebreaker after two overtimes. The tiebreaker lasts 30 seconds and if the wrestler in the top position controls the one in the bottom position for the entire time, the top wrestler is awarded a point and wins.
Chloe Hoselton narrowly held on, with Drew in attendance and Brandon watching via a FaceTime call.
“He was yelling and screaming on the phone. It really meant a lot,” Chloe said. “It (winning) was a very big relief … a heavy weight was taken off my shoulders. I knew all the hard work paid off and it was just relaxing to have that moment and know I actually got it.”
Prairie Central wrestling coach Scott Ziller was excited for her, but not surprised. Having followed Chloe’s career prior to her joining the high school team, he said it was “on our minds from the beginning that we were going to be at the state finals.”
“When you watch somebody who has wrestled as long as Chloe and her brothers have, there is a comfort on the mat that even good athletes who have wrestled for a few years don’t have,” he said. “When you have that comfort, it doesn’t really matter what position you end up in. You can find a way into a dominant position.”
Chloe Hoselton was among more than 2,600 girls who participated in Illinois high school wrestling this year. In 2021-22, the first year of the girls state series, that number was a shade under 1,200.
Similarly, 517 girls entered the opening round of postseason competition in 2021-22. This year, there were more than 1,400.
“It was almost triple what we had just two years ago,” Knox said. “It’s easily our fastest growing girls sport in Illinois, probably the fastest growing girls sport in the country.
“With the quick growth there are some hurdles we have to overcome and changes we have to make, but we’re getting to a point where it’s becoming a more mainstream sport than ever before.”
Knox, an assistant executive director at the IHSA, called the rapid rise “a great thing for the girls and our schools. It’s another way to represent their school and their community statewide in competition.”
Doors also are opening for girls to wrestle in college. An example? Cadence Diduch of Freeport won her third straight state title this year. She has earned the chance to wrestle at the University of Iowa next year.
Chloe Hoselton called wrestling in college “a big goal for me right now.” She has received interest, but hopes to attract more by winning another state title next season as a senior.
The pressure will be there again.
That’s OK.
“I kind of thrive off the pressure,” she said. “It really pushes me because everyone is expecting it. Being a two-time champ is another goal to look forward to.”
The legacy continues.
