The Lincoln girls wrestling team are Portland Interscholastic League (PIL) district champions. The team consists of of nine students and is nearing the end of their season.

They will be cheering on sophomore Fera Thomas at the upcoming state competition, who qualified by placing third at regionals on Feb. 4. She enjoys the competitive and positive environment of the wrestling team. 

“We’re all really close. We’re kind of like a family,” Thomas said.

Freshman Kyanna Cabrera enjoyed her first year on the team. She is proud of her performance this season and is enthusiastic about the team and the sport. 

“I think my favorite part is the community and how everybody wants to push themselves. Everybody who’s there wants to get better,” Cabrera said. 

The entire Lincoln Wrestling Team consists of between 40 and 50 wrestlers, only nine of whom wrestle on the girls team. 

Thomas said that she doesn’t see much difference between the way the boys and girls teams are treated. 

“[We’re] treated fairly. We have our own girls coach, which is super cool. A lot of schools don’t have that. The [boys] team, I think they’re bigger so that’s definitely in their advantage,” Thomas said. 

Cabrera said there aren’t any major differences between the boys and girls teams, but when it comes to treatment on match days, the boys tend to receive more supplies. 

“On Saturdays we have tournaments, and [the boys and girls] split up and [the boys] get food brought to them for the whole day. [The girls] have to buy [their] own food,” Cabrera said. “The food is paid for by everybody’s donations. I feel like we should also get [the food].”

Both Cabrera and Thomas encourage people to join the team next year. 

“People should try it out, it’s awesome! I think it pushes you in a way that you don’t expect,” Cabrera said.