Queen of the Mat
December 16, 2011
DEWITT – Even if they haven’t faced her, most Lansing-area wrestlers have heard of Rachel McFarland.
It’s a different story when DeWitt hits the road for Saturday tournaments. McFarland will run up against opponents who don’t know a thing about her – until she beats them.
The Panthers senior has won more than 100 matches over the last three seasons. She’s been asked about wrestling boys probably as many times.
“Sometimes, I feel bad for them. I’m not going to lie,” McFarland said, breaking into a laugh. “I don’t think of (wrestling boys) in a different way. But for guys, it’s probably weird because they never wrestle a girl.
“I just wrestle.”
A girl wrestling on an MHSAA team isn’t rare -- roughly 146 have participated in the sport per season over the last three. But McFarland is special.
She signed a letter of intent Wednesday to accept 
nearly a full scholarship from NAIA Oklahoma City University, which has the top-ranked women’s collegiate wrestling program in the country this season. She’s also wrestled on the international mat, taking fifth in a world competition in Hungary over the summer.
A 112-pounder, McFarland will carry a 101-39 record into her final high school season later this month. She’s both won a CAAC Gold championship and finished runner-up, and as a sophomore advanced to the MHSAA Regional round.
Not bad for only five years in the sport. After sitting through her younger brother’s tournaments while they were growing up, she decided in eighth grade to join her middle school team. She was tired of watching and not being a part. And she was drawn to the sport’s intensity.
“She had the drive to be great. I’ve never seen an athlete in any of my sports with such work ethic and dedication,” said DeWitt coach Brian Byars, who also coaches the school’s boys cross country team. “And so we knew that she could be something special. We just didn’t know what.
“Her commitment and desire kept her achieving goals, and we just kept setting them higher and higher. And then we just started realizing what a treasure we have.”
McFarland is following a short line to success at the MHSAA level. Goodrich’s C.C. Weber finished fourth in Division 3 at 103 pounds in 2009, the best MHSAA Finals finish by a girl. Martin’s Amy Berridge finished seventh at 103 in Division 4 in 2004. McFarland will be Oklahoma City teammates with Kristi Garr, also from Goodrich and an MHSAA Finals qualifier in 2010.
McFarland was a softball player during her middle school years, and ran cross country and track earlier in her high school career. She had picked up some wrestling knowledge watching her brother, and the rest came from natural ability and a lot of work on technique.
“I thought I was going to beat her because she’s a girl. She totally was better,” said DeWitt sophomore Alex Lantz, McFarland’s practice partner last season. “When she roughs around the guys a little bit, it’s like ‘Whoa, she just threw me. I’ve got to do it back or something.’”
McFarland’s success is opening the wrestling room door for other interested girls at her school. A few gave the sport a brief try over the last few seasons, and Byars said one in particular has talked to both he and McFarland about joining the team this winter. Byars and McFarland also have discussed starting a little girls wrestling program in their community.
McFarland also considered signing with King College (Tenn.) and Menlo College (Calif.), which like Oklahoma City are members of the 14-team Women’s College Wrestling Association. She intends to study biomedical science and will move far from her family – but anticipates few changes to life on the mat despite the fact she’ll no longer be wrestling boys.
“Everyone knows girls are more dramatic, so there might be more drama. But I think it will be about the same,” McFarland said. “I’ll definitely miss the guys. It’s fun being with them. But I think it will be OK. (The girls) are all wrestlers. They’ll understand.”
Bark River-Harris Honing In on Historic Opportunity
By
John Vrancic
Special for MHSAA.com
March 16, 2021
HARRIS — The Bark River-Harris wrestlers are gearing up for what they hope will be a historic postseason run.
BR-H will try to take the first step toward its goal when it travels to Manistique for the Division 4 Team District on Thursday.
Reigning District champ BR-H (21-2) faces the host Emeralds, and Iron Mountain meets Newberry at 6 p.m. The winners advance to the championship match at 7:30.
"This is definitely the best season we've had as a varsity program," said fourth-year coach Joe Racicot. "At the beginning of the season with the number of kids we had coming back, we thought we could be up near the top. Although, I wasn't sure we'd be 21-2. Many of the teams are shorthanded, although we're winning more matches than we're losing. We're heading in the right direction."
If the Broncos win the District, they would host the Team Regional for the first time March 24.
"It's going to be a challenge," said Racicot. "I have the utmost respect for the other coaches in our District. I've learned a lot from them. All of them are good friends and mentors to me. I'm one of the few coaches who didn't wrestle in high school because we didn't have a program here at that time. Although, it didn't take me long to fall in love with the sport."
Last year, the Broncos were crowned District champs for the first time in their 10-year history before falling to Onaway in a Regional opener.
Powers North Central sophomore Drew Allgeyer, who wrestles at BR-H through a co-op venture, is 23-0.
"We've been working hard," said Allgeyer, who will be wrestling at 160 pounds in the District and finished seventh at last season’s Finals at 145. "We have good practice partners and push each other every day. We're all helping each other to be the best we can be, which definitely pays off in competition.
"I have the strength for 171. I've been wrestling at 171 most of the year which helps me a lot,” he added. “All I want to do is have good matches. I always say I don't lose, I learn. There's always somebody better than you. That's big motivation right there."
Both of BR-H's losses this winter were to Division 2 Escanaba.
"We lost to them by six and 12 points," said Allgeyer. "They're the best team in the U.P., and they're well-coached. It's good for us to put up as much of a fight as we did, although none of this will mean anything once we get into the postseason when it really counts. Iron Mountain has a solid team. They and all the other teams will put their best lineup out there."
North Central junior Wyatt Raab (215) is 18-0 going into the postseason.
"This is the first time Bark River-Harris has had a chance to go to the state tournament as a team," he said. "We could also have the most individual qualifiers in school history. We're looking to make a lot of special trips this year.”
BR-H freshman Noah Gagne is pleasantly surprised by the Broncos' record.
"We have a lot of young guys this year," he added. "I thought we'd be pretty good, but not this good. Esky was definitely our toughest competition, and I think Iron Mountain is closer to us. “This has definitely been a learning experience for me. The older guys have been teaching me a lot of things. I've learned to be more confident. They told me to 'know what you're doing and try to listen to your coaches and teammates during a match.'"
Junior Avry Corrigan joined Allgeyer at last season’s Individual Finals. The Broncos this winter also have four girls, including junior captain Katie Viau and Melody Racicot who will be wrestling in Sunday's Michigan Wrestling Association girls state tournament at Highland.
"It's nice to see that growing," said coach Racicot. "We hope to eventually get a girls tournament in the U.P."
John Vrancic has covered high school sports in the Upper Peninsula since joining the Escanaba Daily Press staff in 1985. He is known most prominently across the peninsula for his extensive coverage of cross country and track & field that frequently appears in newspapers from the Wisconsin border to Lake Huron. He received the James Trethewey Award for Distinguished Service in 2015 from the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association.
PHOTO: Drew Allgeyer’s arm is raised in victory after one of his wins last season during the Individual Finals at Ford Field. (Click for more from High School Sports Scene.)