Girls wrestling: DeKalb coach Conor Infelise hopes to match boys’ success with new program

DeKALB – When she got involved in wrestling last year, Alex Gregorio-Perez had some questions.

Many of those questions were answered this year when DeKalb announced it will start a girls wrestling team.

“I didn’t really know what was going to happen when I started wrestling,” Gregorio-Perez said. “Do I wrestle with boys? There were so many questions. When I found out there was a girls program, I was like, ‘Oh, OK. That’s cool.’”

Instead of wrestling against boys in the program and competing against other boys teams, the girls in the DeKalb program will compete in the fledgling sport of girls wrestling sponsored by the IHSA.

Last year was the first time the IHSA sponsored a state series in girls wrestling, with the state championships held at the same time as the boys team championships, in which DeKalb took second.

Conor Infelise was put in charge of the program in mid-June and said he hopes to mimic the success the boys program has had. Infelise has been an assistant for two seasons and wrestled for McHenry and then Harper Community College.

“[DeKalb wrestling has] always been tough, but especially in the last decade or so since the Hiatts [head coach Sam and his brothers Andy and Max] have been running the program,” Infelise said. “I couldn’t be more blessed and grateful to learn from some of the best coaches in the country, how they all work together. And DeKalb wrestling is the greatest around, the best in the state, and we’re looking to keep building it.”

The girls team has two wrestlers at the moment, Gregorio-Perez and Jade Weiss. Both are incoming freshmen who wrestled last year in middle school.

Infelise said he expects numbers to tick up in the fall when they can recruit as students return to school. He also said the middle school has 10-15 girls wrestlers for this upcoming season.

“We’re technically making history starting a new team for the rest of the high school,” Weiss said. “I’m prepared for it. I’ve been training, doing all the camps and practices, and just being ready for all the years to come.”

Infelise said he’s not sure what the girls season is going to look like, with the sport still in its infancy not only in DeKalb but statewide.

“It’s something we’re all wondering here in Illinois,” Infelise said. “There’s a handful of girls teams that have played. I’ve been in contact with some of those coaches to see what they did last year or what their plans are this year. We’re trying to get some all-girls events for our girls to go compete and see where they’re at. And if that doesn’t work out, we’re going to play it by ear and see what other programs are doing and get these girls as much exposure to the sport as we can.”

Gregorio-Perez said she started wrestling because she liked the challenge.

“You don’t usually see a lot of girls wrestle, so it’s very empowering, I guess,” Gregorio-Perez said. “You use a lot of muscle and work hard. You push yourself hard, and you see all these people push themselves hard, and you think, ‘Oh, I can do that too.’”

Weiss said she always had an interest in testing herself, and wrestling seemed like a good avenue to continue that.

“When I was in fifth grade, I actually wanted to be a part of football,” Weiss said. “I just have that strength. And as an individual sport, you’re still part of a team, but when you get on the mat, you do it on your own.”