Valparaiso’s Karlie Mann didn’t have a role model in wrestling when she started high school.
So she became one.
“I know how I would’ve felt if I’d had girls older than me who were wrestling when I started,” Mann said. “I really liked the sport, and I could see myself improving. So even if it’s not for me and I had to deal with being one of the few girls on the team, now they have somebody to look up to and say, ‘Well, she did it.’”
Mann, a senior, is also showing younger wrestlers what is possible. She heads to the Indiana High School Athletic Association’s inaugural state meet in Indianapolis on Friday with a 28-3 record and is ranked No. 15 at 140 pounds by IndianaMat.
This will be Mann’s second appearance at a state meet. Competing at 135 last season, she qualified for the Indiana High School Girls Wrestling Coaches Association’s state finals, an event that steadily grew over the past decade, leading the IHSAA to add the sport for this season.
Returning to the state meet was the standard for Mann, who lost in the first round last year.
“I was happy about it, but it’s not like I was parading around the gym,” she said. “It was more of an expectation for myself that I needed to meet. If I hadn’t made it to state, I would’ve been upset.”
Mann said her goal this time is to advance past the first round, which would guarantee a spot on the podium as a top-eight finisher. But Valparaiso coach Jason Cook said Mann’s legacy is already secure.
“As she’s gone through, the numbers have exploded, and that doesn’t happen without some good wrestlers leading the way,” Cook said. “She’s been awesome about stepping on the mat and competing hard all of the time.”
Cook said 19 girls have competed in a match for Valparaiso this season, a huge increase since Mann’s freshman year, when there were three girls on the team. For Mann, being part of that trio was a mild improvement after middle school, where she said she was the only girl on the team.
“I’d been doing this for a long time when there weren’t any girls wrestling,” she said. “Watching it grow over the past few years and then for it to finally become an IHSAA sport, I thought it was pretty cool.”
One of the younger wrestlers who have benefited from Mann’s example is her sister Kaitie Krause, a freshman who went 17-13 at 135 this season. Krause has been influenced by Mann’s success.
“It’s made me want to go to state,” Krause said.
Krause noted Mann is not solely focused on herself.
“She’s always pushing her teammates, always making sure that they’re doing the right things,” Krause said.
The only thing that has briefly interrupted Mann’s wrestling this season is EMT class, her early step toward a career as a firefighter. She rides along when medical personnel are needed, and those situations aren’t always timely.
“They don’t have a chance to drop me off,” Mann said. “Last week, there was a car crash, and I didn’t realize I was going to be on scene for as long as I was. My sister was without her wrestling bag, and I was about a half-hour late.”
But Mann always finds her way back to wrestling practice, where she can see her impact.
“I just really liked the sport, and it’s been getting bigger,” she said. “There are kids who are going to follow me, and there will be more events for them to go to. It feels like my time here has paid off.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter.
