By Bruce Karnick

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Hastings Raider Skylar Little Soldier has been one of the pioneer female wrestlers in the state of Minnesota. Until the 2022 High School Season, girls wrestling has not been a sanctioned sport, so Little Soldier has had to wrestle on the boy’s team. She has done well against many of the top male wrestlers in the state during the school season, but we are in summer now, and that means club wrestling. Club wrestling for girls is a growing sport, hoping to capitalize on the newfound MSHSL sanctioning.

Little Soldier, who was ranked 17th in her age group of 127-pound female wrestlers, travelled to Fargo, ND to the Marines Junior and 16U Nationals, part of USA Wrestling. Her first match was in the ‘Round of 16’ against New Jersey’s Julia Fongaro. That match ended up being a 10-0 win for Little Soldier. The Quarter Final round opponent was Ciara Riner of West Virginia, also a 10-0 win. Both of Little Soldiers wins so far in the tournament were not just wins, but Superiority wins, also known as Technical Falls.

In the semi-final round, Little Soldier pinned Ragan Retell of New York in 2:49 of the first round. For the championship round, Little Soldier faced sixth ranked Taydem Khamjoi of California at the 132-pound class. Little Soldier won with a score of 13-4, securing the National Championship.

After her win, Little Soldier will be participating in an all-girls wrestling camp in Chatfield, MN on July 26th and 27th from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Chatfield is about an hour and 20 minutes from Hastings. The event is open to all girls K-12 for a $25 registration fee. Little Soldier will be joining Augsburg Wrestler, Savannah Vold as clinicians for the camp. Email [email protected] gmail.com for details on how to join the camp.

Skylar Little Soldier wears a giant smile as her hand is raised in championship victory at the USA Wrestling Junior & 16U Nationals in Fargo North Dakota. Photo courtesy of Hastings Wrestling Club from FloWrestling.org