Joe Drennan
Sports Editor

When most high school athletes finish high school they go on to compete at the collegiate level, but for female wrestler Chelynne Pringle there really are no female wrestling teams that compete in the NCAA. Pringle is taking a different route, going to college to train for the Olympics instead.

After compiling a record of 33-1 in high school it was obvious Pringle was going to continue wrestling after high school. Unlike her male teammates at Forest Lake High School who have the opportunity to wrestle for most colleges, U.S. colleges simply do not have female wrestling.

Luckily for Pringle the people over at USA Wrestling have taken notice of her. USA Wrestling believes Pringle is not only good, but good enough to represent the U.S. in the Olympics so they want her to train. USA Wrestling has a few sites where the wrestlers can train, but the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs is the ideal location. With that in mind Pringle chose to attend Colorado Springs college where she plans to major in medicine as she hopes to one day become a surgeon.

ìShe knows what she wants to do and sheís going to go for it,î Pringleís dad Dick said. ìSheís a hard worker and itís a dream come true for her.î

Colorado Springs College does not have female wrestling, but it is the school USA Wrestling recommends for its wrestlers who are going to train at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

ìThere were other schools, one in California, one in Missouri, one in Canada, but the coach in Colorado Springs talked to me throughout the whole process,î Pringle said. ìThe coach said he wants to start my Olympic training right away and Colorado is the best place to start that.î

While attending Colorado Springs Pringle will be living at the Olympic Training Center where sheíll train with the top female wrestlers in the country.

ìIím just glad that her hard work has paid off for her,î Pringleís mom Lori said. ìSheís level headed so she should be fine out there. Most of the girls sheíll be training with are older and done with college so they should have a good influence on her.î

The past four years Pringle wrestled at FLHS under the direction of Bob Dettmer, but sheís been wrestling with coach Larry Allen since she was about 10 and during the offseason.

ìChelynne has always had the gift to wrestle and sheís continually maturing in the sport,î Allen said. ìSheís very dedicated not only in wrestling, but she keeps herself fit to help her in wrestling by doing other things like track. Probably her best quality though is that she is one of the best role models we have in our sport.î

When not working out with Allen, Pringle was in the FLHS wrestling room practicing with her Rangers teammates and Dettmer.

ìI think itís an honor for anybody to be in a position to represent not only their country but their community and school,î Dettmer said. ìIíve noticed over the years that Chelynne is a student of the sport and is very competitive and downright tough. You put those things together and the heart she has for the sport and only good things are going to happen.î

Year in review

Pringle has had a bit of success over the past year, but then again when she is ranked number three in the country in the senior womenís category itís only natural that sheís doing well.

Pringle took first place in the USGWA for the second year in a row. She was named to the first team for high school wrestlers, an honor reserved for only 14 girls in the country.

Pringleís goal for this year still is to take first at the Junior Nationals in Fargo, ND, during the last weekend in July.

ìThe biggest accomplishment for Chelynne is that little girls admire her and want her autograph,î Pringleís mom said. ìHer little sister had to write about her role model so she wrote about Chelynne because she is a role model.î

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