Airey-Bufford’s Determination Extends Beyond The Mat

Senior aims to change perceptions, advocate for more female grapplers

Though girls wrestling is the fastest-growing high school sport in the country, it’s been slower to get going at Highland Park. Keira Airey-Bufford wants to change that.

The HP senior has been battling on and off the mat for the past two years, both to win matches and to lay the groundwork for more gender parity in a sport that, at HP, has always been reserved for boys.

“I want to create an atmosphere where all the girls are accepted,” Airey-Bufford said. “People think of stereotypes of wrestling. But I wear skirts to school and bows in my hair. It’s not as violent as people make it out to be.”

Airey-Bufford, who also plays softball, became enamored with wrestling a few years ago when she sought out a new sport and attended some camps. She has been active in meeting with school administrators to sell the idea of starting a team.

“Highland Park is very slow to change. We’re very rooted in tradition. There were some people who supported me and some people who just wanted it to be the guys,” she said. “I wasn’t going to let the fact that it didn’t exist, or that it would be difficult to start, stop me from doing it.”

Since she was the only girl last season, Airey-Bufford had to grapple with boys in practice, and would compete in matches whenever an opponent had girls in a comparable weight class. She won enough to qualify for the regional tournament.

But her efforts were equally persistent in growing the team, and in changing perceptions among her classmates of a sport that is sanctioned by almost every state in the country and has nearly quadrupled nationally in terms of participating teams over the past decade.

“We always felt like at some point in time we’d have a girls program,” said longtime HP wrestling coach Tim Marzuola. “It just took somebody to be interested. It’s all because of her.”

Airey-Bufford’s grassroots promotional efforts included launching dedicated social-media accounts, peppering the morning announcements, and finding advocates in Marzuola and some of the 56 boys at HP who share her passion.

This year, two freshmen have expanded the roster to three. The Scots will have a girls schedule for the first time, and Airey-Bufford hopes to culminate her senior season at the state tournament.

However, she also wants to mentor the newcomers and continue to break down barriers so the foundation won’t be squandered after she graduates.

“A lot of people still don’t know about it,” she said. “I just want it to be normalized. I just want to make it easier for them.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *