Rose Lehner is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Pinnacle High School for AZPreps365.com

Wearing a singlet, a mouthguard and wrestling boys isn’t your typical female sport. Jessica Birk is different.

“The lessons I learned about myself as a girl wrestler is that there is nothing different about being a girl wrestler or a boy wrestler, you work just as hard as everyone else, you go out on the mats and your team and coaches are cheering for you just like they are for everyone else, you should never have a different mindset just because you’re a girl in a boy-dominated sport,” the Pinnacle sophomore said.

She joined the team as a freshman. She beat the defending state champion in only the third match of her wrestling career.  Then later that same night, she beat the defending runner up from Desert Ridge, who she will wrestle again this Wednesday. 

Female wrestling is still developing in most states and the high contact competitions are unappealing to most girl athletes. Birk uses wrestling as her outlet to show strength comes in all shapes and sizes.

“Some of my greatest accomplishments in wrestling in freshman year is how fast I was able to pick up the sport and how I was able to always keep my head up no matter the situation. I didn’t lose any dual matches with girls and boys. I was able to push through an injury during tournaments and did not give up,” Birk said.

Prior to joining the wrestling team, Birk was a fierce competitor in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and continues to thrive today. She holds three regional champion titles in youth Shotokan Karate, five national champion titles and a Pan-American champion title in youth Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

“Already having a competitive mindset from her time in Jiu-jitsu, Jessica has been extremely competitive on the wrestling mat since her first match,” coach Chris Reid said. “She is aggressive and usually controls the pace of the match, sometimes even surprising her opponents with throws or rolls from her grappling background.  Without much fear of failure, she is usually first to attack and has pinned most of her opponents.”

Birk’s success in Jiu-Jitsu helped her develop indestructible tactics in her matches. She is striving for state in the upcoming months.

“My goals this season is to see myself improve after each match, no matter the outcome of the match, and to keep my head up and work hard every day to see myself get better, even if it’s one percent. Another goal is being able to go to states this year, especially since there is no girls sectionals this year, therefore I am going to keep pushing myself in the wrestling room to achieve that goal,” Birk said.

Part of her support system involves her parents Ann and Bernie, who have spread encouragement along her wrestling journey.

“We are proud of her every time she takes the mat. It takes so much courage for all of those athletes to train as hard as they do and then put it on the line in front of all their friends and family. She keeps it in all in perspective which really makes us proud.” Birk’s parents said in an email.

“Jessica has had some amazing mentors throughout the years, and we see her always wanting to pay it forward to younger athletes coming through the ranks. She embraces being a role model for younger girls and always makes time to share her experience with them. Her demeanor does not change much on or off the mat. She is generally quiet, focused, determined while enjoying the moment in whatever she is doing.”