Bailey Fielding began wrestling her freshman year of high school. Photo by Alison Skowronek.

DOROTHY LAKSHMANAMURTHY | SPORTS CO-EDITOR | dlakshmanamurthy@butler.edu

When first-year political science major Bailey Fielding first spotted the wrestling flyers on the walls of Northview High School during her first year of high school, she was already juggling a busy schedule with color guard. Yet, the idea of joining a sport that has predominantly been a male-dominated arena was something that appealed to her, so she decided to take the plunge.

“I thought it would be badass to be a woman doing something like that,” Fielding said.

However, once she entered her sophomore year, Fielding was overwhelmed with the load of both wrestling and color guard, and decided to step away from the wrestling mat. Fielding did not think much about leaving the sport at first, as it was a spur-of-the-moment decision to join in the first place, but it slowly started to affect her as she walked past the practices and found herself reminiscing.

“When I wasn’t wrestling, I really missed it,” Fielding said. “I would see them in practice and wish I was in there getting my butt beat.”

By the time she returned in her junior year, Northview had formed an all-girls wrestling team. Just two years earlier, she had wrestled under the boys’ team, sometimes attending meets where her school was the only one with girls competing against boys. But as more girls joined, the coaches were able to expand the program by organizing a separate team, giving the Knights the chance to compete in girls-only tournaments.

Fielding hoped to continue the growth of wrestling that she experienced at Northview and transfer it to Butler’s campus, but she quickly realized the program here was still in its early stages.

During orientation week, Fielding searched the club block party for something to catch her eye, eventually spotting a table for the wrestling club with Brian Voetberg, the wrestling club president and a finance and risk management double major, manning the stand.

“I found the wrestling table, and Brian was sitting at his little table by himself with the papers, and there was nobody there,” Fielding said. “I think I was one of the first to show up.”

The club itself had only recently become officially recognized. What had previously existed as an informal wrestling and jiu-jitsu group was reorganized and registered through the university last year, allowing the club to recruit at the Block Party for the first time this year and hold regular practices at the Health and Recreational Complex.

Now practicing about once a week with roughly eight to 10 students attending sessions, the wrestling club is still small but gaining momentum, with Fielding now serving as vice president and helping lead its growth.

At these practices, wrestlers start by drilling different moves and techniques, reviewing skills that might be used in matches and discussing past matches from the college or Olympic scene. Then, they move on to live wrestling, applying what they learned in mini matches against fellow club members.

As the only girl at these practices, Fielding finds herself facing opponents who are often much bigger and stronger, yet she holds her own — and then some.

“She’s feisty,” Voetberg said. “It’s hard to hold her down in one position because she’s always scrambling and moving. In wrestling, that’s a trait that’s hard to develop, and Bailey is good at it. Having that extra instinct to just get out there and move is good, and Bailey’s got that.”

First-year biology major Julian Richee echoed Voetberg and emphasized Fielding’s ability on the mat.

“She’s really good, especially for her weight class,” Richee said. “She can move around the mat and has really good technique.”

From her days wrestling with the boys before her high school officially formed a girls’ team, Fielding is no stranger to matching up with opponents who are heavier and stronger than her. The experience pushes her both mentally and physically, forcing her to confront doubts while also building endurance.

“Going against guys is definitely a mental block, but it’s also a physical block because a lot of them are obviously way heavier than I am,” Fielding said. “There’s a weight advantage and a strength advantage. But strength-wise, wrestling someone stronger than you builds your endurance. And when I am mentally blocked, I remember that being tired is a mindset; you’re never truly tired. You can always give more.”

Fielding found that her background in color guard has also translated into wrestling in unexpected ways. 

“Lower body strength has helped me immensely,” Fielding said. “I remember the first few practices, one of the guys told me that my lower body strength is insane, and that primarily comes from dancing in color guard.”

Beyond wrestling club practices, Fielding’s routine at Butler is a shift from her high school schedule. After spending her summers performing for color guard with Drum Corps International — often training from early morning to late evening — she now focuses on academics and wrestling, while also exploring her new interest in weightlifting, giving herself space to adjust during her first year on campus while staying active.

Even though it is only her first year at Butler, Fielding is already determined to pursue a career in law. Her experience in wrestling has instilled a mindset that she plans to carry into her future and the courtroom.

“I feel like law is also a male-dominated space, so I just want to be a woman in a courtroom representing my people in a little pink suit and stand on business,” Fielding said. “From wrestling, I’ve taken with me to never give up. I know it sounds cliché, but on the mat, if you’re tired, you can’t give up. That same mentality carries over into both life and being a lawyer — if it’s not going your way, you cannot give up. You cannot give someone the upper hand over you.”