DARIEN, IL \u2013 All but one of the 14 high schools in the West Suburban Conference field girls wrestling teams. <\/p>\n
Hinsdale South is the exception. <\/p>\n
Callie Carr, South’s lone female wrestler, urged the school board Wednesday to allow a team. She described the school’s athletic director, Art Ostrow, as the roadblock. <\/p>\n Illinois High School Association records show that the other conference teams \u2013 even South’s sister, Hinsdale Central \u2013 have girls wrestling coaches.<\/p>\n One other thing separates Hinsdale South from the other 13 schools: It has the lowest enrollment. <\/p>\n Central is nearly twice South’s size. The second-smallest school has 200 more students, while others schools in the conference \u2013 Lyons Township, Leyden and Morton \u2013 have thousands more.<\/p>\n Enrollment makes a difference. A bigger school is likely to offer more courses, activities and sports. <\/p>\n To equalize the enrollments of South and the wealthier Central, the school board could shift the attendance boundary. But such a move is considered politically treacherous. That’s because Central residents resist joining the South zone, fearing their property values would plunge. <\/p>\n At Wednesday’s board meeting, Carr, a junior, pleaded with Hinsdale High School District 86 officials to hire a girls wrestling coach. <\/p>\n She said the boys wrestling coaches and team members have been “incredibly supportive.” While high school girls wrestling is a fast-growing sport, she said South, particularly Ostrow, has not embraced it. <\/p>\n “Instead, I’ve encountered indifference and a lack of recognition from my push to establish (a team),” Carr said. “It’s disheartening that our athletic director has shown very little interest in the idea.”<\/p>\n Her parents, Brooke and Tim Carr, also spoke to the board. <\/p>\n Her mother described herself as “beyond frustrated” about the school’s approach.<\/p>\n “Currently, our daughter is disadvantaged compared to her peers in other schools with access to proper coaching,” Brooke Carr said. “Without a coach, she will miss valuable opportunities to compete and improve.”<\/p>\n Her father, Tim Carr, said he did not feel that the family should go to the state to file “something.”<\/p>\n “That’s why we’re here,” he said. “We want to talk about it and figure out something.”<\/p>\n Also during the meeting, junior Sloane Kiefer, who plays flag football, soccer and baseball, told the board that girls athletics are a lesser priority for Ostrow. Listing examples, she referred to the types of buses and equipment that boys get compared to girls. <\/p>\n She said the athletics programs could generate more income by charging for admission for the girls sports that have no fees now. <\/p>\n “One of Mr. Ostrow’s favorite things to say is ‘it’s not in the budget,'” Kiefer said. “But it would be reasonable if he ever tried to get funds for women’s sports, but he doesn’t.”<\/p>\n She concluded, “We will no longer stand for being brushed off as any other minor inconvenience.”<\/p>\n Callie Carr said she joined the girls flag football team this year. She said she has seen the same “dismissive attitude” about girls sports. <\/p>\n Board members Asma Akhras and Abed Rahman spoke out later in the meeting about the comments. Of the seven board members, they are the only ones from the South zone.<\/p>\n “I was especially touched by the young ladies this evening,” Akhras said. “Hopefully, we’ll look into this concern. I do want to thank both of those young ladies for standing up for female wrestling and female athletics.”<\/p>\n Rahman also noted the girls’ comments. <\/p>\n “I think this will be taken seriously as far as I’m concerned,” he said. <\/p>\n Ostrow and the district’s spokesman did not return calls for comment Thursday morning.<\/p>\n \n Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.<\/p>\nFind out what's happening in Elmhurstwith free, real-time updates from Patch.<\/h2>\n
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