THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: Piper set to test herself with best in the nation

Post Falls High senior Abigale “Abby” Piper loves the intensity.

That’s part of the reason why she intends to wrestle and study law enforcement next year at NAIA William Woods University in Fulton, Mo.

As for her start on the wrestling mat …

“My dad put me into club wrestling when I was 8 or 9 years old,” Piper said. “And I really liked it, so I continued with it. I got hurt in a car accident as a kid, then took a year and a half off, but never stopped training and got back into it in middle school.”

Piper grew up in Spokane and wrestled at North Central High as a freshman before transferring to Post Falls when the family moved to the area before the start of her sophomore year.

Often times, she wrestled against the boys.

“My freshman year was really hard for me,” Piper said. “I was at 145 (pounds) and wrestling against the boys every day and match. It’s hard to wrestle them because they’re big, grown boys. But I stuck through it. But wrestling against boys, it just makes any girl tougher. You’ve got to want it more than they do. You’ve really got to be mean.”

“She’s grown a lot over the last few years,” Post Falls wrestling coach Pete Reardon said. “You could tell when she walked into the wrestling room she was in love with the sport and wanted to be a wrestler. She’s a gym rat, hangs around the sport and just loves all the relationships she’s made because of it. She’s got friends all over the place, so it’s really cool for her.”

Getting to know her fellow classmates and teammates was a struggle at first.

“When I first started at Post Falls, I was very nervous,” Piper said. “I didn’t have many friends when I came here, and getting to know people was a little difficult at first.”

But Reardon, who teaches government at the school, helped with that.

“He’s always been supporting and there for us, both in the classroom and with wrestling,” Piper said. “This year, he was at almost every tournament and coached us through it. He’s got a lot of good wisdom when it comes to wrestling, and he’s a really good teacher as well.”

Piper intends to major in law enforcement at William Woods.

“It’s an interesting job to me,” Piper said. “I want to be a child advocate or police officer. Working in law enforcement seems to have a lot of intensity to it. Wrestling is hard work, and anything in law enforcement is going to be hard because you’re dealing with real-life situations.”

PIPER WILL compete in the 143-pound bracket (62 kilograms) of the U-20 Division of the USA Women’s National Championship today and Sunday at The Podium in Spokane. It is the first year of a three-year agreement to hold the event in Spokane.

The event also features freestyle competition ranging from U-8 to U-14, as well as U-15, U-17 and U-23.

“It’s really a no-brainer for her,” Reardon said. “Not only is it close to home. But if it was here, or somewhere in New York, she needs to start testing herself against that kind of competition. She’s moving onto the next level and you love to see your kids test themselves and go where the test will be.”

Winners of each weight class are named to the World team to compete in Warsaw, Poland, Aug. 14-20. On Thursday, members of the University of Iowa women's wrestling team did a workout at North Idaho College, where national team head trainer Randy Boswell is the head trainer.

“My goal is not really to win, but to do well and be proud of myself,” Piper said. “It’s really to get a feel of what competing at the college level will be like. Each one of the other competitors is someone I could end up wrestling next year.”

Until the 2021-22 season, the girls did not have their own sanctioned state wrestling tournament. Instead, to qualify for state, girls had to qualify for the boys tournament, or compete in an "invitational" state girls wrestling tourney. Piper was runner-up at state each of the first two years of the sanctioned girls tournament, placing second at 138 as a junior and at 145 as a senior.

“It’s been an amazing experience the last two years,” Piper said. “This year, being there with a teammate was just the funnest thing I’ve been able to experience. Coming to Post Falls has really helped me grow tremendously as a wrestler and person. Really, Post Falls made me who I am.”

“She’s a funny kid,” Reardon said. “She’s bubbly and talkative. Sometimes in class, I’ll have to tell her to be quiet, but she’s a great kid. She’s a bulldog on the wrestling mat though. You definitely don’t want to get into an argument with her, because she’ll beat you.”

PIPER WAS runner-up at High School Nationals in Virginia Beach in 2021 and 2022, and has competed at Fargo freestyle nationals twice, but not placed.

As for any nerves this weekend …

“I’m always nervous right before any match,” Piper said. “It could be a high school or national tournament. But I know I’ve put the work in and should be fine with whatever happens.”

From being one of two girls on the Post Falls wrestling team in 2021 to now, Piper can see the growth of the sport.

“We had five girls this year,” Piper said. “I really think we’ll have a full girls team in the coming years. There’s a lot of younger girls interested and soon, we’ll have all the weights filled. Honestly, it’s the fastest-growing sport when you look at it.”

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.