History-making trip to state for PJHS girl wrestlers

A trio of determined eighth-graders made Petaluma Junior High School sports history this spring when they became the first Bantam girl wrestlers ever to compete in the state middle school girls championship tournament.

Not only did they compete - they competed well, and one, Brooklyn Shattuck, earned a state championship.

Teammate Logan Pomi finished fifth and Sunshine Sather won two matches.

Shattuck rolled through five opponents to a state title in the 103-pound class, winning four straight and finishing off her championship run with a win over Marylin Reyes of the West Coast Gladiators in the championship match.

Sather received a first-match bye in the 140-pound class before losing to Neylan Green of Springstown in her second match. Far from done, she received a bye and won two matches before finally being eliminated.

Pomi won her first two matches at 135 pounds, lost, and fought back to win three more matches, including a pin over Sarah Araujo of Bancroft in the match for fifth place.

Wrestling is a family activity for Shattuck and Pomi, who got involved in wrestling by following the examples set by their brothers.

“My brother wanted me to do it, so I tried it and liked it,” said Shattuck.

“I watched my brother for two years, and I wanted to show him I could wrestle, too,” Pomi said.

Sather said she got involved in the sport because of Shattuck. “She wanted someone to wrestle with, so I went along with her. I liked it, so I came back the next year,” she explained.

All three of the young wrestlers acknowledged that a big attraction of wrestling is the opportunity to show the boys they are as tough as they are.

“It is pretty fun to beat up on the guys,” said Shattuck.

“You get to show that you can be as strong as someone else who might underestimate you,” added Sather.

“I enjoy working hard all year and seeing the work pay off,” said Pomi, adding it doesn’t matter to her if she wrestles a guy or a girl. “I feel like if I can beat a guy, I am able to beat a girl,” she said.

The Bantams faced very few girls until they got to the state tournament. Coach Mike Butts said that was an advantage for his wrestlers.

“There are no real girls tournaments in our area,” he explained. “But that is a blessing, because our girls will have had the experience of competing with the boys when they get to the high school level.”

The girls said they had no trouble being accepted by the boys on the team.

“It wasn’t a big deal. They didn’t treat us any differently than anyone else on the team,” Sather said.

Of course, it helped that all three were team co-captains.

The girls also like the team aspect of wrestling where everyone roots for everyone else, but also that it is an individual sport.

“Once you are on the mat, it is just you and your opponent,” explained Pomi.

More than wrestlers, the state competitors are all-around athletes who also shine in other sports. Shattuck plays soccer, lacrosse and runs cross country. Sather swims and stays fit doing Crossfit training. Pomi plays softball and shows cows from the family ranch at fairs and 4-H events.

And, they are more than athletes. Pomi has a 4.0 GPA, Sather is a 3.8 GPA student and Shattuck’s grades are all better than C.

All three plan to continue wrestling in high school and share a common goal - to make Butts shave his fledgling beard, something he has vowed not to do until he again has an athlete from his girls wrestling team at Petaluma High School qualify for the state tournament.

Now that they have experienced a state meet at the junior high school level, Shattuck, Sather and Pomi are anxious to go back, but the next time on the high school level.