Just two years ago, Jocie Weinberger and Maria Manzueta were labeled as trendsetters at Federal Way High School.

During their sophomore years, Weinberger and Manzueta were the only two female athletes on the Eagle wrestling team. Fast forward to the present and the Federal Way seniors have plenty of female companionship inside the Eagle wrestling room.

“I am shocked in a good way,” Manzueta said about the popularity of girls wrestling. “I was surprised and excited this year with the amount of girls. Now we want to be one of the best teams in the state.”

The Federal Way wrestling team has 13 girls on its roster and is headed into the postseason as a possible state-championship contender. Eagle head coach Travis Mango pushes a lot of the credit toward Weinberger and Manzueta.

“The interest in girls’ wrestling at Federal Way has really taken off thanks to the initial success of Jocie and Maria two years ago,” Mango said. “Each year seems to be getting better and better.”

Weinberger, who is the 10th-ranked wrestler in the nation at 128 pounds according to the United States Girls Wrestling Association, can’t believe the progress the program has made since her sophomore season.

“It kind of just happened,” Weinberger said. “The other girls saw how successful we were. We never talked to any girls to recruit them.”

Numbers rising

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, only 6,134 girls at 1,009 schools across the country participated in wrestling during the 2009-10 season. That is compared to 272,890 boys at 10,363 schools.

Washington, however, has been on the cutting edge of girls wrestling and has the third-most participants in the country (close to 600), behind much bigger states, Texas and California. Washington is also one of a limited number of states to offer a separate state tournament for girls. The inaugural state championships took place in 2007.

“As a model, it’s been very successful,” said Jim Meyerhoff, Washington Interscholastic Activities Association assistant executive director. “Girls wrestling has brought more excitement and enthusiasm to high school wrestling in Washington. There are always a few parents and coaches who wish it would go away, but we are way past that point now.”

Mango is also past treating his boy and girl wrestlers differently during practice. He treats them all the same way. It’s a coaching technique that he believes has helped develop the girls on the Eagles’ roster.

“I want my athletes to wrestle one way — all out, all the way, all the time,” Mango said. “I believe the girls appreciate it because then no one gets preferential treatment.”

Mango has a rule in his wrestling room that the girls wrestle the boys and vice versa. He finds that it helps both of the groups. Grappling against the stronger boys allows the girls to develop their strength, while it allows the boys to work on their wrestling technique, he said.

“While some people may disagree, I definitely see the benefit when I take my girls to tournaments and to duals,” Mango said. “I regularly have referees and coaches come up to me telling me that my girls wrestle hard and we are well coached. I believe this is primarily because I don’t treat my girls any different than the boys.”

And that is exactly what the 13 girls on the Eagles’ wrestling team want. It forces them to learn quickly, and starts paying off when the postseason rolls around.

“He has us wrestle the guys all the time,” said Manzueta. “It makes us better.”

“Aggression is the one thing I see when I go out and wrestle the guys,” said 119-pound junior Axa Molina, who is 14-7 on the season. “Girls are nicer compared to a guy. They are more mean.”

State champion?

Weinberger has the most experience of any of the girl wrestlers at Federal Way and is looking to take the next step in her wrestling career this season.

The senior has wrestled in the last two state championship matches at the Tacoma Dome, but lost both times.

Weinberger called her second-place finish as a sophomore somewhat of a surprise. Last season, she had higher hopes before losing 3-0 to Liezl Mondoc from Rochester High School in the 130-pound championship.

“Taking second two years in a row kind of sucked,” Weinberger said. “But this year, I’m going to get it.”

Weinberger started wrestling in sixth grade because her brothers wrestled and her father coaches the sport.

Manzueta is newer to the sport, but has also been successful during her three years at Federal Way. The 119-pounder has an overall record of 15-9 and is 11-3 against other girls this season. Her only three losses came to state-ranked girls and both were back-and-forth battles, decided by two points or less.

Manzueta also finished third at the Nathan Hale Invite in the boys’ division and has never been pinned this season. She finished fourth at 119 pounds at last year’s state championships.

“I just love the sport both mentally and physically,” Manzueta said. “It makes me more disciplined and made me push myself harder. I’m also doing better with my grades.”

Sophomore Bianca Arizpe has been another standout for the Eagles this season. The 112-pounder lost her first match against a girl last weekend at the Lady Wolfpack Invitational. She has won titles at the Fife Impromptu and Lady Lipstick Invite.

“In just the past three years, I have seen a huge jump in the talent pool of girls wrestling,” Mango said. “It’s clear that girls are beginning to take it more seriously. It makes it fun and challenging to coach because I have to figure out how to stay one step ahead of the curve. I truly think it’s great for the sport and it’s helping revive it throughout the state.”