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By Levi Zimmerman
On Saturday, the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association sanctioned its first-ever Girls Wrestling Individual State Tournament at the La Crosse Center.
Over 200 female grapplers descended upon the convention center for the chance to be a part of history in the making.
While there were many medalists recognized at the close of the festivities, just 12 were crowned State Champion, and Mineral Point's Kylie Rule was one of those 12.
Rule, a junior at Mineral Point High School, has elevated to notoriety in recent years, achieving All-American status at the 2021 Junior Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota, and being ranked as high as sixth in the country by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, USA Wrestling and FloWrestling in 2021, among many other awards.
The story of how she got to this points is one of grit, determination and sacrifice.
In November of 2019 The Dodgeville Chronicle released a feature story on a young woman from Mineral Point, Kylie Rule, who was a freshman at the time at Mineral Point High School.
Rule was realizing significant success as a girl competing in a boys dominated sport, as she was one of just two girls invited by Combat out of Blue River, WI to represent the USA team in Sweden.
Rule wrestled at the "cadet level" in the Malarcupen Open and competed to bring home a bronze medal.
Since then, Kylie, daughter of Kurt and Leslie Rule, has trained rigorously and taken advantage of opportunities along the way to develop into one of the top wrestlers in the area.
"It all started when I was in second grade. My little brother, Kade, who was in kindergarten at the time, would go to practice but would not walk out on the mat by himself. However, when he came home from practice, we would go into the basement, where we had a wrestling mat, and he would show me what he had learned that day. We knew he was paying attention, but he was still too shy to walk out on the mat. This went on for months. Since he had no problem wrestling me at home, Dad asked me if I would like to go to practice with Kade to try to get him on the mat. I went with Dad and Kade to the next practice, and we both walked right out on the mat and began our practice. It took about a month for Kade to be able to be comfortable enough to walk out on the mat by himself. Kade was now wrestling with his new buddies, and Dad said that he didn't need me anymore in the practice room. I didn't like what he said, because I now knew I liked the sport as well and wanted to keep going," Rule explained.
Being a female in a male-dominated sport certainly has its disadvantages, but Rule said she used the opportunities to work on her craft.
"Growing up, I was the only girl in the room and always had to practice with the boys. Going out and wrestling them in a tournament just felt normal for me, like that was the way it was supposed to be. To be successful in a boys dominated sport shows me how hard I am actually working and how much time I am putting into this sport. Knowing that the boys are going to be bigger and stronger than me and to still be able to go out and beat some of them gives me more motivation to keep going," said Rule.
Since joining the Combat Wrestling team out of Blue River, Rule has traveled far and wide wrestling in different tournaments.
Last year, Rule traveled to Poland to compete in the Hero's Lady Open , where she went 3-0 and claimed her first gold medal on foreign soil.
When the WIAA announced they would hold the first State Individual Wrestling Tournament for girls last year, Rule was asked what she thought about the move, and she said at the time, "I think having a WIAA state tournament is a big step in the right direction to grow girls wrestling, but I think it still has a long way to go."
Fast forward to Saturday, Rule competed in the 132 lb. weight class.
She received two bye's to start the day before seeing her first opponent in the quarterfinal round, Vanessa Skildum of Beloit Turner.
Rule made quick work of Skildum, getting a pin in the first period.
In the semifinals, Rule won by major decision, 7-1, over Cambridge's Avrei Ciha, where she had three takedowns.
In comparison to ther wrestlers, Rule was different.
She stepped onto the mat and took over with practiced technique and precision moves.
It was like she was saying, without saying, she was going to be the aggressor in every match.
The realization that a State Championship was just one bout away was sinking in.
Before the Championship bouts started at 6:30 p.m., the WIAA set up an elevated mat and announced they would arrange a "parade of champions."
The occasion was neat, to say the least.
The lights were shut off and the spotlights turned on as the public address speaker announced the girls that were in contention for a Championship medal.
When they announced, "At 132 lbs, from Mineral Point, junior Kylie Rule," a crowd in the nosebleed section of the La Crosse Center, dressed in Pointer blue, exclaimed with pride in support of their lone competitor.
In the Championship bout, Rule faced Bonduel's Madalyn Sokolski, a freshman.
Although Rule didn't make quick work of Sokolski, she spent little time in a compromised position, always maintaining leverage.
In three periods, Rule won by major decision, 9-0, to be the first 132 lb. WIAA State Champion in history.
Once the offical held up her hand and competitors shook hands, Rule ran over to her head coach, Curtis Fiedler, where they embraced each other in joy.
It happened.
The #PointerNation crowd showed their support with chants, and Rule pointed to them in appreciation.
It was all smiles on the podium, where she received her gold medal and bracket that ended with her name on the Champion line.
As I went over to interview both Rule and Fiedler, I expected to see excitement, and I did.
But I also saw a kid and her coach with tears in their eyes, embracing each other.
Asked how she was feeling, Rule said, "I'm excited. I'm just so proud that I could be one of the first girls to do this."
Asked how he was feeling, Fiedler said, "God damn you, get over here," to Rule, as they hugged each other, then, "Male or female, she's one of the hardest workers that I've ever been able to work with, and this young lady has earned everything she's got, and, now, WIAA State Champion."
He added, "How awesome is it that she gets to say she's one of the first 12. That's a special thing, man."
"I couldn't be more proud of this girl, she's earned everything she gets."
Asked what winning this tournament was like compared to other tournaments she's won, Kylie said, "Just being able to do this with my team and family beside me means a lot," as she gets choked up.
Asked how she prepared for this moment, she stated, "It started when I was really young. Just practicing any chance I could get. Working to achieve those big goals."
Rule said, "This is just one of those steps along the way."
I realized that I wanted to let the two of them relish the moment, as it was difficult for Rule and Fiedler to find the words to answer some of my questions.
The emotion was felt through their expressions, and the realizations were still sinking in.
After congratulations, Fiedler added, "I couldn't be more proud of this kid. She's earned this, big time. It's a proud moment to have her on this team."