CHEYENNE, Wyo. (Wyoming News Now) – A true pioneer in the state of Wyoming officially chose her college destination on Wednesday for where she will continue her athletic career.

High school girls’ wrestling would not be what it is now without the contributions of Meadow King, who officially signed to compete for Iowa Western. King chose to hold her ceremony at Madhouse BJJ– a place she said has been family to her long before her high school career.

”I have never felt unity and a family in the wrestling room or grappling room like I have at Madhouse. They’ve literally given me everything– literally the shirts off their backs several times… They’ve just given me that sense of family, and I wanted to be able to give back to them. There’s so many little girls here [as well] that they could see that this is possible,” King said.

Representing Central in high school competition, King became one of the first ever girls wrestling state champions– the first in the 145 pound class. She’s also won the Ron Thon Memorial Tournament three times– one of the most prestigious competitions for Wyoming high school wrestlers.

King talked about the process and work that went into getting the sport to this point.

”A lot of word of mouth for sure, and just trying to show that women’s wrestling can show the good side of wrestling if that makes sense– and combat sports. We’re very respectful. A lot of times you’ll see the girls get off the mat and hug each other. There’s a lot higher sense of respect in women’s wrestling,” King said.

She wants to still make an impact in Wyoming as she moves on to her next steps as well.

“I want to start running a lot of girls camps– offer it to everyone. I want to be able to see a lot of progress in letting girls know that we can go to club practices. Even if you feel like it’s only for the boys, it’s not. Wrestling is not just for the boys anymore. Obviously wrestling in Wyoming has just skyrocketed. We are so full of talent it’s insane,” King said. “Definitely once I’m done with college, done with world teams, maybe Olympics, I want to come back and give back. I want to open up my own gym for sure.”

After the ceremony ended, a mob of young girls approached King for autographs.

”It’s really eye opening. I feel like I’m still just someone who’s trying to grow. I still haven’t reached my goals as you could say, I just didn’t feel like I was at that level yet,” King said. “I see these girls at practice every single day. They come up to me and they hug me, they ask how my tournaments went that weekend, but I never thought I would be the person who’s being asked for signatures. That made me cry, it was so meaningful.”

Congratulations to Meadow King on all of her accomplishments and her decision regarding where she will continue her wrestling career.

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