NORTHFIELD, Minn. — It's no accident that Caley Graber finds herself on the Northfield High School varsity wrestling team as a sophomore.
After all, she's been wrestling since she was 4-years-old.
"Because my older brother wrestled. I was at all these tournaments with him," Graber said. "From there, I just fell in love with the sport."
As a freshman last year, Graber won a state title in the girls wrestling tournament, which has only been in existence through the Minnesota State High School League since 2021-22.
Instead of pursuing an encore performance on the girls side, though, Graber decided to switch things up as a sophomore.
"I wanted to challenge myself against the boys," Graber said. "I decided to go for it, and it turned out pretty well."
That's an understatement.
After qualifying for state on the boys side, Graber advanced to the semifinals this past weekend at Xcel Energy Center and, in the process, became the first female wrestler in Minnesota history to win a match against a boy during the state high school tournament. Over the course of two days, Graber actually won three total matches and finished in fifth place.
"It's really like breaking new ground for all these youth girls growing up in the world of wrestling. It's amazing to show them we can compete with the boys, and they can do as much as the boys can," Graber said. "It's really, really exciting to know that I'm the first and hopefully the first of many to come."
Northfield assistant wrestling coach Jules Doliscar called Graber's performance an inspiration.
"Absolutely incredible. It's just a wonderful thing to see somebody compete with their heart and soul out there," Doliscar said. "I think it's a great thing for girls wrestling. I think it shows that you don't have any limits except the ones that you put on yourself."
Graber's performance could have a ripple effect across the sport, which is already growing in popularity among girls and boys. According to the MSHSL, girls' participation in wrestling has quadrupled from 250 to more than 1,000 over the past three seasons.
"I've been wrestling with the guys since I was really little," Graber said. "I knew that I could compete with some of them. To be there, and know I'm one of the best wrestlers overall -- girls and boys in the state -- it's awesome."
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.
Watch more of Minnesota sports:
Watch the latest reports from the KARE 11 sports team in our YouTube playlist: