The dimly lit Indian Creek wrestling room is quiet, with the exception of two athletes jogging laps on the padded floor.
One is freshman Phoebe Dowty, a 5-foot-1 dynamo who is working toward her goal of being the Braves’ starter at 113 pounds despite picking up the sport only two years ago.
Genetics are certainly in her favor.
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Dowty’s father, Indian Creek coach Pat Dowty, placed fourth at state at 119 pounds during his senior season at Franklin in 1997. Another former Grizzly Cub, D.J. Smith, who was 111-14 in his high school career and won the 113-pound class in 2014, is Phoebe’s uncle.
“I grew up around the sport and spent most of my time in this room after school for most of my life,” said Phoebe, who turns 15 later this month. “Watching these guys, I just saw the mental strength and physical strength it took and thought I could do that.
“It took a while to convince both of my parents, but I think they’re both very proud of me and very happy about it. I feel like I am setting a path for the other female wrestlers.”
Not to mention her siblings. Phoebe is the oldest of Pat and Jackie Dowty’s seven children, all of whom share — or likely eventually will share — Phoebe’s passion for wrestling. Younger sister Libby, a seventh-grader, and the oldest of the couple’s four sons, fifth-grader Patrick, will be next to go through the program.
Even the youngest, Eden Dowty, who turns 3 next week, will start learning the sport after turning 4.
Phoebe established herself as a premier high school athlete during cross country season, placing fourth at the Franklin Sectional, 21st at regional and 41st at semistate. Her personal-best time of 19 minutes, 9.3 seconds, set at a regular-season meet hosted by Columbus North, was slightly more than 50 seconds faster than the previous Indian Creek girls record.
Wrestling, however, is in her blood.
“I’m a wrestler who runs cross country and track,” Phoebe said. “I love wrestling. My teammates are like my big brothers. I look up to all of them. I’ll wrestle wherever my team needs me, but I’m absolutely determined to wrestle varsity. I know that I’ve worked just as hard as everyone in here.”
Pat Dowty, who didn’t pick up the sport until his freshman year of high school, thought Phoebe might lose interest in the sport after going winless in six matches during a tournament her seventh-grade year.
“She got her butt kicked; 0-6,” Pat remembers. “I was thinking she’ll leave me alone now that she realizes it’s a lot tougher than what she thought. She said, ‘I loved it.’ Phoebe was so frustrated about her technique, and said, ‘Dad, I’ve got to get better.’
“Phoebe has been working hard at it. Shoot, she’s wrestled in Tulsa, she’s wrestled in Iowa and all over just to get better. She’s trying to play catch-up right now. It’s funny because Patrick, our oldest boy, started when he was 4 years old. His technique is so much better than hers, but you can make up for a lot of what you don’t know with hard work.”
Girls wrestling continues to grow in popularity nationally, though Phoebe Dowty’s involvement made an impact.
Other females in the Indian Creek school system have noticed and are following; there are approximately 20 girls ranging from age 4 to high school involved in wrestling there. One is Hannah Seitzinger, one of Phoebe’s classmates, who is also part of the Braves’ varsity practices.
All of Pat and Jackie’s daughters either are or will be in the pipeline.
“As a dad, I want them to have the wrestling background,” Pat Dowty said. “I think wrestling gives you a lot of confidence about yourself, and the type of workouts you go through are just different than anything you’re ever going to do. For girls to go through that mentally and physically, I think it makes them a stronger person.”
