Allison Hynes may only be an 8th grader, but she's showing the boys age, size and gender don't matter.

"I like making them a little bit nervous," she said. "You know, I'm not here for just the game. I'm here to win."

Over the course of 75 years, only boys took home the Edmond Invitational title.

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Oklahoma offers no girls' league for wrestling. The only way to take home a title in the sport? Beating the boys.

Hynes and fellow rising star Nevaeh Cuellar don't seem to mind the challenge.

"Naturally boys are stronger, boys are faster," Hynes said. "So you really have to work for it. It makes you feel even better than if you're just going up against a girl."

In January, the girls went to Edmond and Hynes took home not only the first tournament title for a girl- she won Most Outstanding Wrestler.

"I didn't know that someone that small could be that strong, because it's so crazy," Cuellar said.

Now, they see just how strong a girl can be, and it's on to the next tournament.

Their goal: make sure girls know they can wrestle- and they can win.

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Members of the conversion crew take a break as the main scoreboard is lowered to the floor to be worked on as the arena gets ready for the next concert at State Farm Arena, Thursday, October 2, 2025, in Atlanta. The crew was working on creating a stage for the Friday, Oct. 3 Maxwell concert. (Jason Getz/AJC)

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