A ‘symbol for girls wrestling,’ coach says
By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
OXFORD TWP. — Junior Cheyenne Frank immortalized herself in Oxford High School’s history books on March 1 by becoming the school’s first female individual state champion in wrestling.
It was Frank’s 100th career win, and Oxford’s first individual state champion since 2012, according to Oxford Athletics’ website. The championship capped off a perfect season for Frank, who went 26-0.
It is also the most recent accomplishment in a wrestling career she reluctantly began in sixth grade.

Frank’s friend, DeeDee Hernandez, joined Oxford Middle School’s wrestling team before practices started, and encouraged Frank to join.
“But then she quit the first day of practice, so then I was left all alone,” Frank said, laughing. “I was the only girl, and I kept trying to (contact her) like ‘where are you?’ But she never showed up, so that’s how I started.”
Frank was not sure if she enjoyed wrestling at first. Take her first match, for example: Frank and her opponent were crying by the second period. The match lasted over six minutes and went into ultimate overtime before being decided by a coin flip, which Frank lost.
“I think it was my sixth match (when) I didn’t cry, and I was proud of myself because I didn’t cry,” she said.
Unlike other sports, Oxford Assistant Wrestling Coach Carl Barnes, who has coached Frank since she started, said “it’s just you and another person out there, and 99% of the time it’s a boy for her (to wrestle).”
Frank added she does not think she wrestled a single girl in middle school.
Even after her first win, Frank remembers crying because she had never been so tired in her life. She could not feel her arms or legs, and just wanted to fall to the floor.
Still, Barnes said Frank stuck with the male-dominated sport and outworked 99% of other wrestlers because of an internal drive to compete.
For the most part, Frank trains two hours every day, she said. This time is dedicated to technique, drills and conditioning, which is actual wrestling. She also lifts weights and uses her sister as a drill partner. Frank’s sister was also a state qualifier for Oxford.
“In order for me to get to where I want to be, I have to put in the work,” Frank said. “I don’t really compare myself to others.”
Training, competing and other forms of work continues in the off-season. It has taken Frank to states like Indiana, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington and others.
Frank’s success has reached girls outside of Oxford who will approach Frank at meets “because she (has) become so good at her craft,” Barnes said.
“They want to drill, they want to practice with her, they want to pick her brain about what she does and how she gets better at what she does,” Barnes said. “But I think she has really become a symbol for girls’ wrestling.”

Frank is also a great drill partner for Oxford’s boy wrestlers, and is the perfect teammate, according to Barnes.
When competing against boys, Frank said some get surprised when they realize wrestling against her will not be an easy match.
Barnes added that the boys get frustrated and can lose their temper at a girl getting the better of a boy at the high-school level – which works in Frank’s favor.
“They start getting sloppy, and then she takes advantage of their technique because she’s gotten into their head, somewhat, because she’s a girl. And they’re not wrestling like they normally would, let’s say,” Barnes said. “And then she takes advantage of that.”
The MHSAA championship was held at Ford Field, and ended with a match between Frank and Algonac High School’s Sky Langewicz.
Frank scored 27.5 team points during her performance. Her first match ended by fall in 29 seconds, by technical fall in her second match, by another fall in 43 seconds for her third match, and by 9-4 decision in the first-place match.
“It means a lot to me,” Frank said. “It just shows that my work is paying off, and it shows that our program has really good support overall.
Still, winning a state championship is not Frank’s ultimate goal. That would be making team USA, which would allow Frank to wrestle against opponents in other countries. Just one person from each weight class competes on the team.
Frank has world team (team USA) trials in April.