A high school wrestler from Iowa created a national stir when he placed his Christian convictions above winning and refused to compete against a girl at last week’s state tournament.
Joel Northrup, a home-schooled sophomore, holds a 35-4 wrestling record for Linn-Mar High School in West Des Moines, Iowa. But last week, he would not compete against Cassy Herkelman, one of only two girls to make the state wrestling tournament since its inception in 1926. While it was difficult to miss a chance to win the state tournament, he says the decision to forfeit to a girl was made long before the opportunity presented itself.
“We had kind of known that there were already two girls that were my weight in 3-A that might have a shot of making it to state, and we prayed about it all year,” he shares. “And I’d already made the decision not to wrestle her.”
Joel’s father, Jamie Northrup, serves in various ministry positions at Believers in Grace Fellowship in Marion and says his son’s witness through this situation has blessed many around the world. He believes “the Lord will use all our children in these last days in their areas to glorify Him.”
But young Northrup’s decision created a media buzz across the nation and confused many non-believers who do not understand his biblical foundation.
“I was disappointed for quite a while,” Northrup admits. “But I got over it, and I held fast to what I was going to do. I’ve actually had a lot of people behind me, and I’ve had hundreds of letters to my school and church [from] people…just thanking me for taking a stand for the Lord and my convictions.”
Because of wrestling’s violent nature, he says he felt it inappropriate to engage a girl in the manner the sport demands, even though the 112-pound athlete was a favorite to win the state title in his weight class.
(Source: OneNewsNow)