She's only 14 years old, but Ivy Carl has already made history. Ivy, the daughter of John and Tracy Carl of Elizabethtown, is the first person in the 51-year history of the Elizabethtown Optimist Junior High Tournament wrestling tournament to win her weight class back-to-back years and also earn fastest pin honors. Additionally, she took home Outstanding Wrestler, an honor voted on by other coaches and teams.

Going into the tournament, Ivy was a heavy favorite to win her weight class of 120 pounds. She finished this past season with an undefeated record.

"I was excited, and I felt ready to go," she said of participating in the February tournament. "I knew I was probably going to have a target on my back just from last year and how I did the whole season, but I felt confident and ready for whatever happened."

To earn the fastest pin award, Ivy completed pins in all three of her matches, totaling just two minutes and eleven seconds overall.

Although it was a successful day for the young wrestler, the sport is about much more than winning, said Ivy, an eighth-grader at Elizabethtown Area Middle School (EAMS).

In fact, one of the reasons she participates in tournaments is to promote the sport for other girls.

"I want girls to try wrestling and stay in it," she said. "When I hear girls say, 'I might join wrestling next year,' I'm like, 'Yes!'"

Ivy is just one of three Carl siblings who participate in the sport. Her older sister, Cassidy, a junior at Elizabethtown Area High School, also has an impressive record. She took first place in the Baguba Brawl in Elizabethtown in December, winning at 118 pounds. Ivy won first in the junior high championship of the event.

Younger brother Liam, now a sixth-grader at EAMS, inspired the sisters to join the sport he started as a kindergartner.

"It's fun," Liam said simply of why he loves to wrestle. "It's physical. You can make some really good friends you have stuff in common with."

All three Carl kids believe in promoting the sport and encouraging other athletes as much as they strive to win.

They routinely volunteer at local tournaments, offer tips and support to fellow wrestlers and take every opportunity to share their love of wrestling.

Even when she's competing, Ivy tries to make matches a teachable moment for both herself and her opponent.

"There were times when Ivy could have gone out and immediately pinned somebody, but she doesn't," Tracy said. "She'll take it to all three rounds just to help her opponent learn and so she can practice her moves as well."

The Carls are a wrestling family. John wrestled and Tracy's sister, Jessica Heckman Casperson, made history at Manheim Township in the '90s, becoming a three-time high school All-American wrestler.

Ivy recalled when she first knew she wanted to get out on the mat.

"My brother was wrestling in elementary school, and I was always in the bleachers watching him," she said. "I would see what he was doing, and I just wanted to get out there. I would think, 'I could do that.'"

She started wrestling four years ago with the Elizabethtown Bears Club. The Carl kids all credit their various coaches over the years as well as other wrestlers with inspiring them to continue to challenge themselves to improve.

Both Ivy and Cassidy wrestled at the state tournament at the end of February and will be participating in the Keystone State Championships at Penn State University in March.

Ivy said she loves spending time honing her skills.

"I find places to go to get different teaching styles," she said. "We just got a shed at our house with weights and small mat, so I can practice moves and work out here."

Having two siblings who love the sport also helps with practice, Cassidy joked, adding, "There's always a wrestling match going on at our house."

Over the years, Ivy has endured injuries both minor and major, including a broken collarbone she suffered in a match last year, but she doesn't give up, Tracy said.

"She has a natural understanding of wrestling, and when she'd get invited to wrestling events, the organizers would say she just would not quit," Tracy stated. "Sometimes she was the only girl there, but she kept going."

Ivy said she doesn't mind losing - not that it happens often - because she considers each loss a teachable moment.

"Even if I lose, it's not the end of the world," she said. "It's an opportunity to learn and to try to do better the next time. I'm always happy wrestling, even if I lose."

Cassidy noted that wrestling gives girls much more than a chance to grapple on the mat.

"Wrestling is a big community," she said. "You're not just learning the sport. You're learning life skills, too. You're learning how to win graciously and how to lose graciously. You're getting a chance to build up your strength both physically and mentally, and that's something you can use throughout your life."