In a family dominated by male athletes, MaKenna Hendricks is making her own name in Trigg County athletics.
She just completed her freshman year at Trigg County High School but is a three-year starter in one varsity sport and a state champion in another.
Hendricks led the Trigg softball team in hitting in her first two years on the team. She hit .316 as a 7th grader and led the team in hits (24).
She upped her average to .413 as an eighth grader with a team-high 31 hits.
While her average dipped to .280 this spring, she was still tied for third on the team in hits (23) and showed her versatility in the field by moving to left field after two seasons on the infield and behind the plate.
Perhaps the most impressive stat for Hendricks is her ability to put the bat on the ball. In three years, she has struck out just 14 times in 255 plate appearances or once every 18 times at bats.
MaKenna gets to share her feats in softball with her cousin, Rylee Hendricks, who she has played alongside for three years on the Lady Wildcat team. Together, they are showing that Hendricks with two X chromosomes can put up the same accomplishments as their male family members, if not exceed them.
MaKenna has not only made her name on the softball diamond but has also shined on the wrestling mat.
Hendricks has competed as part of Trigg County’s boys’ team since the 7th grade. That year, she won the 126-pound class at the Kentucky Girls’ State Wrestling Tournament, becoming Trigg’s first girls’ wrestler to win a state title and only the second wrestler overall to achieve the feat.
She moved up to the 138-pound class as an eighth grader and finished second in the state.
This year, she finished in third place in the 152-pound division.
When the 2023-24 season rolls around, Hendricks and other girls across the state will be wrestling in a sport sanctioned by the KHSAA for the first time, complete with a girls’ region tournament and state tournament equal to the guys. In past years, the girls’ state tournament was organized and run by the state wrestling coaches association.
In this YSE interview taped midway through the softball season, Hendricks talked about the changes coming to wrestling and what lies ahead for her in athletics.
