Derby, Wrestling, Physics (2026)
Kelsey Mescher has taught physics at Battle since 2016, becoming a wrestling coach when Girl’s Wrestling was introduced as a MSHSAA sanctioned sport in 2018. Since then, Mescher has become the head coach of Battle’s wrestling program. Mescher has also served as captain and coach for CoMo Roller Derby and is playing in her 13th season.
Kelsey Mescher skids to a stop during the CoMo All Stars bout against Roughneck Tulsa Elite on Saturday, April 11, 2026, at the Bob Lemone Building in Hallsville. Once serving as the coach of the team, Mescher is now a co-captain of the CoMo All Stars. “My goals in derby have completely shifted over time as my skill level has changed, as the league has evolved, as now I am a wrestling coach,” Mescher said
Kelsey Mescher looks through archived roller derby posters in her science classroom on Friday, April 18, 2026, at Battle High School in Columbia. “I’ve been very intentional with my posters,” Mescher said. “I want my students to realize that they belong here, but also that people that look like them can do science and can succeed in science.”Kelsey Mescher explains a lab experiment to Battle freshmen Cameron Uhuru (left) and Jay’vion Minnis (right) on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, at Battle High School in Columbia. “I love when I am coaching derby and telling people the reason we do this is all about physics,” Mescher said.Kelsey Mescher points to a force graph during a physics lab on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, at Battle High School in Columbia. Students were instructed to bump small cars together and measure equal force interactions using the force graph. Kelsey Mescher walks past Battle wrestling posters in the hallway outside of her classroom on Friday, April 18, 2026, at Battle High School in Columbia. Mescher has coached wrestling since 2018, the year that Girl’s Wrestling became a MSHSAA sanctioned sport. In 2024, Mescher became the head coach and oversees program logistics, uniforms, communication and organization.Kelsey Mescher calls out to Battle freshman Natalya Lakes (freshman) during her bout against Jefferson City junior Jaiden Allen at the CMAC wrestling tournament on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at Hickman High School in Columbia. “As a female athlete that has had so few female coaches, it’s nice to know that someone will understand you a little bit in some capacity,” Mescher said.A 2018 CoMo Roller Derby poster hangs in Mescher’s science classroom on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, at Battle High School in Columbia. In addition to roller derby, Mescher has also played soccer, taekwondo and basketball. “My confidence and my sports-mindedness and my long history of doing hard things in sport gave me the confidence to start stepping up a little bit more in derby,” Mescher said. “And then I did start taking on the coaching role and people were responsive.”The CoMo All Stars line up ahead of their bout against Roughneck Tulsa Elite on Saturday, April 11, 2026, at the Bob Lemone Building in Hallsville. CoMo Roller Derby is made up of two teams: the CoMo All Stars and the CoMo B Rolls. “I really reject this idea that it doesn’t matter what you show up in,” Mescher said, “It matters what you show up in. You should show up in your uniform. Hopefully your uniform is dope and you feel good in it, and then you play awesome.”Kelsey Mescher, known as Mesch’er Up (17) on the track, leads the defense with Q. T. Kilr (left) (187) and L on Wheels (right) (1969) against Roughneck Tulsa Elite on Saturday, April 11, 2026, at the Bob Lemone Building in Hallsville. Mescher’s striped helmet designates her as a pivot, the team’s defensive anchor.Kelsey Mescher smiles in conversation with with her mother Kelly Mescher (right), Josh Gaskins (left) and his partner Kelly Gaskins (center left) after CoMo All Stars’ 229-121 win against Tulsa Elite on Saturday, April 11, 2026, at the Bob Lemone Building in Hallsville. Josh Gaskins is an assistant wrestling coach at Battle High School and Kelly Mescher is a Women’s Flat Track Derby Association official.