When winter sports season arrives, many think of basketball. For some athletes, however, this time of year means wrestling–a tough, intensity-filled sport that consists of hard work every day to prepare for matches that determine individual and team success. And, when you think of wrestling, don’t just think of the rugged, scrappy guys. The EPG wrestling team also features two tough ladies, Anabell Southern and Kiana Mayne.
Anabell Southern is a freshman who has been wrestling for two years. She chose wrestling because her brother participated in the past, and it looked interesting. Anabell states, “There are a lot of challenges. Wrestling can be mentally and physically demanding at times. Sometimes when you lose, it’s difficult to learn from your mistakes in the moment. It’s hard to get a move, such as a double leg take down, and be fast enough to catch your opponent in a match with that move.”
When it comes to the weight class situation, every wrestler has a different approach to the situation. “Sometimes it’s difficult to cut weight, to get down to a weight class. When I fast, I usually cut down on the amount of food I eat daily and have a good diet. I also drink a lot of water to burn off every day at practice,” Anabell continued.
Anabell recalls that some of her toughest matches are ones against someone who has been wrestling longer than she has. “In the moment after a match, usually I am pretty angry that I lost. But I just need to sit down and think about the match to see what I did wrong. With the help of my coaches, we go over everything and see what I should’ve done and how I can improve.”
According to Anabell, the school takes possible infections seriously. They wipe their mats before and after every practice to try and prevent anything from happening to any wrestlers. During those practices, Anabell says that our wrestlers have some fun, playing games such as dodgeball and feet tag (when two teammates try to touch one another’s feet in a match). She says that the wrestling atmosphere is really enjoyable. “Oftentimes, around the practice room, you’ll hear laughing when we’re doing technique skills. Because a lot of times when we’re learning new moves, you don’t always get it right the first time, so it’s really funny to see how you end up on the mat.” Anabell also encourages other women who want to try wrestling to give it a go. “Wrestling is definitely one of my new favorite sports. We need more girls on our team.”
Kiana Mayne, a Junior, has wrestled for eight years. Similar to Anabell, Kiana started wrestling because, “I wanted to copy my brother. He was doing every sport, so I wanted to too.” Kiana has had a mixed experience with her weight class throughout her time in wrestling. When it comes to the weight class predicament, Kiana says, “I used to not eat for days on end. But I realized that wasn’t healthy, so I picked a weight I was naturally at so I could eat as much as I wanted. So, now I’m healthy, I eat the food I want, and I’m making weight.”
For Kiana wrestling can be a mix of competition and a sense of teamwork. “If the team is doing wrestle-offs or a live wrestling match, the atmosphere is a lot more competitive. But when we come together as a team, then we really bring together that atmosphere of sportsmanship and teamwork. An example would be, every time, win or lose, we’d always get up and stand at the edge of the mat and give our teammate a high five before they leave the mat.”
Both Anabell and Kiana say that it can be more challenging to wrestle boys as a girl. Anabell informs, “Boys grow muscle a lot easier than women do, so they are often stronger than women. Sometimes you have to use what women have that is a bit better than what men have, like flexibility.” Another thing Kiana and Anabell have in common is that they both want to make it to state. They both say that the overall goal for wrestlers in EPG is to make it to state, even though it may be a difficult task to accomplish. Both of the girls have also suffered from concussions. Kiana says, “Most of my injuries have been concussions. Last year, I had at least two concussions, but over the years I’ve gotten more than I can count.”
One difference between the girls is the gender they prefer to wrestle. Anebell says that she would go toe to toe with another girl, “Because usually once you’re up against a boy, even though it’s the same weight, it’s usually always going to be an unfair match just because of the gene difference.” Meanwhile, Kiana would rather go up against a boy. “I’d say that I prefer to wrestle boys because they give me more of a challenge. But, wrestling girls gives me the opportunity for equal competition. Sometimes wrestling another girl can be too easy, and it’s a lot more fun when I have to challenge myself.”
Coach Tucker Hillier, the first-year head wrestling coach for EPG, had a few words to share. When asked what his expectations from the team were, Hillier stated, “My key expectations are for them to be dedicated, to want to improve and get better every day, and always give 110% effort no matter the situation. And as for attitude, to constantly attack in matches.” Coach Hillier is a dedicated coach who holds his team to high standards. He added, “For this season, I expect the team to win regionals and get some of the wrestlers to state.” Our wrestling team isn’t the biggest, but Coach Hillier expressed his thoughts on the team’s strengths and weaknesses. Hillier informed, “Our strengths right now are our conditioning and work ethic, but our weaknesses are improving on small things.” He also expressed, “My goal as a coach is to help them improve to be able to compete at the state level.” Coach Hillier is working with his team to improve them by utilizing conditioning and strength training and bettering their technique. He also mentioned that the team’s key tournament this season is the Leroy Invitational because it’s their toughest. Another key will be regionals as well.
The atmosphere has been different for Freshman Aven Brown, who is transitioning to high school wrestling from middle school. “The difference is the intensity of the room, how much the coaches want you to win,” acknowledged Brown, who’s been wrestling for ten years. Aven shared that the most remarkable moment in his wrestling career so far has been during his 7th grade year, during his match that determined if he made state. Brown remarked, “That made my whole 10 years of wrestling.” Although Brown has lots of experience in sports, he doesn’t plan on going pro. He is looking forward to JV tournaments and overall looking up to the upperclassmen on the team this season.
Aven has gotten both of the common wrestling diseases, which include ringworm and cauliflower ear. When asked how they happened, Brown explained, “You miss a spot while showering or for cauliflower ear, you’re just getting your head beaten off the mat a couple times.” Aven started wrestling due to his cousin, Monty Gregory, a state champion from El Paso. Brown noted, “He won state his junior year for wrestling, and it inspired me as a 5th grader.” He added that Monty is someone he looks up to still. Brown described the atmosphere of wrestling as hyped up and energetic. He asserted, “Everyone is supportive. They all just want to do their best, and they want to win.” Aven believes the team overall will be underdogs. They have a small team, with a few weight classes that aren’t filled out. He reassures it will be figured out. Brown’s goals for the season are not to get drained by the sport, because it can be hard on an individual, but he plans on staying locked in.
Jaxon Barker is one of the wrestling team’s managers. Barker has a past in wrestling. He affirmed, “It was always good [wrestling]. I always enjoyed it. But I stopped enjoying it, and I got burnt out.” Barker shared that sometimes he wishes he still wrestled: “I do, but then I remember that I didn’t enjoy it [wrestling] when I was doing it.” The team carries a positive energy with them, one that Jaxon enjoys. He claimed, “I like the energy that’s in wrestling, I like to be around it. I feel like it’s benefiting me. It’s competitive, supportive, and overall good.” Barker not only gets the perks of the team’s atmosphere but also community service hours. Jaxon emphasized, “Being a manager is beneficial to me because it helps with my community service hours, and I’m able to get the same energy in wrestling all in one.” As the team’s manager this season, Jaxon established his goals to support the team this season: he wants to help them all succeed, and create goals for themselves to complete. Jaxon believes they’ll send a couple of people to state. He expressed, “That’s the big goal for everybody.”
Hopefully, there will be more to come from this determined team. Don’t forget to show your support to them. Home meets are very rare for the team, so you must use your school spirit and cheer on these titans as they prepare to advance through the season. Their next home matches are this Saturday at 10:00 am and next Thursday at 6:00 pm.
