The Journey of Female Wrestlers
Adriana Lopez
Encouraged by the fact that both of her older brothers as well as her dad wrestled, Adrianna Lopez first started wrestling in sixth grade as part of a middle school team as well as part of a club. "There were two girls (in the club), including me. Once the other girl stopped, I thought I was the only girl doing it and didn’t feel comfortable. So I stopped."
After a few years, though, Adrianna decided to pick the sport back up again, finding that she enjoyed the weight lifting and drill practice she needed to do to prepare to compete. Her renewed efforts ultimately earned her a 4th place finish at state. "Yes, it was a guy's-only sport before, but not now. It’s a girls' sport where girls can actually compete. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s a boy sport. Just keep going - Never give up."
Victoria Guinard
Victoria Guinard also started wrestling in middle school. "For me wrestling is 10% physical and 90% mental. If you go in with a bad mindset, you’re not going to wrestle well. Before I step on the mat I say to myself, 'You worked too hard not to give it your all!' "
In addition to having psychological focus, Victoria had also found steady physical training to be key. To prepare for state, Victoria often trained more than once a day for several hours at a time. Living into the phrase, "there is no off-season," now that the high school wrestling season is technically over, Victoria anticipates continuing to train and is looking forward to getting to practice Greco-Roman style wrestling. For those less well-versed in the terminology, Greco-Roman wrestling is what's practiced in the Olympics, while Collegiate wrestling (also known as folkstyle wrestling) is the type practiced during the high school season.
D20 to Offer Girls Wrestling for 2021-2022 School Year
This year District 20 did not have a CHASAA-sanctioned girls wrestling team, so our female wrestlers had to compete as part of teams outside of District 20. Starting in the 2021-2022 school year, D20 plans to offer girls wrestling along with boys volleyball. Go, Eagles! #PineCreekHS