by Ifrah Daber

With the JHS wrestling season soon coming to an end, now is the time to better understand what goes into wrestling, be it the accomplishments, the struggle, and what goes into the sport both physically and mentally.

The Red Devils had 14 qualifiers in this weekend’s Regionals for male wrestlers at Johnson Arena. Both Ben Land and Aiden Stellato advanced to Semi-State.

It’s also the first year where girls’ wrestling is recognized as its own sport with a state tournament by the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA). Senior Kaylea Beauchamp was a state runner-up in the inaugural event.

“Wrestling means to struggle,” said coach Danny Struck when asked about some of the initial hurdles that come with wrestling. The mantra is repeated by members of the team and other coaches.

He spoke of the struggle to control one’s food intake and mental fight to stay in their weight class. His fellow coaches, Evan Myers and Joe Somerville, shared these sentiments. 

Myers said, “Physically and mentally, it’s one of the most difficult sports.” 

There are difficulties that come with any sport, but with how contact-heavy and the lack of teammates that can be on a mat, wrestling distinguishes itself with how steep of a learning curve newcomers must climb. 

“Physically and mentally, it’s one of the most difficult sports.” 

Wrestling coach Evan Myers

Myers also said, “The biggest gap is getting through the first week.”

But Somerville stated that even though it could be intimidating at first, over time it gets easier. 

“It’s very difficult at first, but once they do it, it’s not that big of a deal.”

“Discipline” and “struggle” are words that come up often for every sport, but for wrestlers, it seems to be a part of everything they do.

“Discipline is most of wrestling,” stated senior wrestler Montana Northern. He spoke of the discipline to watch his diet so he can keep weight, as well to train and get stronger.

Land, a two-time Regional champion with over 100 career wins, also spoke of discipline in training. 

“You have to show up every day,” he stated about coming to practice and giving his all in practice. 

Despite all the struggles that come with wrestling, from daily training to tumbling drills, conditioning, and hours of practice, many wrestling team members spoke highly of the experience of being on the team. 

Senior Venus Plamp, who wrestles for the girls’ team,  specifically spoke of the community that wrestling brings being one of their favorite aspects.

“The second you step into the wrestling room, boom, you have a family.”

Liking that sense of family and community given through wrestling was a sentiment that many shared. 

Beauchamp spoke highly of the people on the team, and described “the mano a mano” of wrestling being a good way to reflect on herself as a wrestler and a person.

“It makes you sit down with yourself,” Beauchamp stated, saying being alone on the mat distinguishes wrestling from other sports, along with the discipline that it takes to do that self-reflection. 

One season highlight was girls’ wrestling finally being recognized as its own sport statewide. 

Plamp and Beauchamp both spoke for the girls’ team of the opportunity and excitement this brought them. 

“It is a lot of excitement for the girls’ team,” stated Plamp. 

Somerville also spoke of the growth of the girls’ team and the support that the boys’ team has given them. He even stated that, to him, one of the largest accomplishments of the year was that at sectionals the girls’ team wrestled their best of all time.  

Girls’ wrestling has always been competing, but now they have more opportunities, more recognition, and more fellow women wrestlers to compete against. 

With the season coming to an end, the wrestling team will be looking for new people to join. The team is extremely open for people to come and check out what they do, even if it’s just watching for the first time. From the physical benefits, to the discipline one can find, Myers’ final regards to those who wish to join is,

 “Once you’ve wrestled, everything else is easy.”

Additional reporting by Sarah Baloucoune.