As the Wahawk girl’s wrestling team gets ready to head to regionals on Jan. 26, 2024, the girls are working hard to reach goals that they have made throughout the season. One of those goals includes making it to state.

For many of the girls on the team, it is their first year wrestling and going to regionals. However, for some of the returning girls, it is their goal to make it to the state tournament this year. The Wahawk girls wrestling team has two girls on the team who placed at regionals last year and went on to wrestle at the state tournament in Coralville, Iowa.

Throughout the season, the girls have improved by great amounts. However, the improvement did not come easy for the girls on the team. For many of the girls, the wrestling room became their home away from home. The girls spent many hours of their weeks working on learning new moves and mastering techniques to improve each day.

Sophomore Elizabeth Roberts and senior Lydia Parkhurst were the two girls on the team that advanced to the state tournament last year. Even though neither placed at state, both girls, along with the rest of the girl’s wrestling team, have been working hard all season for this moment.

Like many of the girls, the hard work does not stop once they leave the wrestling room. Sophomore Kennedee Dunning says “I like to make sure I am eating enough protein and beneficial nutrients, but obviously not too much that I’ll be overweight. I also make sure I get plenty of sleep because that is key for energy.”

Preparing for a moment so big is not as simple as food and sleep. The girls are constantly seen at school getting their work done and turned in on time. A lot of times, tournaments can be on weekdays which causes the team to have to leave school early meaning that girls miss some of their classes. However, the girls can overcome that challenge, and the team makes sure to get the work they will be missing.

The girls are constantly reminded that even though they are student-athletes, they are students before athletes. Head Coach Josef Kadlec is always making sure that the girls are showing up to class and being good students around the building. The team has at least one study table a week where they can use the time before practice to get work done, retake a test or study. It is a big deal to have good grades as wrestling is in between both semesters. If you fail a class during the wrestling season, you are unable to continue wrestling the rest of the year. The girls make sure to take the study tables seriously so that they have one less thing to worry about before they wrestle.

Senior Lydia Parkhusrst is no stranger to the preparation of regionals as this will be her fourth year returning to regionals. Parkhurst is a three-time state wrestling returner and plans on making this her fourth year. Some of the things Parkhurst does each year to get ready for regionals are spending the week going over past matches throughout the year and tuning in on what she needs to work on.

Getting ready for regionals is not always so serious. The team makes sure that they do fun things before regionals to take some of the stress away from the long and hard work they have put in all season. Junior Jadyn Wirth finds the best way to destress from the long season before regionals is by spending time with friends and family, “that is the way I normally destress so that is how I destress before regionals.” 

Kadlec prepares his girls for regionals by getting them excited to wrestle and reminding them constantly why wrestling is important. Kadlec makes sure to lead informative practices to prepare the girls for all that might happen at regionals. He tends to end practices with a motivational speech about pushing yourself further than you think you can go and giving every match your all.  

Making it to state is one of the best feelings and one of the greatest achievements as a wrestler. Junior Kammie Gleiter explains how much state means to her, “state is everything I am working for during the season. I step in that room, my goal is state, I step out of the room, my goal is state. I have my family, coaches and friends watching me work towards this goal all year and to place and qualify means everything; not just to me but to them as well.”

While Gleiter explains how much making it to the state would mean to her she also understands the importance of taking care of your mind and body during times like regionals where things can become stressful and frustrating. “I work really hard in the room pushing myself further knowing my body really well and knowing it can take more than I think. I also allow time for my body to rest outside of the room while also taking time to mentally decompress letting my mind step back from wrestling. When I’m feeling stressed, I take a step back and think over what I can do to improve. I know that if I get too aggravated or frustrated I can lose sight of what’s in front of me,” explained Gleiter.

The girls wrestling team has worked hard for the past three months to prove themselves to not only the team, but their coaches, family, friends, and competitors.

If you are as ready for regionals as the girl’s wrestling team is, make sure to purchase a ticket for Jan. 26 to watch the girls take on the mats in Mason City.

Buy tickets here.