The girls wrestling team is staying consistent with three wins in the past several weeks. Their work during practices reflect these strong outcomes.
On the day of their tournament the girls warm up, run laps and do exercises. They also practice moves they frequently struggle with.
“Our coach usually has a list of stuff that we need to fix or work on based on the tournament from the previous week,” junior Mia Pina said.
Practices consist of conditioning and endurance workouts. The girls also focus on their mentality in preparation for matches. Wrestling is a very mental game so the team checks in on each other during stretches and warmups.
“We make sure everybody is good and not sad or upset because the first match sets the tone,” junior Haylee Richards said.
Along with focusing on your mentality, you also need to focus on how you appear to your opponent, and the mindset you go into the match with.
”Most of the teams we wrestled were tough and aggressive. We too are aggressive but we like to be more smart with our oppression. We don’t just start tackling each other, we go in with good technique like we practiced,” Richards said.
Spending all of their time in practice on drills and mental strategies, the girls take their skills to the mat. Their hard work has paid off in the form of wins.
On Jan. 2, at the Winter Springs Girls IBT, they secured second place overall with individual results including Mia Pina and Hailey Mitchell getting first place; Haylee Richards, Jayden Brouse and Kaylynn Rivera winning second; and Rosa Miller getting third place.
“We got there with our warm up clothes, started weighing in, ate, found a mat, warmed up and prayed,” said Richards.
Mia Pina won both her matches, considering them easier wins due to her light weight class.
“I only had two matches and everyone else typically has four or five, so when everyone saw me taking my shoes off they thought I lost when in reality I won both matches,” said Pina. “Everyone was excited because I was able to score points for the team.”
The following week, the girls came in second out of 18 teams at the Skyler White Girls IBT. First place winners were Rosa Miller, Claudia La Costa Perez, Shyann Tate, Haylee Richards and Hailey Mitchell.
“We started late because the waves were late, so everyone was really upset, but we ended up finishing strong and everyone had good matches,” freshman Victoria Chacon said.
The girls then took first place at the War Eagle Classic at Poinciana High School. They are now back to back champions of the War Eagle Classic IBT. The placers were Jayden Brouse, Claudia La Costa Perez, Hailey Mitchell, Haylee Richards and Shyann Tate, Mia Pina, Rosa Miller and Kaylynn Rivera in first, and Alexis Thomas in second.
