An Interview With Girl Wrestlers

50 states, 50 girls 2 questions 100 answers. The questions are: “What inspired you to wrestle?” and “What is your goal in wrestling?” Nova Scotia was also interviewed!

Alabama

Name: Niya Turner

What inspired you to wrestle?: “My stepdad inspired me to wrestle.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To become a state champion.”

 

Alaska

Name: Kaelynn Seidl

What inspired you to wrestle?: “My brothers and dad all wrestled.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To win a state title.”

Arizona

Name: Isa Bocanegra

What inspired you to wrestle?: “My dad asked me when I got into middle school to pick a club or sport and he kept encouraging me to go to volleyball or cheerleading or anything besides wrestling, but I told him I want to wrestle!”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To be the best wrestler I can be…to be a national champion in college!”

Arkansas

Name: Ellie Freeman

What inspired you to wrestle?: “My big brothers inspired me to start wrestling.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “I want to be a champion like Helen Maroulis.”

California

Name: Leann Tran

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I loved the family aspect of wrestling, there wasn’t a family in band but I saw there was one in wrestling!”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “Not get burnt out and continue to love the sport.”

Colorado

Name: Sammi White

What inspired you to wrestle?: “My father inspired me to wrestle and I thought it would be fun.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To place higher at state.”

Connecticut

Name: Rylee Donohue

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I wasn’t necessarily inspired, more like followed my big brother to a practice when I was in second grade.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “I want to wrestle at the collegiate level!”

Delaware

Name: Natalie Radecki

What inspired you to wrestle?: “My brother inspired me to wrestle and seeing how tough wrestlers are, and wanting to be like that!”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “Place/win boys high school state…be in the national rankings.”

Florida

Name: Lainey Driggett

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I got into wrestling really young as a way to express myself in athletics.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To become a state champion and place at Fargo.”

Georgia

Name: Kaydee Jackson

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I was inspired to wrestle by seeing all the medals that my brother was winning.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “Continue through high school and get many college offers….I hope one day I am on tope of the worlds podium, and have young girls look up to me as I did to the big winners.”

Hawaii

Name: Presley Sandobal

What inspired you to wrestle?: “My brother and dad inspired me to wrestle!”

What is your goal in wrestling?:”To wrestle at a D1 college!”

Idaho

Name: Olivia Bezdicek

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I started wrestling at 4 years old. My cousin was a 4 time state champion, and I saw him setting goals and achieving them! I was motivated by the technical aspects of the sport; it’s like playing speed chess!”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “I would like to be on the US national team, and wrestle in college!”

Illinois

Name: Rachel Richey

What inspired you to wrestle?: “My older sister started wrestling first, I really looked up to her.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To get a full roster of girls on my high school team!”

Indiana

Name: Samantha Banks

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I always grew up playing softball, and I decided to go to a wrestling meeting and absolutely fell in love with the idea of relying on yourself rather than on a team.” 

What is your goal in wrestling?: “Become a state champion.”

Iowa

Name: Autumn Elsbury

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I’ve always been around the sport and I have always enjoyed it.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “Be a (high school) state champ, place at Fargo every year, and hopefully be a champion at Fargo.”

Kansas

Name: Finley Rose

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I decided to wrestle because nobody else had really done it at my school and it was the second year of our program when I joined wrestling.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “I want to become a better wrestler overall and I want to place at state in my high school career.”

Kentucky

Name: Hunter Mosley

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I was always bullied by kids growing up, and I was always the small girl who got pushed around and never knew how to stand up fir myself until I joined wrestling my 8th grade year.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “Place top 3 for girls state, and top 4 for girls regionals.”

Louisiana

Name: Natalie Davis

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I grew up training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, so I figured wrestling wouldn’t be that different.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To be able to compete at the college level, as well as grow as a person and give others opportunities I was not given.”

Maine

Name: Tia St. Peter Scott

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I saw a flyer that came home and my mom asked me if I wanted to play basketball like my brother, or something else. I asked what else they had. My mom showed me the flyer and I said that I’ll wrestle!”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To wrestle in college then come back home and coach!”

Maryland

Name: Ugochi Anunobi

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I used to watch a lot of WWE when I was younger!”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “Go all the way to worlds, and be a (world) champion.”

Massachusetts

Name: Hannah Dyckman

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I wanted to try something new, exciting, challenging, and it sounded really fun. I grew up wrestling around with my brother all the time.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “Place top 3 in states before high school ends and get a varsity spot on my high school team!”

Michigan

Name: Megan Litomisky

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I was a stats girl and enjoyed watching the sport and how hard it was. One day I was like I can do this”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To push myself beyond my physical limit.”

Minnesota

Name: Kinsley Kothenbeutel

What inspired you to wrestle?: “Because of my older brother.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To wrestle at college with my wrestling besties.”

Mississippi

Name: Alexis Wilks

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I played football…I knew I had many talents, and I wanted to take my talents to another level!”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To be a 3x state champion, make it to the wrestling hall of fame, and be recruited by s good school and wrestle in college!”

Missouri

Name: Baillee Cash

What inspired you to wrestle?: “My brother inspired me to wrestle.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To go to University of Iowa…become a collegiate wrestling coach to continue to grow the sport of womens wrestling.”

Montana

Name: Logan Paddock

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I started wrestling to stay in shape for rodeo.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To win state.”

Nebraska

Name: Joshyonna Coppage

What inspired you to wrestle?: “My cousin inspired me to wrestle.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “Win state…and go to the Olympics.”

Nevada

Name: Kennedy Hsu

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I was really inspired by a lot of Olympic level girls who did wrestling, but were also super girly. Wrestlers like Ally Ragan and Katie Gomez who exemplified characteristics of being strong and courageous but also feminine!

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To wrestle at the collegiate level and be nationally ranked.”

New Hampshire

Name: Emily Angelo

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I got into it because of my brother.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To win states again and have a better off season than the past years.”

New Jersey

Name: Paige Kirk

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I started wrestling on a whim my sophomore year of high school.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “Be a state champion, all American, thrive in college wrestling.”

New Mexico

Name: Emma Gutierrez

What inspired you to wrestle?: “Nobody in my immediate family wrestled until my younger brother tried it. One day I asked my parents.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To go to college and wrestle and hope to continue to do it as long as possible! (The) Olympics would be ideal, but as long as I’m wrestling thats what matters!”

New York

Name: Hannah McCarley 

What inspired you to wrestle?: “Tried other sports but wrestling was different than the rest.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “Open my own wrestling club, and be a coach, and be an inspiration for all kids who wrestle.”

North Carolina

Name: Kenzie Barrett

What inspired you to wrestle?: “My friends told me I should try it and I did, I immediately fell in love!”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To be an Olympic champion”

North Dakota

Name: Sailor Matejovsky

What inspired you to wrestle?: “It started off by me having to go watch my brother so I figured that if I had to be there anyway I might as well join in!”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “I want to get good enough for the olympics…and wrestle in college!”

Ohio

Name: Kayden Dew

What inspired you to wrestle?: “To get back at my dad, he said that girls couldn’t do “guy” sports. He wouldn’t let me play football so I wrestled to show him that girls can do anything!”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To make it to (NAIA) nationals.”

Oklahoma

Name: Charisma Meeks

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I wanted to be different from everyone else and no other girls wrestled (at my school), and I wanted to stand out from the other women’s sports at my school.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “Continue to grow and be the best wrestler I can be for my future college, and for myself. To push myself to see how far and high I can go.”

Oregon

Name: Zoe Roddis

What inspired you to wrestle?: “My dad is a high school coach and wrestled in college, so I kinda grew up around it and I thought it was cool so many girls were starting to wrestle, so I started pretty young!

What is your goal in wrestling?: “I want to win a national title…and win Pan am trials. And to inspired other girls to start wrestling!”

Pennsylvania

Name: Zoe Murphy

What inspired you to wrestle?: “My mother inspired me to wrestle. She was the first girl at her school to wrestle, now I’m the first girl to place at states from the same school.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “Bring home the championship this year…to help build the program at my school for future girls.”

Rhode Island

Name: Hailey Farrar

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I tried it with a friend and had a lot of fun!”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To learn new moves and keep getting better!”

South Carolina

Name: Makayla Hinchey

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I started MMA at 5 and I got good a bjj…my coach told me to try it because they go hand in hand.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To set more records for South Carolina…to go to the olympics.”

South Dakota

Name: Giahna Miller

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I never liked basketball, and I had lots of people trying to convince me to do it.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To win a state championship and wrestle in college!”

Tennessee

Name: Haley Redmond

What inspired you to wrestle?: “To conquer, gain knowledge, and say I do it.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “Make a name for myself, sharpen my mind, harden my body, become fearless, get my hand raised, and say I did it.”

Texas

Name: Matti Givens

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I was inspired by my dad.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To be a good role model for the younger girls in the sport. I would also like to obtain a college scholarship.”

Utah

Name: Averie Olvera

What inspired you to wrestle?: “My brother inspired me to wrestle!”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “I want to be a world and Olympic champion!”

Vermont

Name: Remelia Catoe

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I’ve wanted to wrestle since pre-k, now it’s self driven!”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To go to the Olympics”

Virginia

Name: Mia Williams

What inspired you to wrestle?: “

What is your goal in wrestling?: “I want to be an Olympic champion! This year I want to be the Virginia, USA, and Tulsa triple crown winner!”

Washington

Name: Leah Wallway

What inspired you to wrestle?: “My brother did. I saw him wrestling and having fun on the mats at practice, and so one day I decided one day that I’ll try it out.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “A big one is to win a state title or two my last two years of high school, or at least place high on the podium.”

West Virginia

Name: Gianna White

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I was inspired by my older sister!”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “I want to pin all the boys and girls, and learn how to cradle!”

Wisconsin

Name: Adrianna Zielinski

What inspired you to wrestle?: “My brother wrestled, so I wanted to give it a try.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “Keep winning tournaments.”

Wyoming

Name: Nichole Sumare

What inspired you to wrestle?: “I got into wrestling because of my cousin.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To go to college on a scholarship for women’s wrestling.”

Nova Scotia

Name: Abigail Carbonetto

What inspired you to wrestle?: “My coach inspired me.”

What is your goal in wrestling?: “To win nationals.”