The full house at Victory last night got me thinking about all of the things we’ve had going on, and some of the major events we have coming up this spring and summer.
A small group of us were on the mats when the calendar changed from 2021 to 2022—wrestling around, practicing backflips and free-standing handstand pushups—that’s a memory I love and want to keep close. We’re just two months past that and it feels like so much has happened!
On the women’s side of the house: Precious and Ali wrestled Internationally in February, P at the Yasar Dogu in Istanbul Turkey, and Al at the Dan Kolov in Bulgaria. The two of them were set to wrestle in a ranking tournament in Rome in January, but ongoing restrictions from Covid halted that trip for the US delegation.
I got to take Ali and Ngao Shoua to compete at the Hastings Open in Nebraska, and then the Grand View Open in Des Moines, Iowa, while Precious got some additional training in Arizona. We’ve also had several friends and training partners visit River Falls.
On top of their own full-time training, Precious and Ali (and sometimes Ngao Shoua) coached a core group of girls through the high school season. It has been really amazing to watch them learn about themselves as they coach, and for them to invest in others through the sport. The impact of having these two coaching and mentoring the younger gals shouldn’t be overlooked.
We have some high school rockstars that committed to the in-season training plan. The Wisconsin and Minnesota high school athletic associations both hosted their first-ever girls individual state wrestling tournaments this year. Emma, Natalie, Lyndsey, Haeili and Jenna all wrestled at the WIAA’s at the end of January, and then Skylar and Alisha wrestled in Minnesota’s just last week. Skylar won it and Emma was a finalist. Plus, Larissa Kaz signed to Hastings College, and the core group of middle school wrestlers that train with this group have grown SO much. I’m excited to watch these girls make the switch from folkstyle to freestyle and represent the WI and MN National Teams and give their all to making world teams.
We hosted a Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser with the Heart & Hustle Charity in February that just highlighted how much support we have in our community. It’s humbling and encouraging to see all of the people that invest in a variety of ways for this mission.
Some of the events we have coming up for the senior group include the Bill Farrell (April 1-2), the US Open (April 27-30), Women’s Nationals/World Team Trials (May 5-8) and Senior World Team Trials (May 19-22).
Here’s to a full house and big goals as these ladies grow at home, and traverse the world, in the pursuit of excellence.
Major shout to the Victory gals!
All the love in life through sport.
GL
