Leo Bloomer
Contributing Writer
“I don’t know: that it’s there,” senior Gentry Giles said about one thing she wanted more people at the high school to know about Webster Groves wrestling.
Wrestling is an Olympic and collegiate sport, but some people at the high school didn’t even know the high school had a team until they joined it themselves, such as Giles who joined the wrestling team as a senior.
Giles’ favorite part of wrestling for the high school is the snacks the wrestlers get at meets, and she recommends any and all girls to join the team as well.
Freshman Amelia Beatty added, “I feel like we don’t have a lot of women in wrestling, so just getting more women wrestling would be really nice because we have a pretty big men’s team, but not a very large women’s team.”
Team members emphasized the communal aspect of the team and sport.
Sophomore Lilah DuVall said, “I wish (people) knew about the community. It’s a really good community, and it kinda sets you up with a family almost. It’s a good dynamic to have.”
Junior Zak Kimmich added, “Everyone’s a family. We all support each other, and we all have each other’s backs.”
Even for people who may be aware of the team’s existence, they may not know the full extent of what it takes to wrestle.
Sophomore Charlie Osdieck said, “I wish people knew, like, how tough of a sport it was and how it can help you grow as a person. It’s different because it’s the whole body. It’s six minutes, which doesn’t sound like a long time, but it’s forever.”
Some team members, like senior men’s team captain Jacob Ingrham, addressed a perception around wrestling being not being a “weird sport. It’s a lot more fun and inclusive than people think it is.”
Freshman Rowan Neal said those who wrestle will “get used to it really fast.”
Senior women’s team captain Shyla Reid added, “I wish that people, like, know, like, it’s okay to wrestle with (people of) other genders.”
Wrestling is also great for developing mental fortitude. Reid said her favorite part of wrestling is “how wrestling taught me a lot about discipline, and I take that with me now to everything I do.”
Beatty says it requires “a lot of mental strength, because you have to find the strength to keep going when you’re tired.”
Freshman Leo Travers added, “If you lose, you can’t blame it on anybody else.”
A wrestling match can be won either pinning the opponent on their back for two seconds, or by scoring more points than your opponent. Points are scored by either taking control of (the opponent) and putting them in different positions, or by one wrestler reversing control if they started at a disadvantage.
James LeMay, head coach of both the men’s and women’s teams, said one doesn’t necessarily have to understand wrestling to support the team.
“The kids that do wrestle really enjoy the support of their classmates. You can come and watch, and it’s pretty obvious who wins and who loses just based on our reactions. If you have major questions, all you have to do is find a wrestler and ask them questions, and they’ll answer anything,” LeMay said.
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