With many of the key girls on the wrestling team injured others still have been shining through the season. On Tuesday, January 7, Lewis Central defeated the girls wrestling team, but there were still many wins. One of them was junior Addeline Graser who won her match. Addeline transferred to Westside this school year from Papio and is a Fargo all-American. She has placed on the podium her freshman and sophomore year at state. She shared how she thinks her wrestling has changed in any way since transferring to Westside.
“My wrestling has changed mentally wise,” Graser said. “At Papio I had teammates and coaches that didn’t help my mental health, and when transferring to Westside I got to wrestle with my club teammates and met the other wrestlers here who have helped me get over mental blocks.”
Not only did Graser have a win in the dual but so did senior Zoey Barber. Barber won state last year and has been a great contributor to the team.
“As a whole we seem to get better every time we step on the mat,” Mulligan said. “Our season has been pretty good overall, we’ve dealt with some injuries early on and are still working to get our number one lineup out on the mat. Our goal is still to put ourselves in the best position to repeat as state champions.”
Wrestlers have a determination within themselves as they go head to head with others, every day, multiple times a day to win a physical match. Graser also has goals for herself and shared what those goals are for her this season.
“The rest of my goals for this season are to stay focused on feeling better before a tournament physically and mentally wise,” Graser said. “Also, improving my hand fighting technique, and working my way into a state championship.”
Barber is also driven with her work ethic as a state champion. She has goals for herself and she explained what those goals are for this season.
“My goals for the rest of the season are to focus on my mindset, physical, and mental health,” Barber said. “We have mindset Mondays with Mr.Moravec, and he is really helpful in and out of season and is a key part to getting me to where I need to be for the state tournament.”
