The Marist girls wrestling team met Wednesday, September 3 to prepare for the upcoming wrestling season this winter and to introduce potential new wrestlers to the sport.
“I’m really glad to get back into the environment of pre-season training and early morning workouts with all my girlies. We’ve been putting so much effort into this team and ourselves as an individual wrestler,” said senior Izzy Locastio.
The team discussed open mats, morning workouts, and training.
“We have worked this off season during open mats, which is an opportunity for us to wrestle in our home wrestling room and ask our coaches questions and refine certain skills,” said junior Abby Parker.
Coach Kelly Sullivan discussed what incoming wrestlers should expect during the season from cutting/making weight, proper eating habits and gear needed.
“I think the meeting went really great, we were able to see all the returning wrestlers and now new girls who want to wrestle for the first time,” said Locastio.
Last year three girls reached state and the goal for this year is for more girls to qualify for the championship round.
“State felt so awesome because I was able to be there with my teammates, Abby and Sam, and the road to get there was so worth it,” said Locastio.
Girls wrestling has become one of the biggest growing sports in the country and continues to grow at Marist since becoming an IHSA certified sport.
“I am personally super excited to welcome new girls this season as a way to expand our program and open up the competition both inside and outside the room,” said Parker. “Our team has expanded exponentially in the past two years and having new girls join our team is an exciting new way to create an even bigger program for Marist.
The entire team appears excited and they have trained for the pre-season more than they have in years past.
“Many of us were fortunate enough to wrestle at the University of Iowa this summer and learn from some of the best wrestlers in the world. We learned a lot and got some new skills under our belt,” said Parker. “We have put in a lot of off-season work and I think when it comes to stepping on the mat this year we’ll see a lot of growth and hopefully some big wins.”
