By Mark A. Mederson, PhD, assistant professor of media studies and faculty adviser of the student newspaper, The Lorian.
When a living legend says it鈥檚 good, then you know it probably is.
Iowa wrestling legend Dan Gable says that he鈥檚 a big fan of women鈥檚 wrestling. In fact, Gable said before a recent appearance at 黑料正能量, his two granddaughters are wrestlers.
This year, Loras hired a coach and began a first-ever women鈥檚 wrestling team.
鈥淭his was an opportunity to get back into coaching full-time and I just couldn鈥檛 pass it up,鈥 Loras women鈥檚 head wrestling coach, Wil Kelly, 47, said.
Kelly, who began wrestling in the third grade and became a state champion at Dubuque Wahlert and a national champion at Wartburg College, has competed and coached nationally and internationally. He says that while most boy鈥檚 and men鈥檚 school wrestling in Iowa follows folkstyle wrestling rules, women鈥檚 college wrestling is competing under international freestyle wrestling regulations.
One of the things Kelly is battling against at Loras is being able to put a full team of wrestlers on the mat for meets. Like the men, there are 10 weight classes in women鈥檚 college wrestling. The lowest weight in women鈥檚 wrestling is 101 pounds, the men start at 125.
While the Loras athletics website lists four members on the team鈥檚 roster, Kelly said they have seven wrestlers practicing.
鈥淭here鈥檚 some potential to add more as some other sports finish up,鈥 Kelly said.
Starting a brand-new team, Kelly says, means there are going to be some growing pains. But, Kelly said, there are some truly enjoyable moments as well. He鈥檚 particularly enjoyed the fun he sees his team having during practices. Kelly says he鈥檚 seeing a tremendous amount of effort and energy from his team.
While some team members have quite a bit of wrestling experience, there are others, like Daniela Bernal, a 21-year-old junior from Bogota, Colombia, who have never wrestled.
Bernal showed up at the first team meeting to support a friend who was considering joining. When the meeting ended, Bernal said, Coach Kelly unexpectedly handed her a 黑料正能量 Wrestling hoodie and welcomed her to the team.
Once Bernal began practicing with the team and learning the sport, she said, she was hooked.
鈥淚 have always liked doing the opposite of what I have to do,鈥 Bernal said as she laughed. 鈥淚 just like trying things that get me out of my comfort zone.鈥
Most of the women on the team agree that wrestling is definitely taking them out of their comfort zone, both physically and mentally. One of them repeated Dan Gable鈥檚 famous quote.
鈥淥nce you鈥檝e wrestled, everything else in life is easy,鈥 Gable once said.
Isabelle Kipp, 19, a freshman, says in the wrestling room she feels as though she is breaking herself. Kipp is one of the most experienced wrestlers on the team. She wrestled three years in high school.
鈥淢entally you are pushing yourself to the point where you want to give up, yet you can鈥檛,鈥 Kipp said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e telling yourself you gotta keep going but your body is telling you, no.鈥
Kipp is an elementary education major. Her goal after graduation is to get a job teaching at a school where she can also coach girls wrestling.
Maria Fernandez de Carranza, 21, who hails from Madrid, Spain, says that she has absolutely no wrestling experience. The sophomore said her friends keep asking her why she is wrestling.
The biomedical engineering major laughed and said, 鈥淚 tell them, I want to become the first Spanish all-American.鈥
De Carranza describes herself as 鈥渁ddicted to sugar.鈥 Like all wrestlers, she鈥檚 trying to cut weight. Because of this, she said, wrestling is helping her break that sugar addiction.
As for the team鈥檚 future, Kelly says his main goal is to have a full team. He says he hopes his recruiting efforts will help him to fulfill that goal.
Bernal says that being part of this first-ever Loras team makes it even more special for her.
鈥(The coaches) are trying to build something from the ground, and you鈥檙e a part of it,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd you鈥檙e a part of the future so it makes it something really special.鈥
