Milford Wrestling team conquers competition

Milford High School’s wrestling team started another season full of exciting matches and defined moves this past November. The wrestlers endure grueling hours of practice, sweat, and exhaustion, but also deep personal rewards. These athletes spend 2.5 hours daily learning new techniques to conquer the competition, teaching one another along the way, with the assistance of Coach Jason Rhodes. Everyone has different goals, but together they unite to create a unique team dynamic with positivity and unrelenting support. “Our team is always cheering each other on and wants everyone to reach their full potential,” said Junior Annalyse Brogan. “Everyone on the team is always there to help in any way they can and motivate each other.”

The effort necessary from these athletes pushes them toward making gains after every match. During practices, activities include warming up on the track and partnering up for drills to build agility, speed, and better performance. Some commonly-practiced moves include single and double leg takedowns and have proven to be vital for MHS wrestlers to perfect, according to Brogan. 

Two other regular pursuits include “gauntlet” and “live” practices. A gauntlet practice works by grouping athletes in their weight groups, or in relatively even matches. Weight classes range from 103 pounds to heavyweight, with different subcategories, ranging from six to eight pounds apart. Two from a weight class are picked to start and wrestle one another. The winner remains for the next round, and others are rotated in, one at a time, until each person in the group has competed. When wrestlers “go live,” they are using maximum effort and compete as if it were a live match. 

The team is made up of a diverse blend of individuals, each with a distinct reason for getting involved in the sport. Some, like Sophomore Parker Wyskiel, have participated in the high-intensity competition for over five years; others, like Brogan, began in high school, and have grown with the help of the team. The sport has changed over the years to allow for more variety among youth wrestlers. In February 2017, Michigan had its first-ever girls high school state wrestling championship, held at Adrian College. 

As a female who is relatively new to the sport, Brogan has faced numerous critics. Regardless, she was inspired by her father’s wrestling history to pursue the activity, and has found it enjoyable since. “Some people say ‘girls can’t wrestle’ and the common assumption is that I’m the manager or someone’s sister–not a wrestler on the team,” she explained. “It’s weird though, because at practices, it’s like I forget that I’m ‘the female’ and different from the rest. The team has been nothing but great for me and treat me the same as everyone else.” No matter the circumstances, the entire team comes together to encourage each athlete to be his/her best. 

Traveling for tournaments has only added to the connections made between the teammates; Brogan’s favorite memories of the team are made up of those on bus rides with friends, whereas Wyskiel’s more specific favorite memory was last year’s team tournament in Ohio. Both also expressed gratitude toward the team’s ability to push each person to the best of his/her abilities, and recognize the difference that people cheering makes during matches. 

Above all else, each athlete gets the opportunity to explore personal strengths, suffer through defeats, and celebrate triumphs as part of the team. Wyskiel stated, “Wrestling has taught me how to work hard and stay with things, even if they are tough.” 

To future wrestlers, both Brogan and Wyskiel advise making conscious decisions to better oneself as an athlete and focusing on staying motivated, in order to achieve success. Like most of her teammates, Brogan recognizes that everyone has room to improve, but that it comes with patience: “It’s hard work, but it’s rewarding,” she said. “Overall, wrestling has shown me that I’m more capable than I thought, and has made me braver.”