Getting third place as a team with only three underclassmen who each bring home their own state medals is very rare. For the Yutan girls wrestling team, though, anything is possible.
“We did really well as a team,” said sophomore Alexis Pehrson about their performance at the recent state wrestling meet. “We ended up getting third overall at state with just three girls, which is hard to do. It definitely shows how talented our team was.”
Along with the team’s success, there was also individual success. Sophomores Alexis and Aubrie Pehrson each earned their second individual state championship.
“It feels good because all my hard work paid off,” Alexis said.
The twins were joined on the medal podium by freshman Jordyn Campbell, who earned a fifth-place medal.
“I thought I did pretty good for my first time being there. I feel like next year I’ll be more prepared and more focused on the matches that are important,” said Campbell.
Although there was success at state, there were also challenges. With it being Campbell’s first time competing at state, she struggled with the mental side of it, while also battling injuries.
“Being able to prepare myself with the amount of people there watching was hard,” said Campbell. “Also in my second match, I had a shoulder injury, so just being able to push through state with that was difficult.”
There were also challenges for the Pehrsons, despite having previous state experience.
“During my semifinal match, the other girl got the first takedown on me,” said Aubrie. “I didn’t let that get in my head. I just kept wrestling, even though I was down 4-3. I then got a reversal and pinned her.”
Despite the challenges, Aubrie talked about her favorite part of competing at the state tournament.
“Definitely getting my second state title with my sister,” said Aubrie. “We were really excited for each other because we worked really hard in the offseason. Also seeing some of my wrestling friends win a state title or place was a great experience.”
With all their success, the team and their coaches left feeling accomplished.
“Having three really young athletes be able to cruise through state, handle their business and do as well as they did has been an awesome experience,” said girls head wrestling coach Michael Swanson. “I couldn’t ask for anything better.”