Playing competitive sports in college is an opportunity that few athletes earn, but four Yutan female athletes will have this opportunity and have committed to a variety of colleges for wrestling and volleyball.

Senior Alexis Pehrson, who is committed to Wartburg College, knew she wanted to go to college for women’s wrestling from the beginning of junior year. So when she was looking at colleges, the school’s wrestling program was at the top of her head. 

“[Wartburg] has a good history of wrestling on the men’s side. They’re kind of like a dynasty, and the women’s is looking to match that,” Alexis Pehrson said.

After learning about the program, Alexis made sure to weigh her decision and choose what was best for her.

“There were a lot of factors that went into deciding to go to Wartburg like the coaches, team, and environment there as well as the scholarships and the overall cost it would be to go there compared to the other places we looked at,” Alexis Pehrson said.

Though she was originally undecided about wrestling in college, Alexis’s twin sister, Aubrie Pehrson, will be joining her at Wartburg. The two sisters decided to continue with their wrestling careers after realizing they weren’t ready for the sport to be over.

“I went on like a dozen visits, and I really liked the campus and their program,” Aubrie Pehrson said. “The head coach is actually a former men’s wrestler from Wartburg who was a national finalist.”  

 Along with visiting the colleges, recruiting is also a big part of the process. 

“For recruiting, I reached out to several coaches and was in contact with them just trying to figure out what my role would be on the team,” Tederman said. “I thought about it for a while because it has the potential to be the next four years of my life.”

Even though she was talking to coaches, Tederman ultimately decided to go to Nebraska Wesleyan University based on her academic needs.

“I wanted to pick a place that I liked for the school—that was my main priority. I might have chosen a different volleyball program over this one, but I’m going to college for an education and not for a sport,” Tederman said. 

Senior Mckenna Jones is also committed to college for volleyball, but she committed to Northeast Community College, a two-year school. For Jones, academics were also a big factor along with playing at a community college. 

“I chose to go to Northeast because it was a two-year college, and if I didn’t like volleyball after playing for two years, I could go on and do something else,” Jones said. “Northeast had my major that I wanted to go into, so I chose that mostly because [of] my major.”

Playing with a new team can be nerve-wracking, but Jones is excited about who she gets to play with at Northeast.

“I was able to meet some of the girls on the team, and they were all super nice and fun. I was also able to meet the coaches, and they really knew what they were doing,” Jones said.  

To help them make the big jump to college athletics, each senior is making their own preparations. 

“I’m going to stay on top of my physical health and just make sure I’m in tip top shape by my lifting and eating,” Tederman said. 

The Pehrson twins plan to do some more specific wrestling by training in a different style of wrestling, freestyle, which is what they do in college. 

“I’ll probably do a couple big tournaments and maybe a few camps with the Wartburg wrestling team,” Alexis Pehrson said. “Freestyle is the type of wrestling style that they do in college, so I’ll be getting better at that.”

Going from one style of wrestling to a completely different one in a year can be very challenging, but the Pehrsons are ready for this change. 

“I’m a lot more familiar and comfortable with folkstyle just because it’s the style I grew up doing,” Aubrie Pehrson said. “Even though I’m not as experienced in freestyle, I’m still excited for the change because it will be fun.”

Even with all of the hard work that is going to be put into these sports, anticipation comes with being able to continue a sport the athletes love. 

“I’m most excited to play another couple years of volleyball while getting close to my new team and playing at a more competitive level,” Jones said. 

With graduation right around the corner, the seniors are ready to transition into the next big level. 

“It’ll be a brand new opportunity, and I will really miss high school wrestling, but I’m ready for this new chapter in my life,” Aubrie Pehrson said.