Juab Girls Wrestling Breaks Records at State

The Juab girls wrestling team had a record-breaking season! This year was a monumental year because girls wrestling was introduced to Juab four years ago, which means that this is the first year we’ve had girls who have wrestled for all four years of high school. The team had four seniors this year, all of whom qualified for state.

Wrestling state was at UVU this year and took place from February 14-15th. Our girls team had 15 state qualifiers, 7 state finalists, and 3 state champs!

Samantha Reynolds, a senior, became our first Juab Girls Wrestler to become a two-time state champion! 

When asked about her feelings about winning state for the second year in a row, Samantha said, “It’s surreal to me. I’ve been wanting this for so long, and finally being able to achieve it, it’s amazing. I also hope that it inspires girl wrestlers to keep striving for their goals and that anything is possible if they put their mind to it.”

However, you don’t just become a state champ overnight. In order to maintain her title as the best wrestler in 3A, Samantha put in the work leading up to state. Samantha said, “During the season I would weight lift at least three times a week and stay after practice to do extra conditioning or practice some moves. When I started putting in the extra effort, that’s when I noticed my wrestling was improving.”

Wrestling is much more than just being fit; there is also a huge mental aspect. One of the biggest game changers for Sam was working on the mental side of her game. Samantha said, “During the season, I also came to the realization that I had to focus on the mental part of wrestling, not just the physical. I had to learn not to doubt myself and go out and wrestle my best, no matter who was in front of me. I made sure to focus on the positives around me and take constructive feedback. Doing all this during the season led me to reach my goal of becoming a 2x state champ.”

Samantha wasn’t the only one to become a state champ. Juniors Andi Stephensen and Atti Nielson also made history by winning state in their respective weights.

After a season full of hard work, determination, and grit, our lady wasps placed third overall as a team.