Kasey Williams
My last wrestling tournament of my eighth grade year was the biggest tournament we had been to all year. The pressure of wrestling in this tournament felt more elevated than any other tournament of our season. Going in with a record of 9-12, I could not expect to have a single win. Undoubtedly nervous because I had not been in such a large tournament before, my coaches had high expectations for me.

We showed up at the tournament on a cold Saturday morning. My ear-splitting music kept me focused. When I walked into the gym, I saw the small slimy mats and immediately knew I had to be ready. Stomach growling as I stepped on the scale, I hadn’t eaten all morning to make weight. Once I made my way out of the locker room, I went to go check the brackets. I was placed at low 6th seed. I thought, ‘At least I wasn’t the 7th seed.’ I went onto the mat to warm up with my team and the pressure started to surround me.

When I heard my name called for my first match, my stomach dropped as I jogged down to the mat while sweating. I thought, ‘You can do this.’ My first opponent looked about a million feet tall and skinny and didn’t impress me as competition. My coach reassured me that he had plenty of valuable experience. I walked out on the mat and put the green leg band on with confidence. I shook his moist hand, and we were off. Grabbing and pushing each other until time ran out, I came out victorious with a score of 12-7.  Extremely satisfied with my match, I geared up for the next one.

Listening to my music while lying down, I heard my name called again. Once more I walked down to the mat with my coach. ‘This one will be okay,’ I reassured myself.  The match was different; it was the semi finals. I looked over at my muscular opponent. My body was shaking, even more so when I shook his hand. Like Godzilla, he squeezed my hand. ‘There is no way I can win this match,’ I thought. ‘I can’t win.’ The match started, and I took a quick shot for his leg to try and get the first points. I took him down and into a quick half nelson. His shoulder blades slid across the mat like they had soap on them. A smack of the ref’s hand on the mat confirmed the pin, and my body relaxed in relief. On to the finals, I had never been this happy before. I would not overlook my next match, for it would be my most difficult.

My next opponent’s big blue eyes looked aggressive but his stature soft. His looks were misleading because when I shook his hand it was a rock. I was more comfortable on the mat this time than before for some odd reason. When the whistle blew, I quickly moved my foot from the line to prevent him from grabbing it with my heart rushing like I was a racehorse, we went back and forth taking shots and sprawling on each other. After the second period, the score was 2-1. He earned a takedown, and I quickly escaped; however, it gave him the lead going into the final period. The last period felt a great deal harder than any of my others. I realized I was down by one point in the third period. I thought, ‘I need to get a takedown soon.’ As I looked over at the blood red clock, a short thirty seconds stared me in the eyes. My opponent threw me out of bounds and the ref motioned for both of us to head back to the line. The whistle blew. I swiftly picked his ankle and earned a takedown. I held on like no other for the remaining ten seconds and earned my last two points. The ref held my hand up high; I shook hands with my opponent.

The podium had three steps. I stepped up to the top where a mat girl handed me the bracket printed on a huge piece of cardboard. Standing on the top of the navy steps, holding my bracket in front of me, I made my coach proud. I was 6th seed, and I won the whole tournament.