| My name is Aneka Mathews. I am 17 years old and a Senior at Reed high school in Sparks, NV. I’ve been a wrestler for Reed since my Freshman year but outside of wrestling, I like to fill my schedule with absolutely everything I can. I like to wake surf, and play volleyball; I run cross country, I keep a 4.0+ gpa, I am in choir, and I am also the Student Body Vice President. Of all the things I participate in though, wrestling will always have the biggest effect for the rest of my life. My journey in wrestling started my Freshman year walking into Biology class, taught by the head wrestling coach at my school, and he approached me about wrestling for the high school girls team. By this time at Reed, there was already a decent number of girls on the team, as well as a handful of individual successes by some girls who had come up through the program. I will always be grateful to the girls, like Morgan Norris, Celina Cooke, and Izzy Silva who came before me, and who had already established the program that I have benefited from for my high school years. |
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| As a Freshman I really struggled to find who I was as a wrestler. I went around with the team that season and tried to pick up as much as possible, although the results were mostly losses. I learned a lesson from my coach that year, that some kids find a way onto the mat, and others find their way off the mat. I decided early on that I was going to do my best to find my way onto the mat as much as I possibly could. I ended that year with a win at State which I was proud of, and our team taking the second-place trophy. I knew this was a team that I wanted to be a part of for as long as I could. |
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| Unfortunately, my Sophomore year was cancelled due to Covid. I wasn’t yet confident in my wrestling, and I had a hard time finding my way onto a mat that year. I was convinced by Coach Klapp to attend the Western States Tournament over the summer. That ended up being a pivotal turn in my life. In one of the Greco matches I was thrown to my shoulder and broke my collar bone, needing surgery with a plate and screws. I wasn’t released to play volleyball in the fall but was told by the doctor that I could run Cross Country. So that resulted in two years of Cross Country and turned out to be a great way to get into shape for wrestling. |
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| Starting my Junior year, coming back from my injury; I was struggling to find wins at the big tournaments. Until half-way through that season at Briones Tournament in San Leandro, CA. Things just started to click for me, and I found my groove. I finished that year with placing at nearly every other tournament culminating in a Second Place Finish at State. |
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| Since that point, until the present, I have made All-American twice at the Reno Worlds and Reno Tournament of Champions. Most recently placing 1st at the Sierra Nevada Classic and taking home the team 1st Place Trophy. What I have loved most about wrestling is not the wins or losses nor the medals or trophies, but the team. I have felt great pride in continuing the legacy started by other girls at Reed High School. |
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| The connection that can be grown through driving 11 hours in the snow together, comparing bruises, talking about boys to our coaches who kind of don’t care but always listen anyway, and running each other into the ground, while a bald man yells at us, is absolutely insane. And, I wouldn’t trade my experience with this team for anything. I am so thankful for such a loving and supportive family who have supported me through everything; every weight-cut, all the tears, every broken bone, and especially my sister who couldn’t be more excited for my accomplishments in the sport that she barely understands. I’m thankful for all the amazing experiences this sport has given me, and I’m looking forward to see what else it has in store for me. |
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