Meet Egg Harbor Township wrestler Kylie Wright
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Kylie Wright, Stevie Hunt, and Cami Bird represent the Egg Harbor Township High School girls wrestling team, a niche of sports that may be unique but also requires the same commitment and determination to win as their male counterparts. Junior Kylie shares her experiences.
When I started my freshman year of high school, my family and I decided that trying three new sports would help me become more comfortable transitioning from a small private school to EHT high school. I started cheerleading in the fall and made the varsity team. In the spring, I went out for lacrosse and made the junior varsity team. For the winter, I tried wrestling and I did not realize how positively the sport would impact my life.
Before I went out for all my high school sports, I did karate and dance. Karate has also had a big impact on my life. Karate has taught me dedication, how to work with others as a team, and achieving your goals. This past December, I earned my second degree black belt, which was one of my goals during 2022. Having a background in karate helped me feel comfortable in a contact sport like wrestling. Dance also helped me in wrestling with coordination and balance. I felt confident going into my first season of wrestling knowing that I had a good background to build on.
My first year of wrestling was difficult because it was a Covid year and there were no tournaments and only a few duel matches during the season. I had very little mat time and only a handful of matches. This made the beginning of my sophomore year a little challenging. I competed in my first tournament during the summer before sophomore year. I lost all my matches that day, but I had a single takedown that was so perfect technique-wise, and I built off that one takedown during my whole sophomore season.
I started my sophomore season in some small tournaments with a few wins and a few losses. In practice, I focused on pushing myself till I could not anymore. One of my coaches always uses the phrase 鈥渞un it till the wheels fall off.鈥� I would run that one takedown until the wheels fell off. The success I had during my sophomore year came from the hard work I put in during practice and my dedication to the sport. Another coach says that wrestling teaches you three things: 鈥淒edication, Determination, and Diet.鈥�
At the end of my sophomore season, I had placed 5th at the region tournament making the first alternate for the state tournament. At the wrestling banquet, after the season had come to an end, I was awarded the Team Workhouse Award, which is awarded to the person who puts the most effort into practice. My sophomore year taught me that hard work and dedication will help you achieve your goals.
I just started my junior season and it has been very successful. I have placed 4th at two tournaments, and I won my first tournament during Christmas break. The hard work I put in during my sophomore year hasn鈥檛 gone anywhere and I continue to dedicate myself to my sport.聽Wrestling has kept me happy and healthy, and I am so thankful that I found this sport that I love.
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