Apicture is worth a thousand words. One moment captured in frame speaks volumes about the depth of sportsmanship and camaraderie when it comes to wrestling.
A young girl has just lost out on a match. While she gets hugs from her coaches and teammates, there’s one last person she goes to it’s the coach of the rival wrestler that just beat her.
It’s a photo captured by a Lincoln County News photographer of her daughter, Lizzy Pryor, and McLoud coachChadWhitney,who’s been a long-time family friend through the Oklahoma wrestling community.
“We’ve just known her, like my daughter and her were some of the only girls wrestling when Remy was coming through junior high,” Whitney explained. “Her and Lizzy wrestled and had a crazy match, and youknow,I’veknownthem since that.”
While Whitney has never coached Pryor, who wrestles with Chandler High School, he’s offered advice and encouragement at tournaments. He said that wrestling -- especially girls’ wrestling -- is a tight-knit group and there’s a lot of respect for other teams and programs, whether it’s with their friendly rivals Little Axe, or other teams that they work with.
He said it’s a bit weird going to State and going up against athletes that he’s known and worked with for years. Though part of it, he said, is the fact that while they may wrestle against each other at the school level, many are also competing with each other on WOW dual teams. They also practice with other schools -- McLoud specifically worked with Harrah before regionals.
Also, it doesn’t stop Whitney from cheering them on.
“I don’t know that it happens in other sports, like where there’s so much… you’re so proud of the other people. And while you feel bad for your wrestler, it’s like, what some of those other people have gone through to get to that moment as well,” he said.
Chandler Coach Kallie Jo Petrie said they’ve spent time working with Shawnee, going twice before regionals to give their boys and girls teams a chance to work with other wrestlers. She’s stepped in to help with wrestlers from the other side.
“I knew what they were doing, and their coaches were busy with my girls. So I was like, you know, I’ll jump in here and help you real quick,” she said. “It’s just a trickle down… just the kind of community.”
She credits Little League wrestling programs with helping to lay the groundwork for a lot of this. Her own son wrestles with traveling dual teams from other areas.
“It’s hopefully an awesome repeating cycle like that, the community… if you want to do something with this sport, then we’re going to find the people that will help you love it and help you learn it and help you.”
There is likely no greater example of this than watching the state-wide wrestling community come together for Chandler wrestler Will Conley after he received severe burns during last year’s wildfires.The family received well-wishes and encouragement from all over the state, and many contributedtoaGoFundMe to help with his medical bills. It’s still ongoing, raising almost $120,000 of the $125,000 goal.
When you talk to the wrestlers, they’ll tell you it’s just part of the sport.
McLoud wrestler Addison Addams said that good relations with other teams is valuable because it builds a sense of community within the sport. More than that, it’s part of who she is.
“It reflects who I am as a person and as an athlete. It’s about respecting each other,” she said.
Teammate Launa Troutt explained that wrestling is a tough and demanding sport, and people from other schools understand the work, discipline and sacrifice it takes.
“Even though we compete against each other on the mat, we all share the same respect for the sport. Positive relationships help create a more supportive environment at tournaments and practices, and they remind us that wrestling is more than just winning, it’s about growth, respect, and pushing each other to improve,” she said.
For Troutt, this is especially poignant. At State, she was injured and struggled to get on the podium. Her opponent and her opponent’s coach from Perry helped her get there.
McLoud wrestler Isak Whitten thinks that without good relationships with other teams, you can’t have a good program.
“I believe that part of what makes our wrestling team as good as it is, is the relationships we have with other teams. This makes other teams want to work with us to collectively make our teams better,” he said.
Chandler wrestler Shailey Penn said building these relationships is what helps the sport to grow.
“Having a good relationship with other teams can lead to so many different opportunities. Having good sportsmanship plays a huge role in building up girls to encourage other girls to wrestle,” she said.
Chandler wrestler Lizzy Pryor said she’s lucky to know as many wrestlers as she does through her now seven years in the sport. Her corner is always full of support, and she feels blessed to have them cheering her on.
“I’ll have at least one coach, my mom, and some friends, whether they are from my team or from another, andofcourse,mydad screaming from the stands. I think sportsmanship plays a big part in wrestling, and it’s important to be kind whether you won or lost because at the end of the day, it was just a match,” she said.