By Vaishnavi Sriadibhatla, Co-Sports Editor

From March 7-9, senior and wrestler Lauren Sweet competed at the PIAA Girls Individual Wrestling State Championships. The state championship took place at the Giant Center in Hershey and showcased talent from across the state. 

Sweet was one of two members on the Conestoga wrestling team to qualify for and attend the state championship. At states, Sweet placed eighth in her weight class and won a medal. With her win, Conestoga earned its first wrestling medal since 2017.

“I was really excited (to have won a medal). It was my first year, so my expectations were pretty low,” Sweet said. “I was like, ‘I really don’t have anything to lose — I might as well just go in and go for it.’”

Sweet had always wanted to join the wrestling team but finally decided to sign up during her senior year. She has practiced jiu-jitsu since her freshman year. Sweet feels that they are similar sports, which helped ease her transition into wrestling. 

“Jiu-jitsu intersects with wrestling a lot — there is a lot of people that wrestle there. Everyone that I train with, black belts and higher-ups, would always be giving wrestling lessons and stuff like that, and it got me interested in wrestling,” Sweet said. 

To prepare for the championships, Sweet attended team practices for an hour each day, five days a week. At the practices, she worked on a variety of drills, ranging from endurance training to agility challenges. Additionally, she worked on honing her wrestling techniques and perfecting her form. To simulate real-time matches, she would partake in short 30-second bouts with her teammates.

Sweet attributes a large portion of her success to the unwavering support of her teammates and coaches. Their support helped her remain mentally strong and  helped boost and maintain her morale. 

“The entire time I’m in a match,  (the coaches are) giving me instructions, telling me what to do and just basically yelling at me to not stop,” Sweet said. “And that really helped — it shows they really care. They want us to succeed.”

Sweet is one of three girls on the team, a record-high female participation on the Conestoga wrestling team. All wrestlers, male and female, are part of the same team. They train together and the same staff coaches them.

Sweet hopes to see increased female participation in the sport and hopes that Conestoga can form its own girls’ wrestling team in the near future. 

“I hope that the three of us girls starting wrestling brings in more (girls) next year. I mean, girls wrestling is the fastest-growing (high school) sport in the U.S.,” Sweet said. “So, I’m just hoping that more girls get into it because it’s such a fun sport.”

Vaishnavi Sriadibhatla can be reached at [email protected].