As the wrestling season gets underway, Wessington Springs High School (WSHS) senior and Pony Hills wrestler, Bailey Yost, brings a new women’s sport to the school.
When asked what made her decide to do wrestling, she said, “My uncles were wrestlers in high school, and my brother started when he was in 1st grade. So, when I got to that age, I wanted to be like them and wrestle too. By the time I got to middle school, girls’ wrestling wasn’t a sanctioned sport, so I didn’t get the chance to continue after AAU. When the sport came back, I wanted to try it out again and see if I still loved it like I did as a little kid.”
As far as continuing wrestling after high school, she talked about her plans to attend SDSU, which does not currently have a women’s wrestling team.
She did say, however, that “If SDSU were to start a girls’ team I would definitely consider joining or at least practicing with them, if they allow it.”
When I asked Bailey what wrestling has taught her and how she can take it to the next chapter of her life, she said, wrestling has been an integral part of her life.
“It has taught me so much that it’s hard to narrow it down, but I think one of the biggest things I have learned is mental toughness,” she continued. “The coaches push us every day during practice, and we focus a lot on technique too, but none of the conditioning or technique will win you a match if you aren’t mentally tough enough to push through the pain when you’re tired or to come back from a big loss and win the next match. Other sports teams do this as well, but nothing has ever pushed me mentally like wrestling does.”
Lastly, I asked her what her biggest successes and biggest challenges were.
“My biggest challenge I’ve faced being a female wrestler, especially moving to a school where there was no team before, has been getting the support from the community that other sports get. Also recruiting has been really tough, especially in a school and community so heavily focused on basketball,” she pointed out.
Bailey went on to discuss her qualification for the state wrestling tournament for the past two years, which is an achievement that many other wrestlers never realize. She also feels a sense of success in proving that she belongs on the team and can work as well as her male counterparts.
If members of the community would like to support Bailey and the wrestling team, the next tournament is scheduled Saturday, February 1, at Aberdeen, starting at 9:30 a.m.
I know the school community as a whole will agree, we are proud of Bailey and wish her and the other wrestlers good luck!