Strong effort, team bond led to successful SWAT campaign

A good effort put in during practices and a strong team bond were two ingredients that gave the SWAT girls wrestling team an impressive season that landed four of their girls at the state wrestling tournament to close the season.

The Valkyries celebrated Sunday night in Massena with a team banquet, celebrating everything they accomplished. Head coach Tyler South said Monday morning he is very pleased with how the season went.

“This group of girls worked their butts off. Every time they stepped onto the mat it seemed they upped their skill level a little bit,” South said. “They improved each and every time they took the mat. They rallied around each other, supported each other, and that was a big factor in it: how much they supported each other and how much they would help each other out.”

State qualifiers were Jazz Christensen, Destiny Fry, Bailey Lillard and Ellen Gerlock. Christensen was seventh at her weight while Gerlock was eight.

The Valkyries had 12 high school wrestlers filling 11 weights at the end of the season.

This was the first year of only two wrestlers at each regional weight class advancing to state.

“I was really pleased to get the four through. I told the girls all season long that it was going to be tougher to qualify for state, that they really would have to buckle down and get to work,” South said. “We had some girls who had [making it to state] as their goal who fell a little bit short, but these four really stayed focused all season long. Throughout the season, these four all battled illness or injury and came back from that, staying focused on what their goals were.”

Seven wrestlers had 30 wins or more this season for SWAT. The team was led by Christensen, who amassed 42 wins.

Ellen Gerlock was named SWAT’s wrestler of the year because of how eager she was to slay challenges she put in front of herself by wrestling up a weight class two different times.

Lilly Barber had not wrestled before and was named the most improved wrestler because of good questions she asked in practice that came from a strong desire to improve. She showed steady improvement with each match.

Fry was chosen by the fans as the fan-favorite wrestler. She worked on the splatle move this season, which has not come into popularity yet in girls wrestling and was successful in using it more than once. She has a unique wrestling style with a high bridge that reliably allows her to get off her back and win challenging matches.

South said that whether girls qualified for state or not, many of them are already planning on participating in offseason clubs to enhance their skills going into next season. He’s excited to see the success the team has next year.

“I’m excited for this group that’s coming up and for the group that’s returning next year. The way these girls want to push themselves and be successful, they know that part of that [team success] is having teammates who are successful,” South said. “It’s exciting to see how many of them still have plans to continue in the offseason and have already continued working in the offseason. It’s nice to see how they’re pushing and taking accountability to reach their personal goals.”