Following last year’s third place finish at the IHSA girls wrestling State meet, the Knights have set a high bar this season.
Though they lost some valuable contributors, they return a very competitive team. The Knights return with a two-time State champion in junior Angelina Gochis. Head coach Joshua West has ambitious goals for the team and for individuals, as he looks to help Gochis earn another State title.
“Last year was great, but it’s past us,” West said. “We have a target on our backs now. We aren’t going to re-invent the wheel. Just work hard day in and day out.”
By facing strong competition throughout the year, they aim to be prepared to make a strong performance at the State level.
As a team, their goal is to bring home another trophy, as well as place as many girls on the podium as possible.
“We return [Gochis], and our expectation this year is to win another one,” West said. “[Sophomore] Caitlyn Manier and [junior] Sadie Kinsella qualified for State last year. I think some of our other girls can create some noise and make it down [to] State.”
Kinsella is one member of the team with State-level experience who could help propel the team to their goal of a trophy.
“As a team over the summer, I feel like a lot of us have been doing workouts or just going to club practices and national tournaments,” Kinsella said.
The girls have worked hard during the offseason in hopes of finding success during the season. While the pressure on them has increased as a result of their success, they look to respond by ramping up the intensity of their practices to elevate their performances and continue to improve.
Senior Kara Colles is another athlete who has experienced and contributed to the strong culture that has allowed for the success of this program.
“We have kind of been pushing each other harder than we have before,” Colles said. “[We have been] teaching each other and working on our strengths and weaknesses.”
Being the tight-knit, talented group that the girls wrestling team is will allow them to compete towards the goals that they have set for themselves.
