Finding her niche in wrestling

[TomM]

Finding her niche in wrestling

http://www.hngnews.com/mcfarland_thistle/article_18fb27b3-4b95-5ab5-b61b-6a18d16676c2.html

Posted: Tuesday, November 28, 2017 5:00 pm
By Mike Klawitter mklawitter@hngnews.com | 0 comments
Most high school female athletes take up sports such as basketball, volleyball or track and field where there is usually an abundance of other girls involved in competition.
McFarland High School senior Katelynn Gunderson is different.
Throughout high school, her passion has been wrestling, a male-dominated sport where she has become very accomplished and dedicated. She has also been a champion among other female wrestlers at tournaments in several states.
Why would a blonde, pig-tailed young lady want to get involved in wrestling?
Gunderson said her younger brother Zach, now a freshman at McFarland and her teammate on the Monona Grove/McFarland wrestling co-op, was a major influence. She was drawn to the sport after watching her brother compete at youth wrestling camps.
"I felt if my brother can do it, I can do it," Gunderson said. "As long as I'm out there on that mat, I want to show everyone what a girl can do. I want to beat the stereotypes. I'm just an ordinary girl, but I do something that's out of the norm."
Gunderson's dedication at practices and her drive to get better has impressed Doug Peterson, one of the coaches on the Monona Grove/McFarland squad.
"She is the hardest working female I have had in my eight years," Peterson said. "She gets up three or four times a week to work out. She is the first person there and the last person to leave."
On a mat with 'sweaty guys'
Gunderson's parents have been supportive of her involvement in wrestling, although her mother showed some reluctance at first.
"She said, 'You want to roll on a mat with a bunch of sweaty guys?'" Gunderson said. "But my parents always knew I was a girl who loved to have a challenge."
Gunderson struggled her freshman year. She was pinned in 15 seconds in her debut match against Madison La Follette.
Others may have quit right there, but not Gunderson.
"After that, I looked at my dad and said, 'I will never get pinned that fast again,'" Gunderson said. "I just continued to grow from there and learn new things and ask questions."
Since then, Gunderson, who wrestles at 120 to 126 pounds, has improved significantly.
Head coach Randy Becker said her gender has not been a factor to her development as a wrestler.
"Each year, she is improving in some form or fashion whether it's on her feet or the bottom position," Becker said. "She's always wanting to get better."
However, Gunderson initially fought off her share of hurtful comments from parents or male wrestlers on opposing teams who were skittish about her involvement in the sport.
"Guys don't understand why I wrestle, but I learned not to allow that to hurt me anymore," Gunderson said. "At that time, I felt sad about it, that a boy didn't want to wrestle me because of my gender."
Entering her senior year, Gunderson said she needs to improve on foot speed and maintain her endurance in the latter stages of matches.
Gunderson said she knows her male competitors are usually going to be stronger, but working to be faster on the mat will help her catch opponents off guard and make better decisions on when to go for takedowns.
"The guys I wrestle have muscle. I have muscle but not as much compared to them," Gunderson said. "I need to work on my speed so I can be three steps ahead of them knowing what I'm going to do next, and how I am going to follow through and get into the positions I want."
During the 2016-17 high school season, Gunderson finished ninth at the Deerfield Scramble and 12th in the Waunakee Warrior Varsity Invite. She's hoping for better finishes as senior.
State champion
While making enormous progress wrestling against boys, Gunderson has won her share of honors wrestling against girls in states such as Texas, Oklahoma, and Iowa.
Earlier this year, she earned first place in the 117-122 pound bracket of the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation tournament at Wisconsin Dells. Gunderson won the championship by defeating Allie Grobarchik of Wilmot Union in overtime. It was payback for Gunderson who finished second to Grobarchik in 2016.
"I was shocked. I couldn't believe it happened. It felt like a dream," Gunderson said.
Gunderson said wrestling has changed her outlook on life and encouraged her to become more disciplined when it comes to nutrition and practice. She also considers herself lucky to compete against boys who provided her with tougher competition than her female opponents.
"I know it's made me a lot stronger. When I wrestle in Texas, girls wrestle against girls," Gunderson said. "I have to work against strength. Those girls don't have the strength I do, because I have wrestled guys. I've learned a lot more. They teach me a lot."
Now that Gunderson has proven herself as a tough opponent on the wrestling mat, she encourages other girls who may be interested in wrestling to give it a try.
"Give it a couple of days. You'll know if you like it or not," Gunderson said. "I never found my niche until I found wrestling."