The Antler Girls Wrestling team, in their second inaugural season, finished fifth at the Fremont Invite on December 6, 2024. Four of their wrestlers finished in the top three, including senior Diesel Janovich who placed in her weight class. The first tournament of the season is always a question of whether or not the wrestlers will succeed later in the season. It is clear that this group of wrestlers is determined to win, and will go far as throughout the season they will continue to improve.

“We learned that it is not just an individual sport, it’s a team sport,” Janovich said. “It takes the whole team to bring you up when you are down, and a whole team cheering is really what makes a difference.”

Finishing fifth place at the Fremont Invite is something to be proud of, especially when there is almost a whole new team. The team became so new because more freshmen came in than ever with aspirations to become wrestlers. With these newcomers it gives them the opportunity to show what they got, and also get the feel of what it is like to play in a mainly individual sport turned into a team reliant sport. Along with this, comes with complications of learning what it is like to be on a team so new. If someone finishes lower than the rest of their team, the team’s final placement will be brought lower as well. So, wrestling on a team requires all players to wrestle the best they can so they can win as a team. 

“I am excited to see how these girls grow because some of them are brand new,” Janovich said. ”And just seeing how they are right now and how they are going to be at the end of the year definitely is going to help.” The rookie wrestlers are going to do whatever is necessary in order to better themselves as the year goes on. This will help the team succeed in their goals of winning state and having multiple wrestlers compete in state as well. A fifth place finish at the Fremont Invite is not something that should be taken as a loss, a fifth place finish is amazing for this group of wrestlers, and it just means that there is only room to improve.

“It really does not matter where you are at when you start,” Janovich said. ”It is where you are at in the end.”