“I remember getting dressed up in my Iowa gear, wearing my Iowa bow, and driving down to Carver with my dad. We sit in the same seats every single year,” senior Audrey Tucker said about attending wrestling meets at the University of Iowa as a child with her dad. Tucker, 17, has been wrestling for two years. She participates in three sports: cross country, lacrosse, and wrestling. Of all of Tucker’s sports, wrestling is undoubtedly the favorite. 

While her time in the sport has been short her love for it dates back to when she was just a child. “I’d been going to the Iowa duals on Friday night with my dad since I was four… going to Carver on Friday nights have been some of my favorite memories,” said Tucker. Going to the duals with her dad is one of Tucker’s fondest memories, and is among her favorite things to do. The duels were the spark of Audrey’s love for the sport, which would only grow as time went on. 

After hearing girls wrestling would be a sanctioned sport in Iowa during her sophomore year, it was a no-brainer for Tucker to join the team. Since the sport has been sanctioned Audrey has learned a lot. “It is good for girls to have their own sanctioned sport so girls can show their individuality, and just how amazing they are,” she said. “It allows them to try something they otherwise may not be comfortable doing. It gives them room to grow, and expand who they are as a person.” 

After joining the team her new favorite part about the sport was not watching; instead, she very clearly stated that her favorite part of the sport is winning. “Winning is my favorite —I love winning,” Tucker said. While winning is the most exciting part of the sport for Tucker, other aspects make the sport great. “I love the community, we are all friends,” Tucker said. Community is a big factor in what makes wrestling fun for Tucker, not just her teammates. Before and after Tucker’s matches she would develop a bond with her opponents, definitely not shy to start a conversation.

Socializing is one of Tucker’s favorite parts about the sport; however, she still had high goals and expectations for herself. Going into the season Tucker’s primary goal is to go to the state tournament. Audrey did everything in her power to reach this goal, she had learned so much in just two years of wrestling. Audrey had learned how to take many different shots and learned to finish them correctly. Audrey’s favorite move was the half-nelson, this is proven in her 38 career pins.  Unfortunately, Tucker fell just short of her goal but was named an alternate this year in the 115-pound weight class at Mount Vernon. This did not interfere with another of her favorite aspects of the sport. “I love seeing my teammates win and being happy for them,” she said.

Tucker is always there to support her teammates. She even deemed a few of her teammates as role models. “My role models on the wrestling team are Kiersten Swart, my wrestling partner, and Libby Dix.” Tucker idolizes her teammates for their wrestling success, both of whom finished with great placement in the state tournament. Dix placed first in the state at the 190-pound weight class and Swart placed third at 110 pounds.