OH junior Kiyah Chavez has received a tremendous amount of recognition as she succeeds through her wrestling season. Starting the winter season on the OH girls basketball team, she eventually decided to leave the basketball program and join the new-found girls wrestling team.
“I was approached a couple of times by the wrestling coaching staff about joining, and had other people in my life tell me that I should try wrestling,” Chavez said, “I [started] the winter sport season with the basketball team, but I kind of just accepted that the sport wasn’t for me anymore and felt like it was time for a change.”
Going to a completely new sport can be a difficult transition to make. For Chavez, she had to adjust to the new rules and ways of the sport.
“At first it was really strange because I had so many people telling me so many things and it was hard to figure out what they were trying to say,” Chavez said, “I struggled a lot at first because I just kept trying to use my strength instead of technique, which I figured out does not work too well. Wrestling is one of those things that you have to do over and over again to develop.”
Being a multisport athlete, Chavez goes through much training on a day-to-day basis to keep up with her skills and strength.
“My day starts with my 5 a.m. lifts, which I do Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Then I have school, practice from 3:00-5:15 [unless we have a meet that day],” Chavez said.
On top of her busy wrestling schedule, Chavez is committed to play softball at the University of Iowa. With that being said, lifting has become a daily part of her routine in order to keep up her strength.
“The most important training I do outside of practices is definitely lifting,” Chavez said, “Thanks to my interest and love for lifting, I’ve been stronger than just about everyone I’ve gone against so far, which has helped me greatly.”
OH girls wrestling coach, Gregory Scott, recognizes Chavez’s drive and effort towards the sport.
“[Chavez] is a great example of hard work and effort. She is a girl who leads by example and is always willing to do extra to help others out,” Scott said.
As they go through the season, the team and coaching staff have noticed her success through her new sport.
“Her work ethic and drive to be successful has helped her a lot. She is, as of Saturday’s conference championship, 10-2 on the season with two tournament championships,” Scott said.
Not only has the coaching staff recognized her success, but her teammates too. Rikka Ludvigson, a junior girls wrestler, enjoys watching Chavez shine through her competition.
“Kiyah has just kinda bulldozed her way through tournaments. She is very strong and learns the technique quickly and puts in the extra work,” Ludvigson said, “Her matches are always fun to watch and as a team we know that most likely she will win and give us some team points.”
As Chavez works her way through the season, she expresses how managing all of her practices and workouts can be draining, but emphasizes how important her support team is to her.
“Being a multi-sport athlete can certainly be difficult, but I’ve been lucky enough to work with and surround myself with amazing people.” Chavez said, “From what I’ve found, being around good people makes the bad days so much better, and it makes me want to be here.”
Through the good and the bad days, the OH wrestling program is incredibly proud of Chavez. One day at a time, she is creating history for OHS.
My name is Miranda Cook, and this is my second year being a part of 42Fifty! I am a senior at OHS, and I am on the varsity cheer team. I enjoy taking photos and hanging out with my friends in my free time, and I cannot wait to continue my career in journalism!
Kiyah is so inspirational and sweet, amazing article Miranda!