VEEDERSBURG ― The mission for Fountain Central wrestler Jayden Larkin is bigger than winning.
A behavior that not even her coaches first came to expect when Martin took the practices and cycles of training and applied her skills to the intense, high-octane tournaments across Indiana.
Wrestling after all is a sport of one person’s will against another. You’re either the one scoring and attacking or being on the defensive with your back, arms and shoulders being twisted against a combatants will.
So came Martin’s time to claim her victory in the IHSAA regional on Jan. 10 meet to enter the state meet.
Rather than simply waiting for a referee to raise her hand, Martin kneeled beside her opponent, Makyila Rubush of Kokomo, who needed a minute to catch her breath.
“I just know she’s just a wrestler too,” Larkin said. “She’s the same person as me and I should treat her as an equal. Our school has good sportsmanship, and I think it’s important to represent Fountain Central well. It’s important to show kindness and respect no matter who you’re going up against.”
Sportsmanship that Fountain Central coach Lucas Deel notices is widespread within the female rankings of the sport.
“It’s something that I’m constantly learning from them and seeing that level of compassion isn’t something I’m used to seeing,” Deel said. “It’s almost like we have to tell these girls to be aggressive because they are so nice to each other. But it’s great to see how these athletes build each other up. And it’s something I’m looking at and being amazed by.”
A similar scenario played out last Saturday during the IHSAA state consolation bout between Faith Christian 140-pounder Emily Welborn and Wawasee senior Kenidi Nine.
Welborn, the victor, and an exhausted Nine sharing a moment comforting each other.
“I think that boys could learn to compartmentalize the six minutes of a match versus the other however many hours in a week and respecting their opponents and the amount of work they put in,” Faith Christian coach Justin Kuhn said. “And be willing to build friendships with people even if they are going to be competitors.”
For Welborn and Larkin, the backgrounds of getting into the sport were similar: they each wanted a challenge.
Welborn won a state championship as a girls soccer player for Faith Christian.
“Wrestling is opening an opportunity for girls to get out here to do what they love,” Welborn said.
Larkin started as a cheerleader but discovered the nature of wrestling matched her competitive drive and hunger to win.
“I tried other sports,” Larkin said. “I tried swimming, I tried basketball and nothing really clicked. But with wrestling, it finally clicked and was something I fell in love with. It’s something I enjoy doing and I love it here.”
In the process of competing, Lafayette area wrestlers like Larkin and Welborn showed throughout their long seasons that there’s a bigger goal than winning.
“Being out here isn’t always easy,” Larkin said. “There are obstacles you have to overcome. Wrestling is a very mental sport. So being able to go through those obstacles lets me know I can overcome anything.”
Ethan Hanson is the sports reporter for the Journal & Courier in Lafayette. He can be reached at ehanson@jconline.com, on Twitter at EthanAHanson and Instagram at ethan_a_hanson.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Wrestlers Jayden Larkin and Emily Welborn share sportsmanship mission
Reporting by Ethan Hanson, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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