This is the full interview used in “Are Boys’ Sports Really Just For Boys?”:

Q: How did you get into wrestling?

I’ve always hated basketball, never tried squash, and I’m not a particularly good swimmer. Wrestling was my only real option for a winter sport, and I had more reason to do it anyway. My older brother, Damis, is really my role model. I’ve wanted to be like him and prove myself to him as long as I can remember. He was a wrestler, and so wrestling seemed like a just right option.

Q: Did you do wrestling in middle school or in a capacity before you got to high school?

When I was little, around 6-7, I did Judo with my brothers. I loved it, but eventually, for various reasons, we all wound up abandoning it. When I got to middle school in Hackley, wrestling was an option, and I’d already had an introduction to that type of sport, so I wasn’t entirely new to it.

Q: How has the transition from middle school to upper school athletics been? Have you struggled at all with the increased intensity or training or do you prefer it to your pre-high school days?

The transition has been hard, honestly. I am an athlete, but high school wrestling is the most excruciating fitness I’ve ever done. The commitment is bigger. And I stress a lot. I love what wrestling does for me, but I dread it every single day. It’s a challenge mentally and physically.

Q: Are there any challenges to being on a team with all boys, especially things that most people don’t consider?

Wrestling is a team sport, technically. You practice with your teammates every day, you go to the same meets, but when you’re on the mat, you’re alone. There’s no one truly there with you helping you take down your opponent. All eyes are on you. And that’s just being a boy. Everyone there knows I’m a girl, I’ve got increased attention, and increased pressure. I can’t hide out there. It’s scary. The dynamic of wrestling as a team is different. You know the kids in your weight class, you might know your friends, but you rarely bond with anyone else. Being a girl, it’s even harder. I don’t spend that time in the locker room with my teammates, and it’s intimidating confronting all the upperclassmen guys. I have friends on the team, but it’s just different than all the other sports I’ve done.

Q: In your opinion, do you think that wrestling should be a sport that is more accessible to girls? At Hackley? In general?

Wrestling is really intense. Some girls could do it with the boys, and even more would have the courage to do it if it was openly available to girls. Although it could be good to have a girls team, it would be entirely different as a girls sport. Girls are typically very different than boys, and so the dynamic of a girls team would be so different. Personally, I don’t think I would enjoy it as much if I were to be on a girls team. Not to be offensive, but I doubt it would be as intense. Not necessarily because girls aren’t as good athletes, but just because I wouldn’t have the challenge as an individual of keeping up with the boys. Part of what makes me love it so much is that I’m doing something different.

Q: What other sports do you play?

I play lacrosse and soccer, as well. I was on the HGVS team this fall.

Q: What do your friends think of your athletic pursuits?

My friends respect me for wrestling, girls and boys alike. My close friends joke with me about it, and other people sometimes confront me just wondering what it’s like. It makes me feel pretty cool when people talk to me about it. I feel like it shows that the work I’m going through is worth it because I’m being noticed.

Q: What has wrestling prepared you for? How do you prepare for wrestling meets?

Wrestling has prepared me for everything. There is no feeling, at least that I’ve experienced, that loads on more pressure and stress both during competition, leading up to it, and post. My friends sometimes talk about how they’re nervous for a class presentation or for a basketball game or a test, but I don’t relate to those things anymore because I’ve had to go through wrestling. And that’s great for me; I’m worry free when anything but wrestling is on my mind.

Before my matches, I can’t even speak to anyone, my mind is usually just caught up thinking about what lies ahead. The whole day I am focusing on it, even hours before. I can’t explain fully how it takes up my mind. To anyone who hasn’t experienced something like it, it would just seem like I’m dramatic and paranoid, but that’s the reality of it all. All eyes are on me. With a win, it’s the most glory in the world, because the only person to truly credit is yourself, but the same goes for the contrary: with a loss, it’s all on you.

The coaches make it clear that your status as a wrestler is up to you and only you. If you miss a practice, you should feel guilty. You’re holding this commitment because it’s all on you. If you slack off, that’s not hurting anyone but yourself, so it’s your duty to push yourself if you want to be the best you can be. You have no one to fall back on come the day of the match, because you’re alone out there. That’s why you owe it to yourself to work hard and be committed. You have to make the time you put in worth it because you can’t pin mistakes on anyone but yourself.