Homewood-Flossmoor’s Kendra Hayden was looking for something to fill her athletic downtime between swimming in the fall and water polo in the spring.
She decided to try wrestling as a sophomore this winter, entering the sport as a total novice. At first, things definitely weren’t easy.
“The toughest part was coming in with no skill,” Hayden said. “Then the first week of conditioning, it kicked my butt. I almost quit. But I was like, ‘I have to push it through. This happens in every sport.’
“Then I dominated.”
Hayden did just that Saturday in the first postseason tournament of her wrestling career. She won the 190-pound title at the Class 2A Ag Science Regional in Chicago, helping the Vikings take the team championship in the process.
Amara Nwoye (130) was the other individual champion for H-F, which scored 191.5 points to outlast Oak Forest (178) and the rest of the 30-team field.
“It’s so exciting,” Nwoye said. “I’m so proud of my teammates. I was not keeping up with the scores. When I found out we won, I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ I realized we really have a great wrestling team.”
Alex Sebek (100), Rain Scott (125), Brooklyn Strelow (135) and Iyobosa Odiase (145) won titles to lead Oak Forest.
Other regional champions included St. Laurence’s Nina Nesci (120) and Hannah Marusarz (140), Hillcrest’s Taniya Moss (105), Ag Science’s Carmen Jackson (110), Andrew co-op’s Piper Booe (115), Reavis’ Lily Fish (155), T.F. South’s Jermia Moore (170) and Shepard’s Karrine Jenkins (235).
Hayden, meanwhile, has competed well throughout her rookie season. The regional tournament, however, is a different beast. And she was a bit intimidated going into it.
“Honestly, I came here thinking, ‘Wow, I’m really at regionals,’” Hayden said. “There are some really strong wrestlers and I honestly thought I was going to be out before the semifinal.
“But I feel really accomplished now. I just got first place at regionals. It’s amazing.”
Hayden (28-12) did it by pinning Hillcrest’s Jordyn Coleman-Harrison, the top seed at 190, in just 41 seconds in the final.
“I watched her semifinal and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s a good girl,’” Hayden said of Coleman-Harrison. “When I walked on the mat, she gave me that look and I knew I had to get in that mode to fight.
“She made a move and I was like, ‘Whoa, I can counter that.’ Then I actually did it. I couldn’t believe it. I started crying immediately. It was embarrassing, but it was a proud moment.”
That pride extended beyond Hayden.
“This being her first year, it’s astounding for her to win first place at regionals,” Nwoye said of Hayden. “I talked to her before her first-place match and told her what to work on, and she really took it to heart. I’m so proud of her.”
H-F coach Scott Aronson saw potential as soon as Hayden walked into the wrestling room.
“She’s just a big, strong girl,” Aronson said. “She’s got an aptitude for it. She plays water polo and I think that helped her a lot. All we had to do was get her in the proper shape, and she’s taken off with it.”
Hayden helped the Vikings win the team title despite having just 10 wrestlers in the 14 classes.
“We don’t have 50 girls like some of these teams,” Aronson said. “But the squad we have, these girls are really, really tough. They love each other and they fight for each other. It’s amazing.”
Hayden said it was a special group of teammates and coaches who pushed her to be a champion.
“I’m so proud of everyone on this team,” she said. “This is the biggest accomplishment. Everyone doubted us, but we’re a good team. We have good sportsmanship.
“We came here and we kicked some butt — but respectfully, of course.”
