Oak Forest sophomore Dajia Slaughter’s newfound passion for wrestling led to her juggling two sports in the same season. She’s also on the varsity basketball team.
That’s made for a lot of long days.
“It’s like basketball, basketball, wrestling, wrestling, game, meet,” Slaughter said. “It’s nonstop. After basketball practice, I’ll go finish off wrestling practice.
“It’s not that hard, though, once you get your schedule together. You just have to put in the work for both.”
The hard work paid off for Slaughter at Saturday’s historic Andrew Sectional — one of four sectionals that marked the start of the Illinois High School Association’s first girls wrestling individual state series.
Slaughter pinned both of her opponents to win the 155-pound championship and clinch her spot in the inaugural girls wrestling state meet, set for Feb. 25-26 at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.
“It feels so great,” Slaughter said. “I’ve come a long way in wrestling, so to get first is amazing. I was crying. I never get emotional about any sport. But I was like, ‘Oh my God, I just got first.’
“There’s been a lot of hard work, dedication and tears put into this.”
Slaughter (11-2) started wrestling last year after seeing a competition.
“My friend told me I should come out for the wrestling team, so I watched her wrestle and I was like, ‘Oh, this looks fun,'” Slaughter said. “I never thought I would get this far.”
Oak Forest had four state qualifiers, including runner-up Sabrina Sifuentez (130).
Dutchess King, a senior, is a relative veteran, having wrestled throughout her high school career. She did not expect a day like Saturday to come while she was still at T.F. South.
“I’ve been wrestling all these years and wishing I could go to regionals and sectionals and they didn’t have this back then,” King said. “For it to come true for once, I’m proud of everyone here.
“It’s a male-dominated sport. You don’t see females doing this. I didn’t even have to win to be happy today.”
King (17-10) did win, though, earning a 16-4 major decision over Homewood-Flossmoor’s Ava Anderson in the finals at 100 pounds.
Anderson, nonetheless, was one of eight state qualifiers for H-F, including champions Attalia Watson-Castro and Ini Odumosu.
Watson-Castro (13-1), whose brother, Haku, qualified for the boys wrestling state finals, pinned all three of her opponents.
“The key is to just have fun,” she said. “That’s the main thing. I feel like a lot of girls overthink it. If you have fun, everything comes naturally.”
Odumosu (21-5), who beat Andrew’s Mickaela Keane 3-1 in the finals at 190, was stunned by how far she has progressed.
“This is my first year wrestling and I’m so happy,” Odumosu said. “I didn’t even know what was going on at first. I just listened to what my coaches told me, worked with what I knew and here I am.”
Keane was one of six state qualifiers for Andrew, including fellow runners-up Avery Santiago (140), Ava McGuire (145) and Emma Akpan (170).
Lincoln-Way Central’s Gracie Guarino (23-14), meanwhile, pinned all three of her opponents to win the title at 105.
“I’m so proud of myself and I had a lot of help to get here,” Guarino said. “There were a little bit of nerves, but I was pretty confident the whole way through. I knew I was going to do good. I just did everything I know to do.”
Guarino succinctly summed up the thoughts of many on the historic day for girls wrestling.
“It feels like a dream,” she said.
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
