BROOKINGS Over a year ago, a group of three girls helped establish the Brookings girls wrestling program. Sage Hinricher, Maya Erickson and Maizy Mathis were three of the first girls to sign up for the team once it became a sanctioned sport in South Dakota and helped establish a high standard.
With Hinricher and Erickson graduating last spring, Mathis has been the one to continue those standards and is hoping to not only win an individual state title but continue to lead the Bobcats to another level both on and off the mat.
Shes the person who is confident enough to stand out and the other girls look to as a leader, Brookings girls wrestling coach Eric Toft said of Mathis. Shes confident taking that on herself. She would never say that herself, but it just fits her naturally.
Mathis has produced a standout career since joining the team a year ago. In her junior season, Mathis produced a 20-7 record and finished second at 170 pounds at the state tournament.
While Mathis is pleased with her performance, she believes the biggest sign of progress is her mindset which was developed through her run in the state tournament and over the summer.
Mentally, I think wrestling is always a tough sport, Mathis said. You have to be mentally tough and I learned that a lot.
Mathis has already used that momentum during the opening weeks of her senior year posting a 5-1 record and finishing in second place at the Madison Girls Varsity Invitational. Ranking second in Dakota Grapplers state rankings at 165 pounds, Toft believes her desire to win is what has fueled her success.
Shes highly critical of herself, Toft said. She wrestles very aggressively but technically. She tries to wrestle through every position. She gets frustrated even if she gives up a point, so she hates losing more than she likes winning and thats what makes her a tough competitor.
While Mathis has been a tough competitor on the mat, what sets her apart is her ability to lead off of it. Mathis credits her time with Hinricher and Erickson as part of where she got her ability to lead but also mentioned the strength of the Brookings program as to why its taken off.
We started it off in a good way, Mathis said. The energy, the environmentwrestling is a sport where youre there for the right reasons if youre there and its been really fun to take that lead and help these girls keep going in that direction.
The Madison Invitational was one example of where Brookings has taken off with five place-winners and a second-place finish as a team. Toft believes his teams success is not only in part due to the girls he has on the team but also Mathiss work to help carry on the standard.
We were very lucky in getting those girls first because they are about as good of people you can ask for, Toft said. They did everything we asked them to do. They did everything that the boys did. We treated them just like the boys and they never asked to be treated any differently, They established a high-work, high-achievement standard.
Maizy is carrying that standard and thats what all of the new girls coming in see. Thats really why I think our girls are so good because they just set their expectations high and their standards are high and thats because of Maya, Maizy and Sage coming to begin with.
While many are quick to dish out superlatives to describe Mathiss ability to lead, Mathis is probably not the first person who would tell you about it. A member of the volleyball and track teams, Mathis has taken a leadership role no matter what sport shes playing, which has earned plenty of admiration from teammates and coaches alike.
I just love being out there and being with the team, Mathis said. Just creating that cultureit takes you places other than just sports and life in general.
One place where sports has taken Mathis is the University of Sioux Falls, where shell wrestle for the Cougars next year. While shes excited about the opportunity, shes also focused on enjoying her senior year and helping her teammates continue to improve.
Its been really fun just because wrestling has really changed my life, Mathis said. Its been really fun to help these girls learn because they watch the first team and now its really cool that theyre up here. Were getting better and Im really excited.
Mathiss focus on the team is what has helped Mathis become a natural-born leader and help establish what Brookings can do in the future.
A team without leadership is a lost team, Toft said. We have a team with a great leader and thats whats driving us forward.
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