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Eastmark girls wrestling trying to find its footing during second season

“It might take a while, but we’ll get there,” Clara Childs, a junior, said. “There’s no doubt in my mind. We’re putting in the work now so we can better when we get some experience.”
The takedowns weren’t always crisp, and the pinning combinations were effective at times, but certainly not technically sound.
 
Some earned getting their hand raised at the end, while others received words of encouragement.
 
It’s how dual meets go for the Eastmark girls wrestling team right about now as the program tries to find its footing during its second season with four girls taking the mat.
 
“The attitude of these girls has been phenomenal,” Eastmark girls coach Liz Murray-Davis said via email.
 
The effort and desire to get better are there, but the experience and muscle memory it takes to master moves isn’t there just yet.
 
The girls - Deliliah Scott (120 pounds), Clara Childs (132), Kenzie Dwease (138) and sophomore Ariana Oberstein (152) - step on the mat in matches like the one the Firebirds had against San Tan Foothills and American Leadership Academy Gilbert North on Jan. 5, knowing the work they are doing in the practice room is going to pay dividends – maybe not now, but in the future.
 
“We are so close, best friends, and we really push each other,” Oberstein said. “We practice with the boys too, but when the four of us work together that’s when we really can get better.”
 
It’s going to take some time to get competitive as a team, but individually the girls are making strides as they get more exposure to the sport after coming over from cheerleading (Scott and Dwease), gymnastics (Scott), swimming (Oberstein) and softball (Oberstein) to take on this new endeavor, which is growing quickly in Arizona, now in its fifth season as its own sport.
 
“It’s been a huge difference,” Dwease said. “My first match (last year) was awful. Compare to now I would destroy my old self.”
 
Most girls feel the same way as they learn the ins and outs of the sport. Wrestling is very technical compared to other sports. Most kids grow up playing most sports whether in physical education class or on a recreation sport, so they have a basic feel for a sport. Even the least talent player can sometimes run into a fastball or kick the ball in the correct direction.
 
With wrestling there are seemingly hundreds of moves, and counter to those moves, that must be learned and become second nature, so it isn’t mechanical and telegraphed. Not to mention there are scrambles in hand-to-hand combat sports that require improvisation, body control and mat awareness.
 
“It’s a lot,” said Scott, a freshman. “There are so many things to learn. At first, I was like how am I going to do this? Then I realized I just need to keep working, master a few moves while never giving up.”
 
They’ll head to a tournament in Joseph City this weekend, Jan. 7 and 8. It will be more opportunities to step on the mat for the competitors and learn more about themselves and what they can accomplish on the mat.
 
And at some point, the moves will settle into their muscle memory, become second nature, and develop into a weapon.
 
By then the takedowns will be crisp, the pinning combinations will be technically sound, and their hands will be raised more often.
 
“It might take a while, but we’ll get there,” Childs, a junior, said. “There’s no doubt in my mind. We’re putting in the work now so we can better when we get some experience.”