Yankton Girl Takes On Male Dominated Sport vBy Reilly Biel When attending wrestling matches, it’s not uncommon to see young men duking it out by means of taking their opponent down on the mat. It is uncommon to see that the person doing the takedown is a girl. Yankton Middle School eighth grader Nevaeh Leonard is such a girl. One of a few female wrestlers in the state of South Dakota, Leonard has been a familiar face in the area for the sport since she began wrestling in fourth grade, first through AAU Youth Wrestling, then through the Yankton School District in 7th grade. According to her, she first became interested in wrestling in third grade after watching her older brother, Dominic, try out the sport. Her mother, Kim, encouraged her to wait before joining the wrestling program. “We never had any exposure to wrestling before Dominic did it,” she said. “As a parent, it was very hard to watch that personal battle happen when you can’t do anything about it. It’s an emotional sport.” She said she told Leonard she could only handle one child doing it at a time and allowed her to begin the sport the following year. When she first started, Leonard was one of three girls in wrestling. Now she’s the only one in the school district. In her competitions, nearly all of her match opponents are male, which she admitted can be intimidating at times. “While you’re warming up and stretching (before a match), it’s really nerve-wracking to look around and see all these well-built guys,” she said. “When I get out there, I try to calm myself down and focus on my technique. I think about what I’m going to do because I want to switch it up so they don’t expect what’s going to come next. I also have to think in the moment because sometimes they’ll pull something on me that I’ve never experienced before, so I don’t know how to counter the move.” She said that last year’s wrestling season — which lasts from November to February for middle school — was her worst yet. “I went pretty much all last year without any wins, which was difficult to go through,” she said. “I wanted to quit, but I kept going because I knew there were a lot of people that wanted me to.” Both Leonard and her mother agree that the amount of support vLEONARD continued on page 10 If your family suddenly needs surgical care, where will you turn?? You want someone to ease your fears, lessen the stress, and take the time to comfort you and your family. 2525 Fox Run Parkway, Suite 204, Yankton www.yanktonsurgical.com No referral necessary. Independently owned. Kynan C.Trail, MD, FACS Call Yankton Surgical Associates, PC today for a consultation. 605-668-9670 HERVOICEvJANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019v9