Churchville’s Sawyer Graham is a senior and co-captain for the Augustana Women’s Wrestling Team. Women’s wrestling is the fastest growing sport at the high school and collegiate levels. Sawyer grew up raising farm animals and playing a variety of sports with her older brother and sister. She recently made big news by upsetting a 5X national champion.
Harford Lifestyle: At what age did you begin playing organized sports?
Sawyer Graham: I started playing lacrosse and soccer at 6; volleyball the summer before my freshman year at C Milton Wright, but I didn’t start wrestling until the winter of my freshman year.
HL: Do you come from an athletic family?
SG: My dad played tennis and lacrosse in high school; my mom was a Jr High State Champion shot putter in Kansas. My grandfather grew up in Chile and played rugby in college.
HL: As I recall your volleyball and lacrosse teams were very successful, both at CMW and your club. What prompted you to try wrestling?
SG: I liked the intensity of wrestling. I first found out about wrestling because of my brother who had wrestled for 4-5 years before high school. He was my main motivation to start, I probably would have been too intimidated by the other boys if it weren’t for my brother. I quickly fell in love with wrestling and wanted to see how far I could go with it. John Carroll All American Chris Almony trained [with us] in off season and that’s when I realized how much fun the Olympic styles are, and I wanted to learn it as much as I could
HL: Your brother, Wyatt, was a 2X state champion who followed the traditional path to upper level success, starting wrestling in middle school, practicing in the off season and competing in national level events for the national team. Your path was different, you started in high school. You were a girl on the boy’s team who rarely got to compete in front of a crowd. Maybe the biggest hurdle you overcame, you were training during the high school season in a different style than the one you practice now. That path may not seem to be a big deal to the non-wrestler, but it’s significantly different for the wrestling aficionado. Despite this you plowed forward and overcame……what made you think you could be successful regardless?
SG: Wyatt helped build my confidence, being on a boy’s team. I also had a female teammate named Alexia. She made me welcomed, and since she had a few years of experience she helped me along the way…..I rarely ever had times that I was uncomfortable. The boys were very open to having girls on the team and made me feel comfortable and confident as well.
HL: Do you feel that wrestling training prepared you for the lacrosse season?
SG: I was in my best shape after wrestling season. As a goalie, conditioning isn’t as important as it is for the other positions but I was more than ready.
HL: Were you recruited by colleges for any of your sports?
SG: Not really. I was looking into playing lacrosse in college and I received some letters of interest, but that’s all. After competing in several girl’s only wrestling tournaments in PA, NJ, and FL I managed to make the national rankings at 16. About that time the Augustana Coach, Tony Willeart, showed interest and arranged to get me on campus.
HL: About the time you hit high school, Maryland’s Helen Maroulis was becoming the first Olympic Gold medalist in Girl’s Wrestling [Rio De Janeiro/2016]. And the current pound for pound number one high school female wrestler in the US, Taina Fernandez, is from Bowie. Were you aware that Maryland girl’s wrestling was about to explode?
SG: I was aware that it was a fast growing sport. I knew about Helen, I had met her at the 2018 high school state tournament. She signed my iPhone! I definitely looked up to her. Other than that I didn’t do much research into wrestling and I wasn’t aware of many other successful female wrestlers that had come before me.
HL: Last weekend you pinned the number two ranked girl in the US. A 5X National Champion from Michigan. As a result, you’ve been named Wrestler of the Week. How’s that make you feel?
SG: It tells me I’m improving at the right time of year. Nationals are a month away…I want to be an All-American.
HL: Wrestling is a very big deal in the Midwest. Your match last weekend at Carver Hawkeye Arena drew 5500 spectators. Augustana has long been a D3 powerhouse for men, but is a relatively new sport for women. Do you feel ladies wrestling is well-supported?
SG: The men and women use the same facility. It’s an excellent room, very different from what we had at C Milton. At Augustana, the girls practice in the morning and the men in the late afternoon.
HL: What’s your area of study at Augustana?
SG: Environment and Biology.
HL: Are you on scholarship?
SG: Augustana is Division 3 so they can’t give athletic scholarships – but they gave me one for academics.
HL: What are your plans for after you graduate?
SG: I plan to move to Denver to live with my sister while I try to find a job in Environmental Science.
