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    Sarah Huse IndianaMat's first Miss Gorilla award winner

    By JEREMY HINES

    Thehines7@gmail.com

     

    Sarah Huse didn’t know it, but she needed wrestling. Once she found it, her life has changed for the better.

     

    “Everyone has their own sob story, I guess,” Huse, a senior at Lebanon High School, said. “But it’s what you do to overcome that story that matters.”

     

    In 8th grade Huse struggled with her weight, and her confidence. She was 245 pounds, and according to her, still trying to figure out who she wanted to be.

     

    So, she started trying to get in better shape. She took up dance, which helped with her flexibility and balance. Then, as a sophomore, a friend talked her into going out for wrestling. That’s where Huse started to make her mark.

     

    In just three years she has went from a beginner, to a two-time state champion with multiple college offers. She is also this year’s Indianamat Miss Gorilla award winner, which recognizes the best senior female wrestler in the state.

     

    Huse has pinned every single opponent through the IHSGW tournament for two consecutive years. This year she defeated Northview’s Mercedes Tellechea in the championship, pinning her in just 1:09 to win the 170-pound class. Huse also took home the Katie Downing Mental Attitude Award.

     

    “When I started winning in wrestling is when I started feeling my best, mentally,” Huse said. “I was finally able to look myself in the mirror and be proud of who I am.”

     

    When Huse first started wrestling, she was nervous to tell her family. Her dad, J, wrestled collegiately, but she wasn’t sure how he would react.

     

    “I waited a few weeks before I told my family I was wrestling,” Sarah said. “When I finally told them, I think they thought I was kidding. When they found out I wasn’t kidding, my dad has been in my corner helping coach me ever since and my mom is always in the stands watching and cheering me on. When I get my hand raised, I always look to find her in the stands. That’s my favorite moment in wrestling.”

     

    In addition to winning the individual title, Sarah also led Lebanon to the school’s first girls state team championship.

     

    The team title is what Huse said she is most proud of, and coach Jeremy Goodlett knows she had a huge part in the Tiger’s success.

     

    “Her attitude and work ethic are infectious with the other girls,” Goodlett said. “When we went up to the Penn tournament, we only had four girls go, because half the team was quarantined. She couldn’t go, but she woke up early and came and saw the girls off on the bus. She wanted to do a prayer session before everyone was going to wrestle. She was Facetiming girls after they got off the mat, giving them critiques and pointers and trying to encourage them.”

     

    Huse said she wanted to win state as an individual, but she wanted even more to win the team title.

     

    Huse regrets not getting involved with wrestling at a younger age. She said it has now become such a big part of her life.

     

    “If I were to give advice to younger girls thinking about wrestling, I’d tell them you can’t be afraid to work for something,” Huse said. “It’s going to be hard, but you’re stronger than you believe and when you put your heart and work into it, it will be worth it.”

     

    On the mat Sarah is an aggressive wrestler that likes to hit the single-leg takedowns. She’s 6-0 tall, so she uses her length to her advantage.

     

    “She is always on the attack,” Goodlett said. “She is not a defensive wrestler. She is in your face. She’s going to club your head, snap you down and go for inside singles.”

     

    Outside of wrestling Huse wants to go into the medical field. She is a good student with a 4.0 GPA. She loves hanging out with her teammates, going out to eat in the offseason, sledding in the winter and going to the Bible study her and her teammates started.

     

    “Sarah is a very hard-working, fun-loving and caring person,” Goodlett said. “She is the type of person that no matter what type of day you’re having, she can make you smile or laugh. As a wrestler, she’s a coach’s dream. She’s a practice junkie and she’s always learning and trying new stuff. That will be important for her because she has little experience with freestyle, and that’s what women’s wrestling is in college.”

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    Congrats, Sarah! Proud to have gotten to know you and your family. With this kind of family, work ethic, faith foundation, smarts and mental attitude, the sky is the limit for you no matter what you choose to do next.

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