By Laurie Lechlitner
InkFreeNews

ROCHESTER — “I started wrestling when I was in eighth grade,” stated Grace Hiroms, a senior at Rochester High School. “When I first started, I wrestled guys. There weren’t many girls interested in the sport. When I was a freshman in high school, I wrestled both guys and girls. Now I wrestle just girls.”

Grace Hiroms, a senior at Rochester High School, is not always in her wrestling attire. When she dons an evening gown, she’s a beauty to behold. Photo provided by Grace Hiroms.

Hiroms admits she’s always been a tomboy. “I’ve always wanted to be stronger. Wrestling also gives me an incentive to keep my weight down.” On tournament days, she eats much less. “It’s really harder to keep weight off once you start gaining. Wrestling is a sport where weight classes really count.”

The girls will start wrestling practice in October. “Actually, we start a bit earlier than the guys. Then we’ll join them in practices later.”

The camaraderie she experiences with her teammates is one of the reasons she loves the sport so much. “My teammates make practices fun. I also enjoy my coach Tristan Wilson. He and coach Bryce Roberts have mentored me and encouraged me from the very beginning.”

Hiroms believes a person really has to love the sport of wrestling in order to excel. “It’s very hard work, especially at first. A person has to be dedicated to improving. It takes a toll on the person’s mentality if they are not fully into it.”

She admits some wrestlers are more athletic than others. “That only means that it’s going to take longer for the non-athletic person to get better at the sport. But wrestling is a sport for anyone who’s willing to work hard.”

This enthusiastic senior has a chance to get a wresting scholarship to college. “I’m still weighing my options. I do not have my eye on a particular college yet.”

Hiroms believes it’s a cop-out to view wrestling as a male sport. “I hear some girls saying that and I think they’re just too scared to try wrestling. And if they’re not fully enthused, they probably should not try it.”

One of the important things Hiroms tells a beginner is to pick and good practice partner. “That ensures a wrestler of getting better quicker. And it also gives some accountability to the partners.”

Her biggest fan and supporter is her dad Bill Hiroms. “He comes to my meets to cheer me on.” Hiroms also has two grown brothers and a sister. “I love spending time with my family. We talk about everything.”

It wouldn’t be complete if we did not include two other important members of Hiroms’ family. “We have a German shepherd dog Titan and a California king snake Ruby.”

Ruby has been an intricate part of Hiroms’ family for two years. “One of my dad’s close friends couldn’t keep Ruby. She’s very sweet. We take her out and hold her. And she doesn’t eat much. We get her three or four mice each month and she’s content.”

When asked how she can tell when her animals are happy, she remarked, “Titan wags his tail. But Ruby is a mystery. Most of the time I can’t tell whether she’s happy or not.”

Hiroms is very artistic. “My favorite class in school is art. As a matter of fact, I enjoyed ceramics class so much that I took it twice. I wanted to learn more about creating beautiful ceramic projects.”

Her hobbies include skating and swimming.