Wrestling changed Mercy McIntyre's life; Jacks prepare for individual state tournament
· Yahoo Sports
Feb. 24—BEMIDJI — One year ago, Mercy McIntyre hadn't even thought about joining the Bemidji High School girls wrestling team. Now, she'll be representing the Lumberjacks in the heavyweight class in the state tournament.
It's a surreal transition for the junior who hadn't stepped onto a wrestling mat until just a few months ago. She was looking to get into a new sport last summer, but didn't feel like she was athletic enough to join teams like volleyball or basketball.
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She found herself in the weight room quite often, where she met wrestlers encouraging her to join.
"I just came into it, and it was so welcoming," she said. "All the girls were just so supportive. And especially, it can be frustrating with a new person who's never been in a sport before. But they were all just really gracious to me. The coaches were awesome, just telling me to just be patient. It's just been amazing."
McIntyre entered the sport without any expectations. Since she's joined, it's altered her life in more ways than she could've imagined.
"It's really changed my outlook on life, honestly," she said. "Because it's such a hard sport, and you don't always get what you want. It just pushes you to go past your limits and to just strive for it and keep going for it until you ultimately get it. It just changes your mindset on everything."
Her season came with ups and downs, as expected. She ended the regular season with a 14-12 record, according to
USA Bracketing.
Looking at the matchups for the Section 8A Individual Tournament, head coach Rance Bahr felt McIntyre had a better chance to make state in the 235-pound weight class, where there were only six wrestlers competing.
McIntyre agreed and met the challenge, defeating Delano's Makenzey Stutzman in the first-place match.
"I was talking to all my teammates, and they were like, 'Oh, I want to go to state, and I want to just do the best I can,'" McIntyre said. "And I was like, 'Why can't I go to state? Why not me?' ... I surprised myself, honestly."
Teammates like Taylor Merschman were proud to see her make it, especially as a first-year wrestler.
"(Mercy's) put in the work," Merschman said. "You can see in the wrestling room, you can see everything. Her attitude in the wrestling room, her attitude out — she's just a phenomenal person overall."
McIntyre, along with fellow juniors Brenalen Fredriksen-Holm (112 pounds) and Merschman (106), will be heading to the individual state tournament Feb. 26-28 at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.
There have been 20 days between sections and state, a long time off that certainly has its pros and cons.
Fredriksen-Holm pulled her groin during sections, so she's used the extra time to heal and recover for state. Others, like Merschman and McIntyre, do their best to stay in top physical condition to be at their best for state.
"We try to peak at section time so they are the best that they've been all year," Bahr said, "but now we have to hold that for three weeks, which isn't ideal."
Preparation for state includes lots of repetition, drills and working on technique in the wrestling room, Bahr explained. There's also a lot of video research on possible opponents, helping the Jacks know what to expect.
"As coaches, we watch a lot of video on those girls and just find out what it is they do," Bahr said. "What's their bread-and-butter move? Where's their best position? Are they aggressive or do they sit back and wait for you to score? What position do they like to choose when it's their turn to choose?
"So we just look at all those things, but we have the time. When we're in season, we don't necessarily have the time to do that."
While McIntyre is new to state, she's participated in big tournaments like the Rumble on the Red at the Fargodome in Fargo. That experience earlier in the year will prepare her for the state tournament at GCA, so she won't be awestruck when she first steps into the building.
Unlike McIntyre, Fredriksen-Holm and Merschman are both state tournament veterans, having both been twice.
Something Merchman took from her previous experiences? Focusing on her mentality, which is vitally important in wrestling.
"If you get in your head, it's really, really hard to get out of your head," she said. "So just making sure you're keeping a positive attitude throughout the whole day."