From the Capital-Journal.
Rossville sophomore wrestler Kendra Hurla is off to a fantastic defense of her 120-pound state title she won as a freshman after going 5-0 on Saturday at the Rossville Invitational while wrestling a class up at 126.
Hurla came into
Saturday with a 9-0 record and nine first-period pins.
She won by fall over
Santa Fe Trail's Savana Hook, Chandler Lill and Hayden's Rachel Burrough's in
the first three rounds, won a decision over teammate wrestler Keera Lacock in
the fourth round and won by injury default over McClouth's Leighanna Patz in
the final round.
Looking back on her
journey so far on Friday before the Invitational, Hurla said she didn't
envision being where she is today, an undefeated sophomore defending a state
title.
"Going back to
eighth grade, I thought I'd be a pretty good wrestler," said Hurla.
"I never really thought of states. It's odd saying, but I didn't
think I'd be here a sophomore year, maybe junior or senior year. It's really
crazy, especially some of the teachers I have saying, 'What’s up, state champ?' It's
like, 'Oh that did happen,' It's crazy. I'm proud of it."
Wrestling is in her blood
Hurla has been
around wrestling her whole life.
Her dad, Chris, and
his brothers wrestled in high school, and he's coached kids club
for a long time in the area. All three of her older
brothers wrestled, too.
Hurla and her
brothers all started around the age of 4.
"My brothers
all wrestled at home," said Hurla. "It felt natural for me
starting at a young age."
After she stopped wrestling as she got older to play volleyball, she was still around the sport, going to her brother's high school tournaments and matches and said she loved watching.
That led to her
becoming a team manager in seventh grade.
"I looked up to
the guys on the high school team," said Hurla. "Being a
manager made me miss (wrestling)."
Horgan is a close
friend of the Hurla family.
"I had a couple
of girl wrestlers, (Kendra) would come to practice," said Horgan.
"And two to three times a week I'd grab her and say, 'Hey Kendra, show her
this,' always keeping her involved. Eighth grade, I talked her into
wrestling."
Hurla was nervous
about diving back in but those concerns were alleviated as she held her own all
year and wrestled well late in the year against someone that had beaten her
several times.
"In league, I
was the one that lasted the longest with him," said Hurla. "I
was happy with that because I knew I had gotten better throughout the year
because the last match with him was better."
Even in eighth
grade, Horgan said Hurla showed flashes of what everyone sees today.
"She’s
fierce, man," said Horgan. "As tough as they come. She grew up
with three older brothers, no choice but to be tough."
Chris was hesitant
to see Hurla start wrestling again in eighth grade, especially with the thought
of wrestling boys in high school, but with KSHSAA sanctioning girls wrestling
as a high school sport it changed things.
"I was tickled
about it," said Chris on Hurla's return to the mat. "I was
definitely happy."
Winning a state title
Hurla won the
school's first-ever girls wrestling state title last year when she beat the No.
1 ranked wrestler in Paola's Kailyn Younger with a second-period pin.
Younger entered the
match with a 26-1 record and had just beaten Hurla in the sub-state championship
match.
After watching that
substate back with last year's coach Brandy Lowe, Hurla said she was going
to make Younger wrestle all three periods if she wanted to win the state
title.
"I knew going
in I had her where I could gas her if I stayed up," said Hurla. "That
sub-state match I got caught in the headlock and I knew if I grinded, worked
hard and stayed in stance that I could beat her. I went out with the mentality
there was no way she would take it in the three periods and I think that really
helped me."
"It was a blur,
to be honest," said Hurla. "All that work we had put in had paid off
and I beat her. That one match I had to get that year, it was relieving and the
best result it could've been."
Chris said Hurla's
state title was the first in the immediate families and recalled watching the
match, the pin and Hurla's hand being raised.
"It was very
exciting," said Chris on what emotions he felt watching. "I don't
know if I have words for it."
With Hurla's oldest
brother, Holden, passing away earlier in the year, the win meant more to
everyone in Rossville.
"Our oldest son
that had worked with her had an influence on her," said
Chris. "I think all my kids were wrestling for him last year."
Watching that match
was something Horgan will always remember.
"That was an
emotional time for our whole team. Two brothers on the boys team, her on
the girls team. Her jumping into her dad's arms after that match, that's
in here for forever," said Horgan tapping his head. "I'll never
forget that. That was a pretty special deal."
Back for more
Coming into this
year, in addition to repeating as a state champion, Hurla's goals were to
get better on her feet and improve other aspects of her game to set a
bigger gap between the other wrestlers in her class.
She's been working
since the summer with other wrestlers including a longtime friend and teammate
Keera Lacock, who placed fourth in the state last year at 115.
"We hold each
other accountable to go hard," said Hurla of Lacock, her practice partner
since middle school, "because we know we can do it. We’ve been there
and we know what it takes."
Lacock was someone
else who encouraged Hurla to wrestle in the eighth grade after she had
convinced her dad to let her wrestle if she could find a partner.
Lacock saw Hurla's
talent from a young age just like everyone else.
"She's always
been a really good wrestler," said Lacock. "Our brothers both
wrestled, we would go to kids club wrestling and wrestle there. She knew what
she was doing, I didn't know what I was doing. She's helped me improve a
lot, I feel like we push each other a lot."
Lacock said Hurla
has the talent, skill and form and that her own relentless effort makes them a
good sparring pair to help each other get better.
Although Horgan took
over as the girls head coach this year, the boys and girls teams went to
several of the same tournaments last year, he was in the coach's corner during
her post-season run and the boys and girls practices have been combined
since the latter part of last year.
"They work out
with the guys, and she doesn’t bat an eye at the stuff we do," said
Horgan. "It gets pretty intense in there sometimes. She doesn’t balk a
bit. I've known that for years."
"As an athlete,
especially with wrestling being mainly a guy sport, I won’t let a guy be better
than me just because of someone’s position," said Hurla. "I
won’t let it happen. Courtney has helped us with that, he doesn’t let us off the
hook because we're females. I really appreciate that, it helps to push and
drive me to be better than others."
Horgan said Hurla
not only a leader for the girls team but the program overall.
"At the
beginning of the year I tell all my teams, 'You don't have to be a senior to be
a leader,'" said Horgan. "It can be anybody. It's been cool seeing
her, not only as a sophomore but a female stepping into that leadership
role. She steps up and barks orders in the room pretty well. That's
always been impressive."
Her competitive fire
has been around ever since she was born, said Chris.
"If she doesn’t
like something, she’ll say it," said Chris. "I guess with all the
boys here, if you lose, there will be some words about you. You don't want
to lose. She doesn’t like to lose. She wants to win."
When asked where
that competitive fire comes from, Hurla says some of it is from wrestling at a
young age and some of it is just instinct.
