What is in the mind of a Champion?
In early February of 2020, GMR 8th grader Sarah Pulk was watching her brothers at elementary wrestling in Greenbush. That was the moment that the fire was lit to pursue wrestling in the new girls sport. She knew it would not be easy. And now she says the most difficult things have been “the mental side, being able to be a rubberband, bouncing back from a loss, going on to get the next match, take down point, pin or whatever it may be.”
But she has had a lot of support on her trail-blazing journey. She credits high school coaches Isaac Novacek, Efrem Novacek, Cody Brazier, Brandon Waage, her teammates, the wrestling parents, Elementary coach Rocky Mooney, all of the alumni that come into practice... and of course, her biggest fans and supporters - her parents.
Assistant Coach Efrem Novacek shared, “She knew her goal from day 1! Working as hard or harder than most .... two workouts a day was very common, getting bruises and bloodied didn’t matter- but at the end she still did her nails like the lady she is!”
The grand finale of the tournament was, of course, the championship, but Sarah opened her eyes, mind, and heart to take in all the excitement on and off the court. She enjoyed “being able to see some of the other wrestlers I have met at national tournaments over the summer this past year on the Minnesota Storm Team, watching lots of wrestling, and hanging out with my teammates and coaches.”
Ready or not, Sarah is now a hero in the eyes of those youngsters who admire her for her accomplishment. What is the advice she would give them? “Just do it. Bring a friend or two and see if it is for you. It is an amazing sport to be in, you have the chance to make so many friends and have the opportunity to be part of an amazing wrestling family.”
Looking ahead to her summer plans, she says she will ... “Practice, lots of practice, weightlifting with the PowerSports program through Altru Clinic, I will be wrestling in a few national tournaments with the Minnesota Storm team, and watching lots of wrestling... quite a bit of that.”
But before that, she will head to the Gator diamond and suit up for the Gator softball team this spring. In summary, Sarah said “wrestling has taught me to set goals, work hard and keep the right mind set...awesome things can happen.”
Spoken like a true champion ~ A Minnesota STATE Champion!
