Q&A with McQueen senior wrestler Katie Ward
RENO, Nev. — A Q&A with Katie Ward who is a wrestler at McQueen High School.
Name: Katie Ward
Age: 18
Sport: Wrestling
Years in current sport: 8 years
Teams: McQueen and Nevada Elite
School: McQueen High School
Grade/Year: Grade 12 (senior)
What are your personal goals within your sport/athletic dreams?
Katie Ward: My goals are to wrestle in college and have fun! Also, to continue working on my mentality.
What is your biggest challenge in your sport, and what do you do to manage this challenge?
Ward: The biggest challenge in wrestling is cutting weight or maintaining it. It’s the biggest challenge because my family loves going out to eat or hanging out with family/friends and eating healthy isn’t something anyone really wants to do every single day. To manage this, I try to eat healthy, wrestle and go to the gym everyday so I can maintain weight.
What was the best advice you were ever given?
Ward: The best piece of advice that I was given was to just go out on the mat and have fun, and not focus on winning. My dad also says, “We wrestle the boys to beat the girls” and that helps a lot too because sometimes I get upset with myself when I lose to a boy.
What do you love about your sport?
Ward: I love traveling, meeting new people, and just being myself when I’m on the mat.
Do you have a pregame ritual you follow?
Ward: I do not, if anything I just make sure I’m all stretched out!
What do you like to do outside of your sport?
Ward: Outside of wrestling I like to cook, hang out with my family and watch movies!
What has being a member of a team taught you?
Ward: It’s taught me how to push others and step up to be a leader. Although wrestling is a one-on-one sport you still need a team. You need people to help push you, be your partners, and make you smile when things get hard. My team is my family.
What is the best piece of advice you received from a coach or mentor?
Ward: My mentor, Isreal Casarez, always tells me to wake up and tell myself positive things. He always reminds me to tell myself that I’m a champion, beast, and more because it helps me be and feel more confident. He says if you think it, you will be it!
Describe a mistake you made while competing and how you overcame it.
Ward: I always make mistakes when I wrestle but the biggest mistake is letting a mistake get to your head. Wrestling is hard physically and mentally so whenever wrestlers get taken down or see that they are losing, they want to break instead of continuing to push through it. To overcome this, I learn to accept making mistakes. In order to get better, you have to learn from your mistakes.
Anything else you’d like to add?
Ward: I would like to thank my family and everyone else in my life who has supported me and helped me get to where I am today. Also, a big thank you to Mama Wood for making this possible!
This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.