National Girls and Women in Sports Day

Today is National Girls and Women in Sports Day, a national movement to celebrate the extraordinary achievements in girls' and women's sports and the positive influence athletic participation brings to their lives.   In the wrestling community, there is a call to wrestling groups to post photos, videos and stories on social media using the hashtags #NGWSD and #GirlsWrestle.

As a man in a male dominated sport, I'm not ashamed to proclaim that some of my heroes have, in fact, been women.  In life, sport and wrestling, I've welcomed the influence of many courageous women in my life.  From one of my first Olympic heroes (Karyn Bye) to the love of my life and better half (Liz (Reusser) Black) and even all the way back to my Grandma Audrey who passed away last week.  There have literally been hundreds of female athletes that I've brushed shoulders with who have greatly impacted my life.

The number one female athlete in my life has been and always will be my wife Liz.  When she made the second turn during an indoor-mile in Madison on February 5, 2000, I knew that I was going to marry her.  It took me a few weeks to catch her, but once I did, her influence in my life has been greater than any other single human being.  A lot of my initial attractions to her were as a result of her pursuits in athletics as an All-American athlete at Wisconsin.  As a female who was afforded an opportunity to pursue her passions as an athlete, Liz was able to grow as a woman and continue to move towards her purpose in life.  Her example as a student-athlete and now as a professional and mother-of-three and wife-of-one have multiplied and built into the lives of many because of sports -- specifically women's sports.

The 2018 Winter Olympics begins in only a few days.  During the Opening Ceremonies, our community and school district will again be reminded of the joy we were able to share with one of our own in Karyn Bye in 1998.  She was a member of the gold medal winning women's hockey team from the US.  She donned the cover of a Wheaties box, Sports Illustrated and several other publications with the American flag draped over her shoulders.  One of my fondest memories from that indelible February month in 1998 was a simple phone call that Karyn made to me as I was preparing for the biggest moment in my high school wrestling career.  No one prompted her to do so and I will forever be grateful that she took time to remind a high school kid that our community had my back and she was proud of what I had done.   It also served as a profound "foreshadowing" to what could happen almost 20 years later.

In 2016, I was beyond honored to drape the flag over the shoulders of another American hero and first-time gold medal winner in Helen Maroulis after a historic win in Rio.  My relationship with Helen has been a rich one and the impact she's had on my life and my entire family cannot be summed up in words.  Similar to Karyn, her impact has always been bigger than a gold medal, though.  It's the several simple acts of kindness and humility that cement her into our lives.

There have been athletes that have left their mark in my life, far too many to name.  However, below are a few that immediately come to mind.

Alaina Berube was the first female wrestler to pick-up her life and move to River Falls, Wisconsin to train.  She had big goals and we jumped into competing and training at an elite level with very little experience.  She had an illustrious collegiate career, but women's wrestling was rapidly growing and becoming more advanced.  She took a chance on me as a coach and we learned a lot about life, wrestling, coaching and the world of Jon Lantz. :). She married Clay Anderson (Jon's nephew) and currently lives in the Twin Cities.

Rachael (Holthaus) Presler was the first female athlete to win an ASICS Junior National tittle in Fargo, ND in 2002.  She was a feisty little 95-pound blonde with big goals in life and wrestling.  When she moved to River Falls to take a stab at training while attending a traditional college, she had already been a resident athlete at the USOTC and spent a year in college in Canada.  Being closer to home was one of the reasons she picked us.  She held us to high standards and pushed the pace, which was huge for our club and my development as a coach.  A shoulder injury cut her wrestling career short and we still talk about what could have been.  She's still feisty, but more accomplished and even sharper. She's a forward focused lawyer and new mom.

Emily Harper was my first "recruit."  She had competed on the Wisconsin national teams in Fargo and she was quick to attend UW-RF and pursue our WCWA-endeavors as a club team.  A few other athletes came when she did, too, but our involvement in Emily's life was much more in depth than any of the others.  She was became part of our family and we went through thick and thin while she was here.  I'm proud of the way we accepted every part of who she was with no judgement.  Accountability?  Yes.  But always in a loving and empathetic way.  Emily is also a new mom.

Deanna (Rix) Betterman moved to River Falls as a last ditch effort to save a promising career.  She had made several not-so-great decisions that put her in hot water with many of our wrestling organizations.  She came here to get her life back in order and, in doing so, ended up moving herself into elite status as an athlete finishing as high as 5th in the world and making two consecutive world teams.  What's more important than her success on the mat is her success off the mat.  She married Joe Betterman and is an active wrestling mom.

Of course, there are many others.  Victoria Anthony, Emilie Boomsma, Justina DiStasio, Dr. Kristen Kells, Kim Martori, Kayla Miracle, Sally Roberts, Team Wisconsin, River Falls Women's Wrestling, etc.

Thank you for what you do and the trails that you're blazing.