Wrestling State Champions

Crown Point Wrestling Wins State Championship Second Year in a Row

BY EMMY WAKE [sports writer]

For the second year in a row, the Crown Point High School Boys Wrestling team came home with a state championship. While they did win the title as a team, several individual wrestlers came home with titles as well, such as Sam Goin (160), Cody Goodwin (170), Orlando Cruz (182), and Will Clark (220).

“Winning state felt really great because it’s been my goal since middle school and I saw all the great 220’s of that time winning and it was just my goal to be as good as them, so it felt really great,” junior Will Clark said.

Many wrestlers had been working towards their titles for the entirety of their season. For some, this dedication worked in their favor because they won many of their events this season.

“My season was really good. My whole season, winning state was my goal at the end was a state title, so my whole season I worked really hard towards that and I think I wrestled really dominant the whole year,” senior Orlando Cruz said.

While the championship was an accomplishment in itself, for many wrestlers, winning as a team was the best part.

“My favorite moment this season was winning a state title as a team and also as an individual. It was fun to have all your friends there, competing together, trying to win a state title,” senior Sam Goin said.

Crown Point didn’t just bring home first palace victories; five other wrestlers placed at state, meaning the team brought home nine individual titles as well as the team title. Paul Clark, a junior, placed third at state, and is looking forward to next season.

“As a team, winning state felt great, obviously I fell short as an individual, but things happen. You can’t win them all, it’s a great motivation for next year to get that same feeling that those four guys had this year,” Clark said.

BY AVERY MOORE [support staff]

Alyse Green, a junior at Crown Point High School, has made history as the first African American female varsity diver.

Green is passionate about paving the way for future generations of women at the high school and possibly even at a collegiate level.

“It puts out a lot of exposure for more African American female divers and African American female athletes as a whole,” Green said.

Green’s coach, Ashley Holland, has been a member of the diving staff for over three years now and has celebrated many victories with the team.

Holland describes the rigorous practice and expectations that come with being a varsity athlete.

“Making varsity comes down to learning eleven dives and showing retention of those skills as well as being able to exhibit improvement in technique, execution, and the continued progression of learning higher difficulty skills,” Holland said.

Holland then goes on to describe what she has found to be the most important aspect of being a diver, stating that, “I value determination the most. In diving, you must be comfortable with being uncomfortable. There is nothing normal about throwing yourself off of a 1 meter or 3 meter (high dive) for fun,” Holland said.

Holland emphasizes the mental strength of Olympic diver Kimiko Soldati who said, “to be a diver, you have to be at least a little bit crazy.”

Holland also brags of Green’s most impressive accomplishments. “Her back one and a half was a new skill this year. Each meet, I saw growth and she nailed that dive at the sectional championships, ” coach Holland said.

Holland then went on to describe the effects she believes Green will have on the school as a whole, saying that, “I hope that it will encourage anybody