Pinning and winning

Looking at senior Scarlette Maier's girls wrestling redemption season

by Luke Lochmoeller

From freshman year's unexpected but deserved run to states semifinals, to senior year placing third overall in state, student Scarlette Maier has come a long way while breaking records, dominating girls wrestling and paving the way for more girls to participate.

“I first started wrestling my freshman year,” Maier said. “My volleyball coach said I should try out and go for it. And I just said, 'alright.'’’ it because I had just been wrestling and then all of a sudden I made it to districts and I qualified for state. I was the first girl for a while to do that. I don't think I actually processed it until a week later.”

However, throughout her years on the team it wasn’t always smooth sailing. Like many athletes, Maier fell victim to injury.

"I was surprised I made it because I had just been wrestling, and then all of a sudden, I made it to districts and qualifed for state."

Scarlette Maier, senior

When she first started out, Maier was a bit skeptical. However, her captain and team quickly gave her a foundation to help her feel more comfortable and adjust to this brand new sport.

“My first wrestling captain, Myles Bassett, made me realize I was actually going to love the sport because he threw me straight into the fire by throwing me, literally,” Maier said. “Then, coach Clawson made me stick with it because he's a really good coach.”

Even though it was her first year playing, Maier quickly excelled, breezing through the competition. Even though her talent was evident, Maier was shocked by her success.

“I made state my freshman year,” Maier said. “I was surprised I made

“About halfway through the season I tore my [pectoral] a little bit during a big national tournament,” Maier said. “That kept me out for a couple weeks. Then I had the coaches put me back in [the lineup] even though it hurt."

Through the ups and downs of her journey, Maier has contributed much to the involvement of women in wrestling. Even though this is her last year on the team, she has certainly left her mark as a trailblazer in the wrestling community as well as leaving records to beat.

“I'm the first female wrestler from Ladue to qualify for state, to place in state and to get top three in state,” Maier said. “Because of that, I've been able to get so many other girls out both from our school and from other schools interested in wrestling. That just feels really, really good. Also, knowing that something I've worked at for so long I made happen is like the cherry on top and made it all worth it."

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