photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Free State senior Daijah Preston puts Lawrence senior Avery Sutton in a headlock during the Sunflower League girls wrestling meet at Shawnee Mission West on Friday, February 7, 2025.

Daijah Preston had a 15-1 record on the wrestling mat as a junior at Free State last January. She wasn’t just placing at tournaments; she was winning them.

Then came the injury. Preston tore three ligaments in her foot, ending her season there. Her coach, Carl Springer, invited her to attend practices with the team, but it was too difficult to be close to her teammates without being able to wrestle. A chance to be a state placer disappeared.

One year later, Preston is on the cusp of placing at state in her senior year. It hasn’t always been the easiest wrestling season, but Preston is peaking at the right time. Her confidence is back.

Preston has worked hard since the injury to build her confidence. That part of the recovery, the mental part, has been the most difficult. It lasted through her physical recovery.

Preston was back wrestling over the summer with her club team and throughout high school, but it wasn’t the same. Springer said she wrestled not to lose rather than to win.

“I had to try to stay positive because it turned out to be one of my darkest times,” Preston said. “I’m so glad I had my coaches and my teammates around me to help me up and bring me up. It took a really long time to get there. I had to trust the process.”

The process included a lot of nights spent in the wrestling rooms at Lawrence and Free State. Preston got to work by herself. Once she became medically cleared, Preston spent a couple of hours a day, four to five days a week, practicing shooting. She kept Springer in the loop on her progress and what she did. First, she’d roll around the room by herself. Then, she’d have a partner with no resistance. Eventually, she built up the resistance until she was practicing live reps.

When she wasn’t on a practice mat, Preston tested her foot through running. The constant movement, pushing off, and stress helped her to trust her foot again. She started short before gradually increasing the distance of her runs. She learned to push herself.

“It helped with a lot of confidence off the mat,” Preston said. “I’ve grown to love running. You’re pushing off your foot, you’re bounding, and you can go further distances. It helped me realize I can go further distances when I’m wrestling.”

The recovery process wasn’t easy for her coach, either. Springer is an emotional guy who lets his wrestlers know how much he cares about them. To see one of his best wrestlers struggle through injury and recovery wasn’t easy. They hoped it would be a minor injury, but the news came soon after the injury that surgery was required. She considered playing through it, but Springer had to tell her that risking permanent injury to her leg wasn’t worth it. She had to wait.

“It was heartbreaking to see — she’s the hardest worker I’ve ever coached,” Springer said. “That takes you to a lot of places. It rubs off on other kids in the room, having a leader in the room who started the team three years ago. It’s tough because we have two weeks left as coach and wrestler. She’ll go on to wrestle in college, and I’ll try my best not to coach her from the stands.”

Preston’s senior year has been up and down. She’s having what most would consider an incredibly successful season. Her record is 38-17, and she finished second in the Sunflower League Tournament. But Preston doesn’t want to be good. She wants to be the best. Finishing as a runner-up is good, but it’s not what she can do. She just needed the confidence.

Each member of the Lawrence and Free State girls wrestling team has a mantra. Before each match, Springer wants them to say their mantra to themselves. This gives them a boost and helps them remind themselves of what they are capable of.

Preston’s mantra is “I’m confident and capable of anything.” Her goal this year wasn’t necessarily to win state — it was to believe in herself. Even if she didn’t necessarily have that belief and confidence at the start of the year, she repeated it to herself. Eventually, she gained that confidence.

“The reason I feel so confident going into state is because of the support system we have here,” Preston said. “I’ve been wrestling well all year, but those really big matches (in regionals) showed that I am capable of an upset or doing what I was capable of doing… This is the best I’ve felt since my injury, going into state.”

The 6A West regional is one of the toughest in the state for girls wrestling. Preston had to face some of the top-ranked wrestlers in the state, and they will be serious contenders for a state title in two weeks. Preston didn’t win her weight class, but several wins proved something to her. She won in a 13-11 decision over Madison Blanco, a junior from Washburn Rural who was 27-6 before the regional tournament.

Preston plans to rewatch all her matches from the season over the next two weeks before the state tournament. She wants to maximize her strength and eat clean, so she can be as explosive of an athlete as possible.

But the most important part about her game will be her confidence. She has the belief in herself that made her a state-title candidate last year, and it will be the reason why she can be the first state placer at Free State since Madyson Gray.

“But when she makes the podium, because I believe she will, it won’t be because some girl got hurt or a lucky draw,” Springer said. “She’s done everything correctly.”