photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence's Goldy Stephens smiles after winning a match during the RavenMania girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Olathe.

It’s been four years since Goldy Stephens first stepped on a wrestling mat at Lawrence, joining the team in its inaugural year.

Stephens came in without much of a wrestling background, but she did come in with a few goals in mind. On Friday, Stephens hit one of the biggest ones — winning 100 matches at Lawrence.

“It’s a numerical value to all the hard work I put in,” Stephens said. “I finally reached one of my big goals as a freshman. Four years later, I finally accomplished it.”

Stephens was always an athlete growing up. In middle school, she decided to try some new things and see what she liked. When it came to winter sports, there was a clear choice.

“I’ve never been very good at basketball,” Stephens said. “So I tried (wrestling) and I just felt so much more excited winning matches than I was winning soccer games. The excitement, the thrill of it was beyond what I ever felt. I was like, ‘Wow, OK, I like this sport.'”

Stephens got her first win her freshman year in a home dual against Gardner Edgerton. Back when the Lawrence team was small, just starting out, competing in the west gym at Lawrence.

Since then, both Stephens and the Lawrence girls wrestling programs have grown exponentially. The Lawrence program has had state placers, tripled in size and features one of the best wrestlers in the state: Stephens.

“It’s crazy because I can’t remember winning 100 times,” Stephens said. “I can remember winning like, 20 times. But it’s just a reminder of the hard work over these four years. I haven’t been coasting along.”

Stephens first joined the wrestling team weighing 177 pounds but has jumped up to the 235-pound weight class since the start of her junior year. However, she competes at around 215 pounds, giving some wrestlers in her weight class a 20-pound advantage on her.

The size discrepancy between Stephens and her competition has forced her to be a much more technical wrestler. Bigger wrestlers in the weight class use their size to get on top of their opponents.

So how does Stephens beat them?

“Just don’t get under them,” Stephens said of wrestling girls with the size advantage. “That’s kind of been our strategy. It took me about a year, but I think I’ve gotten to the point where I understand the strategy and how to do it.”

In the KC Stampede tournament, where Stephens earned her 100th win, she entered a seeded bracket that featured wrestlers who had won or placed at their respective state tournaments and wrestlers who had placed at some of the biggest national tournaments. Stephens came out fourth in that group.

“Goldy showed this weekend how much of a better wrestler she is than most of the 235 girls,” Lawrence coach Carl Springer said. “She’s out-wrestling everybody. It’s fun to see that process with everyone.”

A core tenet of Springer’s coaching philosophy is that wrestling helps the team prepare for the difficulties of life. Competing on a wrestling mat in a physical setting is hard, and it’s hard to win. But winning is possible, and getting better is possible. That’s what wrestling has shown Stephens.

“I can do hard things,” Stephens said. “It’s such a cheesy statement, but I’m never going to go out there and it be easy. It’s going to be hard, but I can do it.”

The sport has helped her grow as a person and become a more vocal leader. Stephens’ confidence and leadership has helped her be someone that the younger wrestlers can look up to.

“She doesn’t take the losses too hard,” Springer said. “She takes it harder when she feels like she hurt somebody. It’s cool to see her handle those tough losses and bounce back.”

Before the season ends, Stephens has a few more goals to hit. She is shooting for a top-three placement at the state tournament this season. With the way she’s wrestling to start this season, Springer has confidence in Stephens that she will hit that mark.

Stephens is planning on hanging it up once her high school career ends, but she isn’t quite sure about stepping away from the mat entirely. Getting into coaching, especially with Lawrence, is something she could see herself doing. From what she’s shown Springer as a player, she has what it takes.

“Goldy sat in one of the (coaching) seats and said to me, ‘You want your seat back?’ I said, ‘They’d rather look up and see you,'” Springer said. “She gives them that comfort to some of those girls that I can’t give if they’re not doing well. They see her cheering in the seat, and they respond.”

For Springer, who helped build the program with Stephens, that’s what makes her special. The wins and the development have been great to see, but having a wrestler like Stephens be a leader for the program is what matters most.

“That’s why she’s the wrestler she is,” Springer said.