photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence sophomore Yamirra Woods pushes Shawnee Mission Northwest senior Taylor Hurla during the Sunflower League girls wrestling meet at Shawnee Mission West on Friday, February 7, 2025.

Yamirra Woods spent a lot of time watching wrestling videos in the days before her first high school wrestling match.

Woods, a sophomore at Lawrence High School, decided to try something new this year. She’d always been told that she was strong, so wrestling seemed like a natural sport for her. Videos of the sport began to populate her TikTok feed, which helped solidify her decision to “see how it is and go with the flow.”

One thing Woods didn’t want to do was look like she didn’t know what she was doing, so she studied all of the sport’s nuances, like shaking the hand of the opposing coach after the match and learning how to put on the green and red ankle bands.

Less than a year into her wrestling journey, Woods doesn’t look like the anxious first-timer she was at the start of the season. She’s a state qualifier, and her coach, Carl Springer, believes she can be a state placer.

Woods is one of a few young wrestlers on the Lawrence girls wrestling team who are finding their groove at the most opportune moment: the postseason tournaments. That progression and momentum helped Lawrence qualify six wrestlers for the state tournament in only the team’s third year.

Wrestlers like Paige Fishburn, a sophomore, who entered the postseason with eight wins on the year. She’s now a state qualifier thanks to her run in the Sunflower League and 6A East regional tournaments.

Anabella Ackerman, a freshman, started the year with limited middle school wrestling experience. Now, she is the school’s first freshman state qualifier.

“I knew I was a pretty tough wrestler in middle school, so I was hoping I could get to qualify for state,” Ackerman said. “I didn’t think it was that important because it’s only my first year, but I ended up getting close to (qualifying for state), so I thought I might as well make that my goal.”

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Anabella Ackerman gets atop Emporia’s Chloe Steele during a dual against Emporia at Lawrence High School on Tuesday, February 4, 2025.

Woods and Ackerman credited the team around them for their development this year. Thanks to veterans in the room like Delaney Earl, Daijah Preston and Goldy Stephens, the new kids on the mat can emulate their success. Their hard work sets the standard for the new wrestlers, who have seen so much growth thanks to their hard work in practice.

“It really helps to have good teammates who are there for you and are good partners,” Ackerman said. “It helps you work and practice hard. I’m really grateful for this team.”

Woods said it is nice to be on a team with many new wrestlers. Everyone leans on each other, and they all learn and grow together. There’s an opportunity to be vulnerable and confident in seeking help.

Woods was anxious about her introduction to wrestling. Her mind was completely blank the first time she stepped onto a mat in an official high school match. Everything she had learned immediately disappeared. It was scary.

But Woods stayed with it and kept getting better. After her first win, she got some confidence. She began to understand what she was doing and why she was doing it. Determination and hard work led to more success.

“I was hard on myself, but I’m also really determined,” Woods said. “Even if I didn’t win, I was determined to win the next match. I was like, ‘I’m still not done. I have more to prove — I’m better than that.'”

Now, Woods goes back and watches her early matches with an entirely different level of understanding. Her losses become painful to watch because of rookie mistakes, but they’re also a testament to how far she has come in a few months.

“This group is the best group I could’ve ever gone to, and I just love them,” Woods said. “They make me feel like I’m not alone. It’s not just me figuring it out. We’re all learning what helps us because we’re all new.”

Young wrestlers like Ackerman have already paid the veterans back. Ackerman was the first on the LHS team in the regional to win her blood round. After that, Springer said he saw the rest of the team respond with confidence.

“Ackerman started it all,” Springer said. “She’s in a dog fight to get to state, and you can see with all the other girls standing there… it was like a wave. They didn’t want to let the other girls down. It was like, ‘Oh, I’m not going to be the girl who doesn’t go to state.'”

This has already been a historic year for the young program. The team has qualified six wrestlers — nine, including the Free State team that practices alongside it and is generally considered their teammates. Stephens, a junior, became the first to reach the regional championship match.

One of the most exciting things about the season is the potential for the future. Lawrence went from one state qualifier to six, and they have a strong contingent of underclassmen. Future freshman classes will only have more experience starting high school and will help round out the team.

The wrestling team was built by seniors and juniors who started the team three years ago. With their departure from the team, it’s up to wrestlers like Woods and Ackerman to keep the work and cultural standard.

“We’re all really hardworking, so I hope we stay locked in and determined and are focused on wrestling,” Woods said. “I hope we keep doing what we’re doing. We’re all getting better, even the new people. We’re building our confidence, which is a good thing. Some of these girls are good wrestlers — they just need confidence.”