[Editor’s note: The idea behind “Alphabet Stories” is to write one noteworthy athletics-related story about each OSAA-member school. We started with Adrian HS on Sept.18. Today’s story, almost seven months later, is about Crow High School. The goal is to write two per week all the way to Yoncalla! While we will be relying upon athletic directors to furnish story ideas, anyone may offer suggestions by emailing [email protected]]
Tayla Parsons and Kat Jentzsch have a lot to Crow about. Both have attended the 1A high school in Eugene throughout their high school years.
When it comes to wrestling, however, their hearts are on fire for Elmira.
Crow is a school of 74 students in grades 9-12 and it co-ops with 4A Elmira for wrestling. Every school day during wrestling season, Parsons, a senior, and Jentzsch, a sophomore, make the eight-mile drive to Elmira HS and become members of the Falcons’ girls wrestling team.
“I love wrestling with Elmira,” Parsons says. “I made really great friends and it was a new experience for me. The only part that feels different is more kids are on the team.”
“I like wrestling with Elmira,” Jentzsch says. “At first it was weird because I didn't know anybody. But Elmira is a great wrestling family, just like Crow.”
Parsons is from a wrestling family. She tried her hand at basketball when she was younger, but came to wrestling as an eighth grader and has been grappling with the sport ever since. She has wrestled at the higher weight classes and has twice come within a whisper of qualifying for the state tournament.
“The best things about wrestling are the team building and the bonds that are created with teammates,” Parsons says. “The challenges of wrestling are self-control and not giving up whether you win or lose. Through wrestling, I have learned better self-control, how to overcome weakness, and what it's like to have success.”
Jentzsch has been wrestling since she was a toddler. She was 20-12 last year as a freshman, wrestling in the 130-pound weight class.
“The best thing about wrestling is kicking butt; the feeling you have when you come back and win a match that you were losing,” Jentzsch says. “I also enjoy meeting other wrestlers.”
“The most challenging thing about wrestling is overcoming the exhaustion and pushing through to the end of a hard match,” she adds.
Both Parsons and Jentzsch said that wrestling for Elmira doesn’t feel different than wrestling with “Crow” on their singlets. They’ve made great friends through wrestling for Elmira. It has been nice to have one another for support, and company on the commute.
“It is easier with Tayla doing this with me; because, when we first started, I was really uncomfortable because I didn't know anybody,” Jentzsch says. “But having Tayla there, at least I knew somebody.”
“I've always been a very independent person, but it's nice having someone to go along with,” Parsons says.
johnt@osaa.org
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