Wrestling impacts Juniors life
Lumi advances to Regionals with a third place finish.
February 10, 2023
A 5 ft 5, 165 pound female wrestler is seen on the blue and white matt staring into the eyes of her opponent. The blue-colored headgear is seen with the multicolored red, white, and blue uniform. We are talking about lightweight wrestler and Cy Springs Junior Lumiere Kahongo.
When did she start wrestling? What are her highest achievements and goals? As a sophomore, last year Lumiere was constantly recruited by the head coach.
Her long-term goal is to be a two time state qualifier.
¨What I love most is being able to wrestle my teammates that have become a second family to me and having them encouraging me to be the best I can be on and off the matt. Regardless of my shortcomings.” Lumiere said.
Lumiere finished third at this year’s district meet to advance to regionals and is hoping to make state. On January 14th, she finished in 1st place at the Spartan Hall of Fame Classic at Seven Lakes. The future looks bright for the junior.
Just like everything else wrestling has pros and cons. Some of the pros of wrestling for Lumiere is growth in every aspect of life, the emotional maturity development along with the discipline to pursue anything you set your mind to. Her favorite part of wrestling is the lessons taught not only about the sport but about herself as a person. Some of the cons of wrestling are the sport will test your limits and you are the only one who can push past and overcome the obstacles in your path.
A lot of strength training in the mornings during the season and after the season ends lots of time in the weight room help get the wrestlers prepared for competition. After school they focus on technique and conditioning. Their goal is to train to be the best team out there based on their strength, conditioning, and technique.