South's Hannah Soden ready to relish girls state tourney
Feb. 23—CHEYENNE — Hannah Soden isn't entirely sure what she'll feel when the Wyoming High School Activities Association's inaugural girls wrestling state tournament starts this morning in Casper.
Primarily, it's because the Cheyenne South senior never expected to be in the position she's in.
"I'm probably going to cry when we walk into (the Wyoming Center), honestly," Soden said before the Bison boarded their team bus Tuesday morning in Cheyenne. "I didn't think there'd be high school girls wrestling by the time I graduated from high school. It has felt really good to compete this year."
Soden is the No. 5-ranked 125-pounder in the most recent WyoWrestling.com rankings. She has been as high as third in that site's poll this winter.
Last week, Soden pinned her way past three opponents at the South Girls Festival, which was held in conjunction with the Class 4A East Regional boys tournament.
"She's finally getting to wrestle opponents who are similar in strength to her," South coach Jojo Ojeda said. "I'm really excited to see what she can do at state."
Soden is a state title contender, which is something she never imagined she'd be when she struggled to finish her first season as a seventh-grader. Soden didn't wrestle in eighth grade. She only returned to the mat when her twin brother, Jacob, talked her into giving the sport a second-chance as a freshman.
She has wrestled every year since — although a knee injury sidelined her as a junior — and has represented South in varsity duals as a freshman and sophomore.
"I've liked this season, and I've had a lot of fun because it's been more my speed," said Soden, who also has been a 1-meter spring board diver at South. "The guys are always way more aggressive than they should be. The girls are friendlier. I've made more friends this year than I did in three years wrestling against guys."
Soden entered this season expecting there to be fewer than 100 girls wrestling statewide. There were more than 260 listed on TrackWrestling.com when the season started. The sport has grown so quickly among girls, the WHSAA had to move the final round of wrestlebacks and the third- and fifth-place bouts to Friday.
"It's been amazing to see how many girls have given this sport a chance," Soden said.
Soden has continued to practice mostly with South's boys, which she feels has helped her this season.
"I'm getting more to their speed. Going after them and then going against the girls," Soden said, "I feel like I'm moving faster and I'm wrestling more aggressively. I'm wrestling like the guys do."
Ojeda describes Soden as an offensive wrestler, but says she truly excels at clearing bottom. She rarely struggles to get one-point escapes, but also is strong at scoring two-point reversals. Soden said her approach on bottom is simple.
"I get a lot of reversals," she said. "It's about consistently moving instead of going into a shell. A lot of wrestlers get on bottom and they hide in a shell."
Jeremiah Johnke is the WyoSports editor. He can be reached at jjohnke@wyosports.net or 307-633-3137. Follow him on Twitter at @jjohnke.
