CASPER, Wyo. — Gillette’s Audrina Summers may be only 10 years old, but she already boasts a list of accomplishments that would put many older wrestlers to shame. Last week, she added to her résumé by becoming the first girl to complete a wrestling triple crown in the Wyoming Amateur Wrestling Association’s boys division.
Audrina’s interest in wrestling was borne out of a bit of rough-housing three years ago, as she found she could hold her own against her older cousin.
“We were wrestling for fun, and I was pretty much able to beat him every time, even though he’d been wrestling for like four years before me,” she said.
After that, she approached her parents with the idea of wrestling competitively, and they agreed. She began training with coaches and later joined a team.
Helping her along the way has been her father, Wyatt, who has been by her side all the while as not just a parent, but also a coach.
“He’s always been in my corner,” Audrina said. “Even when we’re at home, we’re putting in work.”
“Their relationship is so special,” mother Gabriella Summers added. “If you watch the video of her winning [at the state wrestling meet in Casper], she immediately ran to him and gave him such a big hug.”
With a natural knack for wrestling, coupled with hours of practice each week, Audrina soon began seeing some serious results on the mat, and having fun while doing so.
Before long, she was traveling throughout Wyoming and beyond for competitions, and her results speak for themselves. So far this year, she is undefeated against in-state opponents, with her few losses all coming outside of Wyoming.
All the while, Audrina has been competing in both the boys and girls divisions.
“There are different things she needs to emphasize when wrestling against girls vs. wrestling against boys,” Gabriella said. “Girls tend to wrestle with more technical precision, while boys are more aggressive. So I think wrestling against both really makes her more well-rounded. I think Audrina learning to combine those two qualities has helped make her a powerhouse.”
Plus, Audrina added with a laugh, it always feels good to beat boys.
“It’s a great feeling,” she said. “People always say, ‘Oh, you won’t be able to wrestle against boys forever,’ and I want to prove them wrong.”
Last week, she traveled to Casper for the WAWA state wrestling competition with high hopes and high expectations.
“I have a goal board, and my goal for a year now has been to get a triple crown in both boys and girls,” she said. “But I had butterflies because I saw all the wrestlers coming from all over, and knew they’d be really tough.”
At competitions, wrestlers compete in three distinct styles of wrestling, each with their own rules and legal moves: folk style, freestyle and Greco-Roman. To take first place in all three is a wrestling triple crown.
Things didn’t come easily for Audrina at the event, and she found herself in several hard-fought battles. In one match, she and her opponent were tied in points with the clock winding down, but she was able to emerge victorious by scoring a point with less than two seconds remaining on the clock.
Throughout the competition, Audrina was also dealing with devastating turmoil outside of the world of wrestling.
“Right before the semifinals, Audrina found out that her great-grandma had passed away,” Gabriella said. “That really hit her hard, but she was able to get back out there and still compete. It was amazing to see.”
“I was really close with her,” Audrina said. “I just wanted to win it for her, because I knew she was holding me the whole way.”
When all was said and done, Audrina stood atop the winners podium in all three styles, in both the boys and girls divisions.
“It was exciting, and I was really proud,” she said.
Audrina said she was aware of the Wyoming High School Activities Association’s decision to officially sanction girls high school wrestling this year, and she said she’s looking forward to the day when she’ll be old enough to wrestle on behalf of her eventual high school.
In the meantime, though, Audrina said she’s going to continue enjoying the thrill of competition in statewide and national tournaments.
“My next competition is in Utah,” she said. “My goal is double-bracketing in boys and girls again.”
All the while, she will continue breaking down every barrier she comes against.
“Me and her father, we encourage Audrina to not live in a world that tells you what you can and can’t be,” Gabriella said.
