T-Wolf Wrestler Devin Jansing Places at State

Devin Jansing executes an escape at a home duel before regionals.

| vis Devin Jansing

Devin Jansing executes an escape at a home duel before regionals.

- Alisa Burt, Editor In Chief

On February 25, 2021, at the state fairgrounds in Oklahoma City, sophomore Devin Jansing placed 3rd in the state wrestling tournament for the girl’s 100-pound weight class. To become such a successful wrestler Devin had to put in a lot of work, including self quarantining. During this self-quarantine, Devin would work on her school work in the morning then go to wrestling practice in the afternoon. She had wrestling practice everyday, and often on weekends, she would go to tournaments. She also was occasionally quarantined through contact tracing, which was a challenge as she had to find safe places to work out and practice on her own. 

Devin Jansing wrestling at state finals. (| Bri Jansing)

Sometimes wrestlers need to change weight classes, but this year Devin stayed at 100 pounds. She said, “ At the beginning of the year I certified at 100 pounds, planning to wrestle 100 in state and I wrestled all duals and tournaments at 107  pounds due to not having [a] competition at 100 pounds during the season.” Earlier in the season, Devin placed 2nd at regionals, and she was determined better the 2nd place finish from last year’s tournament. “I went into the state tournament and did my best,” she said, “and for the third-place match, I beat the girl that beat me at regionals. The wrestler I lost to in the semifinals (from Tahlequah) won 1st in state, she has not lost a match in years.” Devin stated that “Overall, it felt better to end the season with a win for my last match… that really helped my confidence.” 

While there are not many programs that include women’s wrestling, Devin feels at home with the Timberwolf team. She said that being the only girl wrestler at Norman North, “is like having a bunch of brothers including my own. They all treat me like family.” When asked why she wrestles, Devin said, “I wrestle because I love the sport, and it is an ultimate competition. It is one of the hardest sports, and I do it because I like a challenge.”