Consistency is an important aspect of wrestling. Kylie Leal says, however, that one must also be able to take risks to see rewards. Now a junior at Elk City High School, Leal goes into each match ready to make split-second decisions on the mat.

“We were at a tournament in Clinton my freshman year. I remember learning a new move right before my match. I was still fairly new to wrestling and this girl had a lot of experience on me but I hit a snake and won the match,” she says, “I learned that it is good to stay consistent but it is also okay to go out of your comfort zone and take risks.”

During her wrestling career, Leal received the outstanding wrestling award for the Western Wrestling Conference and made it to the state tournament. These achievements were made by a girl who almost didn’t wrestle at all.

If not for her teammate, Kenzie Manning, Leal never would have joined the team. “She took me under her wing and helped make me the wrestler I am today.

“In eighth grade, I joined two weeks late because my friend was gone that day. We were supposed to change sports and I was too scared to do it by myself. Two weeks later, she asked me why I didn’t end up joining. Once I told her we talked to the coaches and I’ve loved it since,” Leal said.

Being part of the community, learning new things and cheering for teammates are the best parts of wrestling. Even the best things come with challenges.

“My biggest challenge has been staying consistent and my health. My surgery gave me a lot of problems but hopefully this year I can flourish and become what I know I can be,” she said.

The phrase ‘your body quits before your mind’ has special meaning to her. Leal puts her own spin on this advice. “You can choose who you want to be and you can choose when to quit. You can also choose not to,” she says.

Leal wants to extend her gratitude to her coaches. “I would say thank you to my coaches, Coach Murray and Coach Green, for helping me through the years and getting me to stick to it,” she said.

Leal attends vocational school and plans to graduate high school with her journeyman’s license. With this complete, she hopes to go into the union and begin working.