Wrestler, Rugby Star Megan Johnson Uses Toughness to Her Advantage

tumwater girls wrestling
A look of determination was featured on Megan Johnson prior to a match at the 2013 WIAA Mat Classic. Johnson finished third in the state in the 124 lbs. weight class.
0 Shares

 

By Tom Rohrer

tumwater auto spaSince 2002, Tony Prentice has been the head coach of the Tumwater High School wrestling team.

A graduate of Tumwater, Prentice is quick to hand out his ultimate compliment for his team leader and state championship contender.

“She’s a wrestler,” said Prentice of senior Megan Johnson. “Our team treats her as a wrestler.  It’s as simple as that.”

Johnson, who finished third in the 124 lbs. weight class in the WIAA Mat Classic at the Tacoma Dome last spring, certainly fits the title “wrestler.”

She’s tough, talented, determined and disciplined enough to succeed in the sport and maybe bring a state championship back to Tumwater in the spring.

tumwater girls wrestling
A look of determination was featured on Megan Johnson prior to a match at the 2013 WIAA Mat Classic. Johnson finished third in the state in the 124 lbs. weight class.

“That’s what I’m working towards,” said Johnson, who plans to wrestle at 155 lbs. in the state meet this year. “It’s definitely what has motivated me this year and I’m looking forward to competing again.”

Armed with a top ten ranking in her weight class from washingtonwrestlingreport.net, a place on the podium at the Mat Classic a year ago, and the ability to use strength and technique both to her advantage, one would assume Johnson has been wrestling for a decade and continues to hone her craft year round.

This is not the case, however.  Johnson began competitive wrestling two seasons ago, only when a soccer teammate asked if she could be her practice partner during the T-Birds daily grappling sessions.

“I wasn’t even going to do the matches,” said Johnson. “I was just going to practice.”

Like other terrific athletes, Johnson’s skills on the mat are outdone and equaled in other sports.

A member of the Budd Bay Rugby Football Club, Johnson was selected for the first annual USA Rugby’s High School All-American Stars vs. Stripes Game in July 2013.

Johnson has been in contact with the rugby coaches from Quinnipiac University in Connecticut and flew out to school to visit the campus and meet the coaches in person.  She hopes to attend the school to play rugby and study to become a physical therapist.

“Rugby is priority number one for me,” said Johnson. “I still sort of look at wrestling as a way to stay in shape for rugby.”

Most athletes would dream of the opportunity to be a championship contender in their secondary sport. For Johnson, it’s a reality, and the relationship between the two sports goes both ways.

“Wrestling helps rugby a ton, just in all aspects,” said Johnson. “But the aggression of rugby helps aggression (in wrestling).  It goes back and forth.”

“For the mental side, I would say (rugby) absolutely helped her,” said Prentice.  “She came in tough.  She didn’t develop that here.”

tumwater girls wrestling
Tumwater High School senior wrestler Megan Johnson shares a moment with THS assistant coach Hal James at the 2013 WIAA Mat Classic in the Tacoma Dome.

To improve her chances at earning a state crown this spring, Johnson needed to develop her technical skills and rely less on her strength.

“She tended just to be tougher than everybody she wrestled and she ran into a girl whose technique was better at state,” said Prentice.  “There’s a difference this year…you can tell she’s really improved in that area.”

“I started running before school this year and staying a little after practice to work on takedowns,” said Johnson.  “I feel in way better shape and more confident in my technique.”

Also favoring Johnson’s chances at the Mat Classic is the fact that she has competed in the high pressure event and knows what to expect this time.

“That was my first time at the Tacoma Dome,” Johnson said. “It was impressive and a little nerve-racking. I wrestled just like I would any other match.  The level of competition was different than what I was used to, that was the difference.”

Every day at Tumwater practices, Johnson works on her technique against teammates Kendra Dixon.  Johnson will also work out against the THS male wrestlers, something she is used to from her days on the football team at Bush Middle School.

“Wrestling with the guys on a daily basis has been the biggest thing,” said Johnson. “They’re strong, tough and have been wrestling together for a while.  I’m still new to the sport.”

“The fact that this is her ‘second’ sport behind rugby is very impressive,” said Prentice. “She doesn’t do any offseason wrestling, and only wrestled competitively for three seasons.  What’s she’s doing is phenomenal.”

Johnson’s strength, toughness and athleticism have been partially passed down from her parents.  Her mother is a bodybuilder while Johnson’s father, a former wrestler himself, is constantly sharing advice.

“I started lifting weights two years ago and my mom was a big factor in that,” said Johnson.  “I was able to use correct form and get stronger.”

tumwater girls wrestling
Tumwater wrestler, Megan Johnson, pins her opponent.

All of her strength will be needed in the stretch run heading to districts and then to the state meet, as the matches will get tougher and tougher.

Johnson certainly has instilled championship expectations on herself, but Prentice believes she has already cemented her legacy at the school, regardless of what place she earns at the Mat Classic.

“If she won state, that would be fabulous but it would be a moot point. She’s already gone above and beyond expectations,” said Prentice. “Megan is a great kid, great for our sport, and a great representative for our program and school.  I couldn’t say enough good things.”

A standout in the sports she now loves, Johnson started rugby practice this past week, requiring her to go directly to the rugby field following the grueling wrestling session.

“I’ve done (back-to-back practices) before and it’s a pretty tough four to five hours in a row,” said Johnson.  “But I love it. There’s nothing I’d rather be doing.”

 

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
0 Shares