Brielle Brick (top) wrestles Maria Diaz of Ontario on her way to a 4-1 win by decision to advance to the third-place match. Photo provided/Kalea Brick
Brielle Brick started this season with one goal: Qualify for state.
Only a sophomore, Brick did just that and took on the returning state champion in her first match at the second sanctioned state championships for girls wrestling.
She won two of her four matches in Portland, earning fourth place in the girls 140 division.
”Even though I wish I had done better overall, I know that the experience of what I went through this year is so important for next year,” Brick said. ”Now I just want to get better and better so that in my junior and senior years, I’m not making the same mistakes I made this year.”
Brick (15-5) led the way for Creswell’s girls wrestling team.
”She’s a great role model for younger kids coming up,” Head coach Mario Perez said. ”She shows what it takes to be a great competitor. She always takes the words right out of my mouth and puts them on the mat. It’s a coach’s dream to watch a kid show progress and prove that they’re understanding what you’re trying to teach them.”
Previously, Brick hadn’t participated in a spring sport. This year she’ll be perfecting her craft with freestyle wrestling in the offseason for a local club team in Cottage Grove. CGHS has also produced a two-time state champion in the girls-235 division, Raina Herzog, creating an environment where girls work together to build on their skills in the offseason.
”Brielle taking the next step to perfect what we’ve been working on all season shows her level of dedication to the sport and her personal growth,” Perez said. Even with her plans to wrestle this spring, Brick said that won’t stop her from playing soccer next fall.
”The conditioning required for soccer keeps me in great shape for wrestling, which is kind of funny because I started wrestling to stay in shape for soccer,” Brick said.
