Summer Rowley, a sophomore girls’ wrestler at Manti High School, had always been a force to reckon with, but this year was different.

She had stormed through her regional competition, taking first place, and now she stood at the precipice of state, a place she never could have imagined when she first stepped onto the mat. Wrestling was new to her, and when she joined the team last season, it felt like she was entering unknown territory.

But one thing Summer understood:

Being new didn’t mean being behind

This meant she had the chance to rise fast, and that’s exactly what she did.

She had learned early on not to let the pressure of competition overwhelm her. The sport was new to almost everyone on her team, and even though some of her opponents had more experience, she knew one thing for sure:

No one was born a professional.

As a beginner, she had the same opportunity to grow as anyone else. The thrill of progress and improvement drove her forward. Summer wasn’t focused on how fast others were moving, she was focused on getting better, even if it was just 1% every day, a lesson her coach had drilled into her.

For Summer, wrestling became a privilege, a journey shared with her whole team.

Last year, the women's wrestling team barely existed, having only four girls. This year, everything had changed. They faced several challenges: finding places to practice, enough girls to join, and even a coach willing to step up for girls’ wrestling.

Sometimes, the uphill battle to keep her team alive felt insurmountable. But despite it all, they not only found an incredibly willing coach, they found more driven young women. They had fought through the obstacles and were now on the verge of something bigger.

State was within reach, and to Summer, it felt monumental.

It wasn’t just about the sport, there was something deeper that fueled Summer’s determination.

She didn’t wrestle only for herself, she wrestled for the people who had inspired her.

Her brothers, members of the boys’ wrestling team, were a constant source of motivation. They had shown her what it meant to be relentless, to fight through the toughest situations, even when the match seemed lost.

There were moments when she found herself on the bottom, with little time left to pull off a win, everything seeming impossible, but she knew what to do:

Keep pushing until the very last second.

Then there was her mom, the one person Summer never expected to be her coach.

Her mom had no wrestling background. She didn’t grow up with the sport. But her sons were wrestlers, and now her daughter was too, so she knew she had to step up.

When the team had no coach at the start of the year, her mom, now Coach Rowley, stepped in. She offered not only support, but real dedication.

Coach Rowley wanted to be the best coach she could be for Summer and for the team. That desire translated into a kind of drive that Summer couldn’t ignore.

The way her mom worked tirelessly to learn the ins and outs of wrestling, to understand how to help her daughter succeed, pushed Summer to work harder, out of deep gratitude.

She needed to do well not just for herself, but for her mom, who had poured her heart into something she had never done before.

As the state competition loomed, Summer held those lessons close:

The relentless effort from her brothers

The steady drive for improvement from her coach

The unwavering support and sacrifice from her mom

Summer felt incredibly proud making it to state, but even more proud of how far her wrestling program had come:

From just four girls...

...to a family taking on the state tournament together.