Kyara Tagami, the current captain of the wrestling team, said that the difficulties of being an athlete are balancing schoolwork and sports. Sports require a lot of time and effort, but then, so does schoolwork. She studies before and after practice.

Kyara enjoys the sports she plays now. “I’ve did it since I was little, and I like the feeling of my teammates cheering me on when I’m on the mat with one other person.”

She has been doing Judo since she was 5 years old and wrestling for the past two years.

At a typical practice, two people throw each other and move around. At judo tournaments, two people on the mat move around trying to get a grip to throw the other person before their opponents score on them.

Judo competitions are scored by a “shio ” “yuko” “wazari” and an  “ippon” point. A shio is a penalty point, if your opponent receives three shios (penalties), you win the match. A yuko is a low score so you and your opponent can get as much yukos in a round. A wazari is in between a yuko and ipon. The maximum amount of wazaris you can get is two; two wazaris is equal to one ippon. An ippon is a full score; once you get an ippon you win the match. Points are scored by either being pinned for a certain amount of seconds or how you throw your opponent and how they fall.

Kyara got first place in wrestling, which was one of her great achievements. Her passion for wrestling and judo started with her parents’ encouragement. She has a cousin who also does wrestling who has made it to states, and Kyara wants to be as successful as him.