Brenneman doesn't quit

Rookie wrestler finishes fourth at state meet

By Molly Roberts
Posted 1/27/21

Bronwyn Brenneman, a junior, only came out for wrestling because her younger sister, Ellie, wanted a practice partner — they’re the same weight and were both new to the sport. But by the …

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Brenneman doesn't quit

Rookie wrestler finishes fourth at state meet

Posted

Bronwyn Brenneman, a junior, only came out for wrestling because her younger sister, Ellie, wanted a practice partner — they’re the same weight and were both new to the sport. But by the end of the season, Bronwyn blossomed into a competitive wrestler and placed fourth at 126 pounds in the state tournament. 

“I wasn’t really into wrestling at first,” Bronwyn said. “But I just kept wrestling and working at it. I didn’t really have any expectations for how this year was going— I was just doing it because my sister wanted me to, and I thought it would keep me in shape over the winter. But then I started winning matches and I was like ‘Hey, this a cool.’”

Bronwyn won her first match by technical fall, 15-0 in 5:09, and pinned her second opponent in 3:18.

Bronwyn lost in the third round of the championship tournament, but wrestled back in consolation tournament, winning four straight matches, plus one medical forfeit, to put her in the third-place match. 

“When you lose in wrestling, it’s not just a loss. You get thrown to the ground, have your face shoved into the mat, you can’t breathe. Coming back after a loss is hard, but you just have to pick yourself up and get on to the next one,” Bronwyn said. “I’m not a quitter. Quitting is one of the things that I hate the most. And that means, if you lose, you still don’t quit.” 

Bronwyn, who entered the tournament seeded 11th, wrestled No. 2 Regan Griffith of North Fayette Valley in the consolation semifinals. Griffith struck first with a takedown, but Bronwyn immediately responded with a takedown of her own. Bronwyn went into the second period losing 6-4 and by the end of the second was still losing 8-6. But then one minute in to the third period, Bronwyn cradled Griffth into her back and won by fall in 4:53. 

“That was a match, on paper, that we weren’t supposed to win. We weren’t even supposed to be in that match, but she never quit. She kept fighting through the whole thing,” head coach Justin Garvey said. “The other girl from North Fayette started doubting herself. She was like, ‘Who is this girl? I don’t know her. She came out of nowhere.’ Bronwyn ended up breaking her. She put her on her back and got the fall.” 

Bronwyn said she enjoys the mental aspect of wrestling, that wrestling is 90% a mental game that she’s well suited for. 

“It’s about who’s going to give up. If you break mentally, then you lose, but if you break the other person, then you win,” Bronwyn said. “[Griffith] almost broke me, I was about ready to give up, I was down, I had a hard time getting up.” 

At the end of the second period, Bronwyn didn’t hear the referee’s whistle and kept wrestling. She said Griffith then snapped at her to get off, which lit the fire she needed to win. 

“The tone of her words made me mad, so I was like, ‘Alright, that’s it, I’m not losing to this girl,” Bronwyn said. “I walked back to the center of the mat and kept going. And then I pinned her.” 

Bronwyn lost in the third-place match to No. 1 Emma Grimm from Osage but said the loss won’t keep her off the mats. She plans to wrestle again next year. 

“It’s just amazing what Bronwyn accomplished this year. I don’t think she even fully understands what she accomplished this year,” Garvey said. “To be someone who was just kind of ho-hum, maybe I’ll come in and try and workout with my sister to getting fourth at state, it’s a real testament to her work ethic and her attitude. There is no quit in her.”