Senior Ayden Erickson wrapped up her career with the Perry Jayettes wrestling squad this year with another trip to the state wrestling championships. Erickson reflected on what she loved about the sport of wrestling, and the sense of community that drew her in.

“It was my freshman year I started wrestling. Mike, our assistant coach, was actually my soccer coach when I was younger and he reached out and was like ‘I think you’d be a really good wrestler and there’s the girls program, it just got sanctioned and we’re looking for some girls to come join’ and I decided to give it a shot my freshman year . I love the community. It’s unlike anything else I’ve ever been a part of. It’s just a family, and this has built my mental toughness a lot and I love that it’s made me a stronger person. “

Ayden left her mark on the Jayettes wrestling program as a three time state qualifier with a career record of 120 wins.