Alara is All in C
adet World bronze medal- ist Alara Boyd of Indiana made a name for herself last season competing na-
tionally at the Cadet level. Boyd had a 13-year journey in
the sport, leading up to making her ÀUVW 8 6 &DGHW :RUOG 7HDP :LWK D father who is a wrestling coach, she had the privilege of growing up in the ZUHVWOLQJ URRP %R\G·V ÀUVW \HDUV RI life were spent on the side of the mat but it wasn’t long before she was join- ing in on practices. At three years old, Boyd’s par-
JOHN SACHS PHOTO
$ODUD %R\G ULJKW ZRQ KHU ÀUVW ELJ WLWOH LQ WKH VSRUW at the UWW Cadet Nationals a year ago in Texas.
ents — Jimmy and Brittany Boyd — let her start participating in prac- tice. After spending a year drilling and learning how to wrestle, she stepped foot into competing and hasn’t looked back since. “It is awesome. We have a wres-
tling mat at home. My dad helps me on what to work on, and that really helps me a lot in my wrestling,” said Boyd.
Boyd wowed the crowd last
May at the 2016 UWW Cadet Wom- en’s Nationals in Texas. She not only claimed the title at 60 kg/132 pounds, but she was also named Outstanding Wrestler. It was a strong entrance into the division and onto the national stage.
“I came into the tournament
Boyd seeks improvement with focus on winning a 2017 Cadet World title — By Kala Ibarra —
and no one knew who I was, being a ÀUVW \HDU &DGHW %HLQJ DEOH WR VKRZ HYHU\RQH , FRXOG ZLQ LW EHLQJ D ÀUVW year Cadet was awesome. And receiv- ing the Outstanding Wrestling award just topped it off,” she said. She continued her run on the
Cadet World Team traveling to Tbilisi, Georgia, in September to compete in the 2016 Cadet World Championship. %R\G PDGH KHU ÀUVW WULS WR :RUOGV one to remember. She had a 3-1 re- cord, earning a bronze medal. Her performance at the Cadet
World Championships impressed her coaches and made a statement that she had arrived on the world scene. “Alara is such a talented ath-
lete, but I am more impressed by her work ethic,” said USA Wrestling Assistant National Women’s Coach Emma Randall. “She is always eager to learn, getting extra repetitions in, and picking tough partners. There are a lot of talented athletes in this sport, but what separates the good from the great is the work load. Alara is one of those athletes who does the work and is constantly looking to get better.” Boyd’s success at Worlds is only
the start of what she hopes to accom- plish in her Cadet career.
28 USA WRESTLER/WIN MAGAZINE
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