Contributed photo | www.psd202.org
Contributed photo | www.psd202.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR INFORMATION, CALL
February 24, 2022 Linda Taylor
(815) 577-4085
Plainfield – Plainfield South High School wrestlers senior Lexi Janiak and freshman Keira Enright will make history this weekend when they wrestle in the inaugural Illinois High School Association (IHSA) girls state wrestling tournament.
The girls IHSA individual state and dual team state finals are Friday, February 25 and Saturday, February 26, 2022, in Bloomington.
Janiak and Enright will wrestle individually.
Janiak’s brother, PSHS sophomore Matthew Janiak, wrestled to sixth place in the IHSA boys state tournament on February 18 and 19, 2022.
Since this is Illinois’ first IHSA sanctioned girls state wrestling tournament, this will also mark the first time a brother and sister wrestled in their respective state wrestling tournaments according to PSHS Athletic Director Chet Lines.
It was Matthew Janiak who inspired his sister Lexi to get into the sport.
“I started wrestling when I was 4 and did it for two years,” Matthew Janiak said.
“She saw it and was like ‘Oh I can do that, I want to be better,’ so she just hopped right in and went from there.”
Different weight classes and age brackets keep them from wrestling in the same tournaments, but they would warm up together and get each other ready for tournaments, Lexi said.
Enright wanted to wrestle since middle school and decided to sign up when she entered PSHS this school year, she said.
Enright made the state tournament in her first year so that is quite an accomplishment, Lexi said.
“Once you show girls that they can (wrestle) and somebody’s there to show people for themselves that they can do it and they can succeed, it inspires other girls who didn’t even know they had that as an option,” Lexi said.
Enright looks up to Lexi, she said.
“Just seeing how she wrestles and seeing her confidence on the mat makes me feel like I should go for the same things that she does,” Enright said.
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