WW freshman out of trouble and into wrestling state finals

Ally Overcash is only a freshman at West Washington, but she did something last week that no Senator athlete in the history of the school has ever done -- she competed in a state wrestling meet. 

Overcash is a member of the West Washington boys’ wrestling team right now, but there is a push statewide to make girls’ wrestling an Indiana High School Athletic Association sanctioned sport. In an attempt to guage interest, the IHSAA scheduled regional tournaments in the North and the South and invited the top five qualifiers from each to compete in a state tournament. 

Overcash finished third in the South regional and earned a trip to the state finals at Hamilton Heights and though she ended up fifth, not what she was hoping for, she accomplished a lot. 

“Ally is paving the way for the little girls in our school,” said West Washington Wrestling Head Coach Dennis Tankersley. “They look at her and see that there is another thing that I can do!”

Overcash said her interest in wrestling started by her finding her way into trouble. 

“I was kind of a trouble child,” she said. “I got into a lot of fights and someone who works here at the school suggested I should try wrestling as a way to maybe let my aggression out and put it toward something good.” 

Overcash was reluctant at first, but decided to give it a try and she doesn’t have any regrets. 

“Look at where I am now,” she said. “I am loving the sport. It’s the best thing that has happened to me in my life!” 

Tankersley said Overcash’s love for the sport is evident by the way she works at it both on the mats and the fact that she is constantly asking questions about how she can improve as a wrestler. 

Combine the desire with her instincts, and he said you have the makings of something special.  

“Ally is a fighter,” Tankersley said. “She has that fighter mentality and that fighter’s willpower and when you mix that mentality with a little technique, that can make for a pretty good wrestler.”

Tankersley said at regional, Overcash wrestled the defending state champion in the 170-pound division and she held her own. 

“Ally wrestled that girl pretty well,” Tankersley said. “I know she was third, but I think she was the second best wrestler there that day.” 

Overcash said making it out of the regional exceeded her expectations.  

“I really wasn’t expecting to do too well,” she said. “I worked hard and we have a great coach here and I guess those things made the difference.” 

Until girls’ wrestling becomes a sport, Overcash is a member of the boys’ team at West Washington. Tankersley said she isn’t a girl wrestler on the team, she is a part of the team. 

Currently she is a reserve in the 170-pound class on the Senator roster behind Julius Woosley, but Tankersley said all spots are decided on the mat. 

“Right now, he (Julius) is a little better than she is,” Tankersley said. “She is a varsity wrestler in our book. She is tough and she is going to keep working and who knows how things will shake out by the time the tournament gets here. She is committed to the sport and is hungry to get better.”  

She is also committed to the team and thankful she is out of trouble and able to call herself a Senator wrestler!

“They say wrestling is an individual sport, but we couldn’t accomplish things as individuals without each other,” she said.