FEATURE: Adeline Gray transitions from one level to the next
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by Megan Myers
Moving to a new place at 17 without your parents is never easy.
Adeline Gray left everything and everyone behind in Colorado to move to Michigan in order to fulfill her dreams of being one of the top women wrestlers at 67kg/147.5 lbs.
"I made my decision to come up here because I wanted to improve my freestyle wrestling. My family has always been very supportive," Gray said. "They knew it was where my heart was at and what I needed to do.
Since she left Colorado, she has not looked back on her decision.
Gray is a senior at Marquette High School in Marquette, Michigan and when she is not in school, she is training at the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan.
"She has good fundamentals and is a joy to work with. She is in high school and at the training center, that says a lot about her right there," USOEC National Coach Shannyn Gillespie said. "I have been happy to work with her and enhance her skills to get her at the next level."
Gray made 2008 a year to remember. She was the FILA Junior World Team champion, Junior Nationals champion and placed second in the Women's World Team Trials.
Her greatest accomplishment of last year was bringing gold home from the Junior World Championships in Turkey. She defeated 2008 World bronze medalist Ochirbat Nasanburmaa of Mongolia in the gold medal finals.
"Junior Worlds was unreal. I went in very under confident. It drove me to work harder so I could be that good," she said. "I was in shock. I never put myself at that level. Even though I competed with the top wrestlers, I didn't view myself on that caliber of wrestlers. Everything fell in to place. It gave me a lot of confidence knowing I am on my way to the top."
Currently, Gray is ranked No. 1 in her weight class on the Senior level. With all of the success she has had, she still finds it unbelievable that she is at the top.
"Being at the top is always fun. It's been shocking because I have always looked up to these girls and they've been my inspiration," Gray said. "It's nice to win the tournaments, but it hasn't hit me yet that I am competing with these top girls, and that I am becoming one of the top girls."
Included in her weight class is 2008 U.S. Nationals champion Stefenie Shaw, and could include her training partner, 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Randi Miller, if Miller returns to competition at this division.
This year, Gray plans on making the U.S. Junior World Team and U.S. World Team.
In order to achieve her goals she wants to get more experience. Gray said she is getting in extra workouts after practice to get better and wants to wrestle against the older girls as much as she can.
Gray will be getting the experience she wants as she will be competing in her first Senior level event representing the USA at the World Cup in Taiyuan, China, March 21-22.
"I'm so excited. I can't believe the competition that is going to be there," she said. "I don't even know what to expect. I am going in with an open mind but I am nervous because I have never experienced anything at the senior level."
Gillespie said he believes Gray has what it takes to make it at the Senior level.
"She is a high performance athlete," he said. "She is already the best in the world in her age group. I think she can get stronger to become better. She has a good shot at making our Senior World Team this year."
With high and reachable goals for this year, Gray is looking toward the future and where she wants to be.
"London 2012!" she said.
Adeline Gray left everything and everyone behind in Colorado to move to Michigan in order to fulfill her dreams of being one of the top women wrestlers at 67kg/147.5 lbs.
"I made my decision to come up here because I wanted to improve my freestyle wrestling. My family has always been very supportive," Gray said. "They knew it was where my heart was at and what I needed to do.
Since she left Colorado, she has not looked back on her decision.
Gray is a senior at Marquette High School in Marquette, Michigan and when she is not in school, she is training at the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan.
"She has good fundamentals and is a joy to work with. She is in high school and at the training center, that says a lot about her right there," USOEC National Coach Shannyn Gillespie said. "I have been happy to work with her and enhance her skills to get her at the next level."
Gray made 2008 a year to remember. She was the FILA Junior World Team champion, Junior Nationals champion and placed second in the Women's World Team Trials.
Her greatest accomplishment of last year was bringing gold home from the Junior World Championships in Turkey. She defeated 2008 World bronze medalist Ochirbat Nasanburmaa of Mongolia in the gold medal finals.
"Junior Worlds was unreal. I went in very under confident. It drove me to work harder so I could be that good," she said. "I was in shock. I never put myself at that level. Even though I competed with the top wrestlers, I didn't view myself on that caliber of wrestlers. Everything fell in to place. It gave me a lot of confidence knowing I am on my way to the top."
Currently, Gray is ranked No. 1 in her weight class on the Senior level. With all of the success she has had, she still finds it unbelievable that she is at the top.
"Being at the top is always fun. It's been shocking because I have always looked up to these girls and they've been my inspiration," Gray said. "It's nice to win the tournaments, but it hasn't hit me yet that I am competing with these top girls, and that I am becoming one of the top girls."
Included in her weight class is 2008 U.S. Nationals champion Stefenie Shaw, and could include her training partner, 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Randi Miller, if Miller returns to competition at this division.
This year, Gray plans on making the U.S. Junior World Team and U.S. World Team.
In order to achieve her goals she wants to get more experience. Gray said she is getting in extra workouts after practice to get better and wants to wrestle against the older girls as much as she can.
Gray will be getting the experience she wants as she will be competing in her first Senior level event representing the USA at the World Cup in Taiyuan, China, March 21-22.
"I'm so excited. I can't believe the competition that is going to be there," she said. "I don't even know what to expect. I am going in with an open mind but I am nervous because I have never experienced anything at the senior level."
Gillespie said he believes Gray has what it takes to make it at the Senior level.
"She is a high performance athlete," he said. "She is already the best in the world in her age group. I think she can get stronger to become better. She has a good shot at making our Senior World Team this year."
With high and reachable goals for this year, Gray is looking toward the future and where she wants to be.
"London 2012!" she said.
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