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7th grade wrestler making moves abroad
A wrestler from the Twin Cities metro is making sure the U.S. is represented on the world stage after she recently won a gold medal at an international sports competition in eastern Europe. FOX 9’s Maury Glover has the inspirational story of behind the 7th grade student who has big plans for her talent.
NORTHFIELD, Minn. (FOX 9) - One Minnesota 7th grader from New Market has big plans for her talent both on the mat and off.
'Work for what you want'
What we know:
During the wrestling season, Rhilynn Tolzman is at the Summit Wrestling Academy every day of the week.
A recent hip injury has left her off the mat for now, but she's still beaming about taking advantage of a golden opportunity.
"I feel good. I'm happy. I'm stoked," Tolzman told FOX 9.
‘On another level'
The backstory:
Tolzman started wrestling five years ago, after tagging along to her younger brother's practices.
The 13-year-old has won the triple crown, state titles for freestyle, folkstyle and Greco roman wrestling for three years in row, but her biggest win happened halfway around the world.
"I feel like people have really helped me and the success itself is exciting. I'm very happy where I've gotten, and if I didn't have the people around me, my coaches and friends I don't think I'd be where I'm at," said Tolzman.
Last month, Tolzman traveled to Serbia to compete in a sort of junior Olympics called the ISF U15 Gymnasiade, against young athletes from more than a dozen other countries.
She won three matches to take a gold medal for Team USA in her weight bracket of 42 kilograms.
"It was just a blessing. I've never experienced anything like that. It was like I went out there. I wrestled my best because I knew how much was on the line. I knew what I had to do, and I just went out there, and I did it," said Tolzman.
Bringing home hardware
What they're saying:
For her efforts, Tolzman received a hero's welcome from her fellow students at Holy Cross Catholic School, where she is in the 7th grade.
She hopes to continue her winning ways to the Olympics one day, but for now, she just wants to get better.
"It’s not done. I still have people to beat. I still got a long way to go," said Tolzman.
Rhilynn will go to Indiana this summer to compete in a national wrestling tournament.
Then she plans to wrestle for the New Prague High School Wrestling Team in November.