Tatiana Denig started wrestling before the Virginia High School League had a fully sanctioned girls’ program.
Now, she’s a state champion in her weight class.
Media partner She Scored Sports recently spoke to Denig about her high school wrestling career.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
She Scored Sports: You just won the state championship at the 145-pound weight class. What did that moment mean to you when it finally became real?
Tatiana Denig: It meant a lot to me. I won it last year at the same weight, so I kind of just wanted to go out there and prove to my coaches and everybody that I could do it again. I believed in myself, and my training was top-notch.
SSS: This was the first year VHSL officially sanctioned girls wrestling. What does it mean to you to be part of that history?
T.D: It means a lot to me. When I started my freshman year, I was a varsity starter on the boys’ team only, and the girls’ state championship wasn't really a real thing. We didn't really have VHSL medals or anything, so this year kind of felt real, and they gave us brackets. They gave us the same bracket as the boys, and they gave us medals. It just meant we can actually do it.
SSS: Being named to the VHSL All-State Team is a huge honor. What does that recognition mean to you?
T.D: It means a lot to me, and it means a lot to my coaches as well, because I've worked really hard and being honored, especially by VHSL, means a lot. It means they're recognizing girls as a whole.
SSS: Wrestling is one of the toughest sports mentally and physically. What goes through your mind before a match?
T.D: Before a match, I'm usually really, really nervous. I try to eat as much as I can. I try to listen to a lot of music to calm me down, and my coaches get me really, really hype, and they tell me, like, ‘I can do it,’ and they believe in me, so then my nerves kind of just go away.
SSS: How do you stay focused and composed in those high-pressure situations?
T.D:I stay focused by trusting in my training. Mostly, I kind of just like go with the flow. I try to not pressure myself too much in those moments, and just wrestle the match minute by minute, and I don't really overthink it.
SSS: What does it mean to represent Tallwood High School and bring a state title back to your program?
T.D: It means a lot to represent Tallwood because we're big on respect and just roaring with pride, and I think I do that very well. I think I represent Tallwood good and my sportsmanship is always very top-notch, like I respect all the girls.
And I think it's more than just me. It's all the girls as a whole. I try to treat it as that. Me and my teammates -- I try to teach them we're doing it for all of Tallwood, we're not just doing it for us.
SSS: Girls’ wrestling is growing fast. What have you seen change and where do you think the sport is going?
T.D:I've definitely seen the numbers change, like a lot, and most of the girls' tournaments I did, like, two years ago, it was just a round robin, and now we're having, like, 16- to 32-man brackets. So it's really cool.
And girls' tournaments are so much different. It's like a big community of girls, and when you go to a girls’ tournament, you'll see like, everybody dancing. It's kind of like you get the edge off of boys' tournaments.
SSS: A lot of young girls are now getting into wrestling. What message would you give them?
T.D:I would give girls coming into wrestling to just have fun and don't let the boys determine you. Just have fun and you're wrestling in your own division, and it's recognized now. So I would just say, be relentless.
SSS: When people look back at your high school career, what do you want them to remember about you?
T.D: I want them to remember … that I was confident. I was very respectful and I feel like I showed that in my performance and I was very much a team player. I always rooted for my teammates, no matter who they were going against. If I knew their opponent, I’m going to rep the purple.
SSS: What’s something people don’t see about your journey that you want them to understand?
T.D: I definitely want them to understand injuries. I think injuries (are) such an important thing to understand, and taking care of your body mentally and physically. I think I struggled with a lot of that my freshman and sophomore year(s), and junior and senior year, I really emphasized, “You need to be there mentally and physically to be there 100%.”
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