In over a century of sports victories at Redondo Union High School, no female wrestler has ever placed at a state tournament. Senior Kinsey Konrad became the first when she placed 8th at this year’s CIF State Wrestling Championship in February.
“[After I placed], I jumped into Coach Driggers’ arms, and then I was jumping on Coach James. Everyone was just so happy, […] and they made it very clear they were proud of me,” Konrad said.
Konrad is captain of the women’s wrestling team and had historic success at the Masters and State tournaments. She placed 3rd at the Masters Meet, qualifying her to go to state, where she became the first wrestler from Redondo to place at state in half a century and the first female wrestler ever. Going into the matches, Konrad felt a lot of stress to be successful.
“[I was] super nervous and scared. There was a lot of pressure, especially on myself. There’s just so much pressure. It’s so nerve-racking because you want to be good, and you want people to be proud of you,” Konrad said.
After winning third place at Masters, Konrad didn’t have the reaction that one might initially imagine after achieving this milestone.
“At first, I was actually really upset because I was first-seeded overall. Hypothetically, I was supposed to win, but I messed up my semifinal match, so it put me back down to third,” Konrad said. “I knew I was going to place, but I wasn’t happy with myself. I wasn’t satisfied, but the next day, after I slept on it, I was pretty proud. […] I still made so much more improvement from last year. I was proud of myself for making it to state because last time I didn’t.”
Alex Driggers, the wrestling head coach, was impressed by the effort Konrad put in to reach that point and was glad to see her succeed.
“She seems very committed and very dedicated. You can’t play at the state tournament unless you’re committed and dedicated. She’s done a great job,” Driggers said. “I was super excited. It’s something that we’ve been working for since last year. It has been a goal of hers all year, and I was very proud of her to watch it come to fruition.”
After Masters, Konrad advanced to the State Championship. To prepare, Driggers tried to keep motivating Konrad by reminding her of her goals and sharing advice from his own wrestling experience.
“[Driggers] has a lot of stories from college and high school and sometimes he’ll talk to us about one of his last matches or how he regrets something. He’ll tell us how he doesn’t want us to have our last match be something we regret,” Konrad said. “Hearing experiences from someone who has gone through what I’m going through motivates me to end the season happily.”
After placing at State and setting the new school record, Konrad was initially disappointed in herself once again for not placing higher. In contrast, her teammates and coaches couldn’t have been prouder.
“I think that as athletes, we always want to do better, but she needs to be very proud of herself,” Driggers said. “She accomplished something that is very difficult to do. Only eight girls place in the state tournament every year. That’s not very many out of thousands. I couldn’t be more proud of her. I’m glad that she wanted more for herself, but she made the team proud, and she made the Redondo Beach community proud.”
One of the reasons that Konrad always pushes herself to be even better is because of the inspiration she gets from her father, who also wrestled when he was in high school.
“I look up to my dad because my grandma always tells me how he was the football team captain and wrestled when he was in high school. He did so well, and he had all these achievements. I guess I just want to be like him,” Konrad said. “He encourages [me]. He wants me to do my best. He’ll tell me when I didn’t have a good day, and he’ll be straightforward.”
While Konrad looks up to her dad, many of her teammates look up to her. Driggers believes she is a good team captain because she leads by example. Konrad’s practice partner, junior Ria Chougule, admires her for it.
“She’s super motivated and competitive. She’s really inspirational because every time I see her, she just puts all her effort into it,” Chougule said. “I think the fact that she has so much discipline and just wants to win so much makes her such a good wrestler.”
In addition to her dedication to wrestling, Konrad is known by her teammates for her kindness and compassion.
“She makes nice connections with all the girls. She’s really close to everyone, and she tries to make everyone feel included. She’s also really supportive. Every time someone’s upset, [they go] to her for hugs or for comfort,” Chougule said.
As captain, Konrad’s main goal is to motivate and inspire the team. She does this by giving them encouraging speeches, building team bonds and trying to always be there to support them
“I wanted to help the girls a lot. I wanted to help them be the best they can and help them be motivated because I know it’s hard to stay motivated in a sport that’s so tough,” Konrad said. “I wanted to help them continue to keep going and just always be there for them because I love them.”
Konrad credits her success this season to the difficult labor and effort she put into practicing and improving.
“[The most important lesson I learned from wrestling is] hard work leads you in the right direction to achieving your goals,” Konrad said. “Yes, it can be difficult, but if you keep working hard and keep your head in the right mindset, everything will be okay, and it’ll turn out the way you want.”
