BLOOMINGTON — When she was younger, Yariah Shaw saw her brother, Phillip Shaw, compete in the IHSA state wrestling meet.
“When I was younger, I was seeing my brother wrestle all of the time,” Shaw said. “After that, I said ‘I want to wrestle.’ I started it and I enjoyed it.”
“At around 7, she was sitting in the crowd when her brother wrestled,” Shaw’s mother, Yolanda Shaw, said. “She was tired of watching from the bleachers and she wanted to wrestle and we let her start.”
The Danville freshman has more than enjoyed the sport and on Friday, she was able to compete in state competition at the IHSA girls state meet at the Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington.
Shaw won her first match, 18-4, against Ryleigh Eriks of Rock Falls, but took her first loss of the season in a 18-2 defeat to Glenbard North’s Ariella Dobin. She would rebound to defeat Collinsville’s Londyn Long 10-0 in the consolation bracket to get to today’s final day where she can get at the most third place.
“I feel like it is going to be different because it is high school,” Shaw said on Thursday, “But when I was in youth, I had the experience of being in an arena, so I am going to be confident or make me too nervous and I think I will be OK.”
Shaw came in with an 12-0 record and rolled through competition in regionals and sectionals with no problem.
“It actually surprised me being a freshman,” Shaw said. “I thought it was going to be a lot more competition. Going into state, I know it would be harder, but I am proud of myself.”
Before high school, Shaw was in the Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation and won the state title in eighth grade.
“She started out with Lionheart Wrestling, won the IKWF wrestling tournament last year and the year before she was runner-up,” Yariah’s mother, Yolanda Shaw said. “Some of them start at high school but she got a knowledge of wrestling.”
“When I was in sixth grade, I went to Boys state and I was one away to place,” Yariah Shaw said. “Then in my seventh grade year, I went to girls state and took second and in eighth, I won state.
“It has been really fun and exciting experience. I have been seeing new faces and going against different girls. I got a feel for some different strengths in sectionals because there were some girls that were pretty tough.”
No matter where she finishes today, Shaw said the work she has done with coaches and family have meant a lot to the first of many trips to Bloomington.
“They are pretty excited,” Shaw said. “They have been cheering me on the whole way and doing everything to get me prepared. I can look up to them because they do things like Jiu Jitsu that can help in wrestling.”