4-14-2022 11:35am

PROFILE: Dulaney High's Sarah Sunday

Jeff Barto Editor

Last month, Dulaney High School wrestler Sarah Sunday became Maryland’s first two-time MPSSAA (Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association) Girls Wrestling State Champion since the tournament’s introduction in the 2019-2020 season.

Photo Credit: Steve Sunday

Moments after Sarah won her second state title, holding up a "two" to represent consecutive titles | Photo Credit: Steve Sunday

TRYING SOMETHING NEW

When Sarah Sunday entered Grade 9 at Dulaney High School, she joined the school’s cheerleading team. Then, she was convinced to try something new, a sport with great contrast to cheerleading: wrestling.

“They have a sports orientation for freshman and there’s a bunch of tables set up. You walk around and then they try to get you to sign up,” Sarah said. “There was a girl at the wrestling table, her name was Destiny, and I kept looking over. I was like ‘Oh that’s kind of cool...I didn’t know girls could really wrestle.’ Then, she called me over and made me sign up.”

"I didn’t know girls could really wrestle."

“I went to the first practice, and I loved it, so I stuck with it,” she said.

Dulaney wrestling coach Scott Asher was thrilled to see that Destiny Benjamin, who went on to wrestle at Ferrum College, had convinced another girl to give wrestling a try. “I met [Sarah] on her first day of practice her freshman year,” Asher said. “When she first came into the room, she was very shy, very quiet. She wasn’t sure about anything and didn’t know any moves. Destiny kind of took her under her wing.”

Sarah spent her first two seasons on Dulaney’s junior varsity (JV) team, and primarily wrestled against boys. “She certainly took her lumps,” Asher said. “Occasionally another team would have a girl. The Maryland State Wrestling Association (MWSA) had a girls state championship. They called it states, but it wasn’t sponsored by the MPSSAA yet.” For the first time, Sarah had the opportunity to compete in an all-girls tournament, but unfortunately, she injured her arm and had to default out of the tournament.

Photo Credit: Steve Sunday

Sarah facing off against wrestlers from Eastern Tech and Western Tech | Photo Credit: Steve Sunday

LET’S GET SERIOUS

The next season, MPSSAA introduced an official state tournament for girls, and Sarah began to kick into second gear. “She was still on JV, but they had one girls tournament at Lansdowne and she won that tournament,” Coach Asher said. “But the other JV events, she probably won half of her matches against boys. We certainly liked her odds when she wrestled against girls, but we weren’t sure how big [the tournament] was going to be in the first year.

As girls wrestling was still growing throughout the state, Sarah moved directly to the state tournament as there were not enough competitors for a regional tournament. Then, after two dominant performances, Sarah pinned both opponents, claiming a state title in MPSSA’s inaugural tournament.

“My initial goal was only to place at states,” Sarah said. “After I won my title, I was like ‘Wow, I can actually do this.”

She continued, “It felt really cool. If some little girl is doing a project on wrestling and she looks up the first state champions, I’ll pop up! When it first happened, I didn’t realize how important it was, but now I’m a foundation for future generations.”

"If some little girl is doing a project on wrestling and she looks up the first state champions, I’ll pop up!"

“It was overwhelming,” said Sarah’s father, Steve. “Like she said, her first year she didn’t really take it seriously, and I didn’t take it seriously either. When I saw her getting into it, I really started getting into it. She won that championship and became nationally ranked.”

Photo Credit: Steve Sunday

Sarah representing The Misfits in an off-season tournament at Spooky Nook | Photo Credit: Steve Sunday

COVID CANCELLATION

Shortly after Sarah’s state title win in early March 2020, everything changed with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eventually, the pandemic led to the cancellation of the 2020-2021 BCPS winter sports season, but Sarah and her father made her decision to seek other wrestling opportunities.

“It was a bummer, not going to lie, but I think a big part of wrestling is being pushed through adversity,” Sarah said. “I think that was one of the challenges I just had to overcome. I think it was a blessing in disguise. I started getting pretty good pretty fast. I think I was training a lot more than I would have been if I was in an actual season.”

Throughout the year, Sarah and her father travelled to regional and national tournaments throughout North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia. Throughout her travels, Sarah has found a home with Headhunters Wrestling in Columbia, Maryland; however, she continues to travel throughout the state to train with different coaches and wrestlers.

STRONG SUPPORT SYSTEM

Unfortunately, the path is not always easy for female wrestlers. Sarah’s father recalled instances of both coaches and wrestlers who refused to train with Sarah. In these challenging moments, Sunday told his daughter, “If we don’t come back, they win.” And so, despite the adversity, Sarah persisted, with her father's support as a constant as the two travelled to tournaments throughout the county. "I think I only missed one match this year, maybe two," he added.

“If we don’t come back, they win.”

“There’s going to be a lot of coaches that you encounter who are not going to care about you,” Sarah said. “They’re just going to push you to the side, especially for younger girls starting out. I try to tell them, ‘Find a coach who will be your second dad and stick with them.”

Sarah continued, “Coach Asher, he treats me like his own. He never judges me for any decisions I make and he’s always supporting me no matter what I do. I was so lucky to have a coach who is so inclusive and cares about women’s wrestling so much. He sacrifices so much for us.”

Left to Right: Sarah with her father, Sarah with Coach Asher

OFF THE MAT

Off the mat, Sarah is a successful student and finds that her experience wrestling has helped her in the classroom. “I think it has allowed me to find balance in my life and time management. Being able to get my assignments done on time, but also getting to practice on time,” Sarah said. “I think that’s something that will translate to college and everything I do in the future.”

Sarah’s father added, “The kid was working two jobs, going to school, practicing in several different clubs five, six, seven days a week all at the same time. It was incredible how she did all of this, and at some point it was like, something needs to give. Then one of the jobs went away and she wanted to get another one, and I was like, ‘No.’ It was just too much on her.”

"The kid was working two jobs, going to school, practicing in several different clubs five, six, seven days a week all at the same time."

“Wrestling is not a sport where you just go out and play. It’s a lifestyle,” he continued. “At the level she is wrestling, you really have to dedicate a lot of time and energy, and you have to have the support system there to help you. She has been blessed with the talent and drive to do it.”

Photo Credit: Steve Sunday

Warming up for a meet against Towson High School | Photo Credit: Steve Sunday

RETURNING HOME

In fall 2021, Sarah was ready to get back to work with Coach Asher and her Dulaney teammates. “It was kind of like returning home after a really long trip,” she said. “Coming back to who built me. I was able to grow, and I think that coming back and [Coach Asher] being able to see the progress, I think that was pretty cool.”

“It was kind of like returning home after a really long trip.”

“I knew from the very first practice when she started to drill with one of our co-captains, I was just like, ‘Wow,” Asher said. “Her technique and intensity—everything had purpose. She knew exactly what she wanted to do.”

Throughout the 2021-22 season, Sarah continued to wrestle primarily against boys, but this time at the varsity level. “She was 8-4 against boys on varsity this year,” Asher said. “There were a couple events where they had girls around her weight, and I don’t think they wanted to participate. Sarah would beat their varsity boys wrestler, and they would say, ‘No thanks.”

Asher continued, “Some of the opponents, they see a girl come out on the mat, and Sarah would have her pink knee pad, and the guys would like ‘Oh great, I get to wrestle a girl’ and a minute later they’re smashed on their back, taken down twice. Then they come over to and say ‘Oh my God, she’s really good!” and I’m like, ‘I know.”

Left to Right: Facing off against Catonsville High School in a tough matchup, Sarah performing her favorite takedown (blast double) against Pikesville. | Photo Credit: Steve Sunday

TIME TO REPEAT

With the state tournament on the horizon and a successful varsity season under her belt, Sarah set her sights on claiming a second state title two years after her first. “It’s kind of a different kind of pressure because, I didn’t realize it until now, but a lot of girls that are younger than me look up to me. It’s kind of one of those things where I don’t want to let anyone down.”

“We were very confident for the postseason,” Asher said. “We didn’t want to be overconfident, but she had wrestled regionally and nationally, and I don’t think she has lost to a [female] Maryland wrestler since the state tournament her freshman year.”

Asher continued, “She was like a mini rockstar. Everywhere we went, all of the coaches knew her. All of the girls wrestlers, everybody knew her. I could tell some of the girls are whispering, “Oh my God, is she in your weight [class]?”

"She was like a mini rockstar. Everywhere we went, all of the coaches knew her."

Then, on March 5, 2022, Sarah’s goal came to fruition as she became one of three BCPS girls’ wrestlers to win a 2021-22 state championship along with Perry Hall’s Alaina Kopalchick and Randallstown’s Ugochi Anunobi. However, Sarah is the first and only 2x MPSSAA Girls Wrestling State Champion.

Photo Credit: Steve Sunday

Sarah takes on a state tournament qualifying wrestler from Hereford High School | Photo Credit: Steve Sunday

WHAT’S NEXT?

With the high school season over, Sarah’s focus shifted to her college search. “I’d love to continue wrestling for as long as I can,” she said. “It’s definitely something that I’ll do throughout the rest of my life.” So, after much deliberation, Sarah has committed to attend and wrestle at Oklahoma City University.

Sarah is unsure of what subject she will choose for her major in college, but she has a few ideas. “I want to do business, but I also want to do sports science or kinesiology, but I also want to do something that can help people like social work. I’m trying to find something that will combine everything.”

Photo Credit: Steve Sunday

Photos from Sarah's visit and signing at Oklahoma City University

LEAVING A LEGACY

As Sarah prepares to graduate, Coach Asher is already considering the future of Dulaney wrestling. “I’m hoping to get more girls next year,” he said. “I’m going to get in front of all of the 9th grade physical education classes next year at Dulaney and just give a pitch for getting more girls on the team. We’re going to have a couple more girls tournaments next year. I’m looking to have one at Dulaney if I can.”

Asher’s pitch to the next generation of BCPS girls wrestlers is simple: “[Wrestling] is a metaphor for life. You get out of it what you put into it. You can’t blame your teammates for something that goes bad. It’s just you on the mat. Both of my standout wrestlers, Destiny and Sarah, they both started their careers quiet and shy, and by the time they were senior they were just so much more confident.”

Sarah’s father concurs, “Wrestling has transformed [Sarah] from a giddy, little, giggly school girl to a goal-oriented and very driven person. It has been a phenomenal transformation, both physically and mentally, and in maturity as well. Her grades have been excellent. She has excelled and worked very hard.”

Sarah added, “As cliché as it sounds, just keep pushing. Never give up. Life can throw so many things at you, but you just have to stay strong and keep pushing through the challenges.”

So, who’s next, Team BCPS?