IRMO, S.C. — Irmo High School's wrestling State champion is a girl for the first time.
Mya'ah Vincent, who is a Sophomore at Irmo High School, became the school's first female State Champion wrestler at the 2020 Carolina Invitational at Lexington High School.
Vincent, who has only been wrestling for two years, says her motivation comes from her teammates and her coaches.
"Most of my motivation was people like coaches, and people in my age group pushing me and telling me that I could do better." Vincent said.
But Mya'ah's journey did not come without speed bumps.
During her first year of wresting, she was the only girl on the team and often wrestled against boys.
Despite this, Mya'ah's confidence did not waiver.
"Just having to wrestle and be the only girl, it was very challenging because people would see me and be like I'm going to beat her, but they learned that I'm not like that." Vincent said.
Nicholas Wilcox, who is an Assistant Coach on team, says Mya'ah's excitement for the sport is the reason for her success.
"I've been coaching for a long time and had several girls come through, but I've never seen one that was as excited to get out there and wrestle as she is." Wilcox said.
In total, Irmo's female wrestling team had three girls place in the top five at the tournament.