Daily Journal Athlete of the Week: Bradley-Bourbonnais’ Aubrianna Rapier

Shaw Local

Name: Aubrianna Rapier

Sport: Girls wrestling

Year: Junior

Why she was selected: Rapier is one of several Boilermakers with their sights set on winning the school’s first-ever girls wrestling state medals this winter, and she seems well on her way. Before winning the 135-pound title at the Rantoul Invite on Jan. 19, Rapier was a force at the Mary Kelly Invite Jan. 16, winning that tournament as well.

Can you describe the feeling that comes with standing on top of the first-place podium after a tournament?

When I stand on the first-place podium, I think of how far I have come. I think of all the good times and bad times I had have with wrestling, and most of all, I think of making the ones around me who have encouraged me to keep going and the ones who have helped me learn new things proud. I also think of my little sisters, Aurelia and Adrianna’s faces when I go home to show them how cool their big sister is with her first-place medal.

Girls wrestling is one of the newest IHSA sports. When did you begin wrestling?

I began in the eighth grade.

Who are some of the people that got you interested in the sport, and how did they help you find passion for it?

There are a ton of people who encouraged me to do wrestling, but my number one person who really wanted me to try it out was my brother, Anthony. My brother would always pick on me and my older sister (Kylie) and want to wrestle him because he was in wrestling himself, and due to him, I had a lot of encouragement and some experience wrestling him at home.

You have several teammates who are also wrestling well right now. What’s going right as a team lately?

Lately we’ve had a lot of strive since it’s the end of the season to win first-place medals as a team and as individuals. We have grown closer as a team, and this makes us able to give effective criticism to each other without worrying about each other’s feelings. We push each other to our limits every day at practice because of how much everyone wants each other to win. The BBCHS wrestling team is so selfless, strong and supportive. If you have ever seen our bench, I’d think you’d agree too.

If you were to go from high school wrestling to “professional” wrestling like the WWE, what would your name be?

The Reaper. My coach (Micky Spiwak) calls me this, and he calls my older sister Grim, so of course I’d go with that!