Janiah Slaughter is reminding everybody what she’s capable of.

Currently 22-1 with three tournament victories, Slaughter is wrestling with a renewed sense of passion and confidence after missing her entire junior season. A two-time IHSA state medalist and one of the top girls wrestlers in the McHenry County area, Slaughter has returned to the mat eager to prove herself again.

“At first, I didn’t know what to do,” said Slaughter, who has been managing a heart condition she said worsened her sophomore year. “I didn’t know where to go or what the first steps would be. ... What pushed me more was that people don’t really know what happened. Every match, I want to prove to myself that I can do it, and I want to prove to people that I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”

The Huntley senior has picked up right where she left off two years ago, when she went 29-3 and medaled in second at 105 pounds during the IHSA state tournament. Slaughter, who as a sophomore became the highest placing girls wrestler at Huntley and in the county, has finished first at Minooka’s Thanksgiving Throwdown, Maine East’s Mejoe Hernandez Invitational and the Findlay Invitational in Ohio.

“Coming back, one of my top things has been getting after it and going into every tournament knowing that I’m a top wrestler,” said Slaughter, who collected eight pins across her three tournament wins. “I have motivation from missing my junior year, so I want to prove to people that I’m back and I’m better. It’s been going well.”

Slaughter’s only defeat came at Iowa’s Dan Gable Donnybrook, one of the top high school wrestling tournaments in the nation, where she took fifth after a narrow 2-1 loss to top-ranked wrestler Cassidy McCallister. Slaughter recently went 3-0 to lead Huntley at the IWCOA Girls Dual Team State Championship meet in DeKalb.

“She’s come back very well from last year,” Huntley coach Scott Horcher said. “She’s had to work her way back to the top because nobody was giving her the respect she deserves to have. ... She’s come a long way. This year, she’s been more of a team captain and a team leader. She will be a good prospect wherever she goes.”

With teammates and coaches pushing her forward, Slaughter’s goal this season is to win a state championship. Slaughter, who placed third at state as a freshman when she went 27-5 at 100 pounds and became the first Huntley girls wrestler to place at state, said her mental health has been a major difference maker this season.

“My motivation and belief in myself was there in past years, but it wasn’t really helping me,” Slaughter said. “This year, I have people who’re encouraging me and pushing me harder. I see that having a big impact. My technique is getting there. I’ve been sharpening my go-to shots and sharpening everything. I’m making sure that I’m pushing the pace and I’m not allowing anyone to outpace me.”

Low singles, snapdowns and headlocks are just a few of the moves Slaughter has deployed this season and throughout her career with the Red Raiders.

“During my freshman year, Huntley girls wrestling wasn’t what it is now,” Slaughter said. “Coming in as a middle school wrestler, coach [Erik] Lachel taught me a lot of my top game and getting up from bottom. My club coach Justin [Peete] taught me my neutral game. My freshman year was a big adjustment, but I started to blend in more during the season, and I started getting the hang of it.”

Slaughter bumped up to 105 during her sophomore season, when she won four matches, two by tech fall, to clinch the first regional title of her career. She took second at sectionals and returned to the state tournament in Bloomington, where she rallied off three consecutive wins to become a state finalist for the first time.

“She’s managed her matches a lot better, and she doesn’t put her head down or freeze up when someone takes her down,” Horcher said. “Wrestling at the highest level, you’re at the top 1%, and those girls will be able to take you down also. She’s become a true leader, and she will be missed next year. She keeps it light, and she’ll help out with the first-year freshmen and sophomores.”

Although she lost in the state finals, falling 8-2 against Kaneland’s Angelina Gochis, a nationally-ranked wrestler with two state titles, Slaughter absorbed as much knowledge as she could and learned from both her victories and her defeat. Slaughter, who trains with ISI, has added more techniques to her arsenal through freestyle wrestling, which has helped improve her performance from the top.

“Learning freestyle wrestling and doing club wrestling over the offseason, that changed how I wrestle,” Slaughter said. “I have a lot of techniques to improve on. [Gochis] countered my shots, she blocked my shots and she controlled the match. I used to struggle if someone controlled the match for me. I’ve gained more techniques, and I’ve learned not to completely give up on a match.”

The oldest of three girls in her family, Slaughter started wrestling when she was in sixth grade, but wrestling wasn’t her first contact sport. An all-state gymnast at an early age, Slaughter’s first love was tackle football. Slaughter, whose natural speed made her a great running back, started football at 8 years old and played all the way until her sophomore year before focusing on wrestling.

“Being the only girl, I was teased a little bit, but when I showed that I was good, then people started accepting me,” Slaughter said. “There were people who supported me and people who said girls shouldn’t play football because it’s dangerous. ... I was fast, and I loved scoring touchdowns. I grew up playing football in the backyard, and I had never seen a girl play football, so I tried it out.”

Similar to how she disliked being tackled on the field, Slaughter doesn’t like to be taken down on the wrestling mat. The aggression she learned from playing football as a kid has translated to the mat room, where she’s learned patience, determination and confidence.

Slaughter has become a mentor for her youngest sister, Johanna, a sixth-grader and first-year wrestler who shares the same ferocity.

“That’s mini-me for real,” Slaughter said. “The wrestling family is way different from any other sport I’ve ever played. You see all of your teammates and the phases they’ve been through. You see them happy, you see them hurt, you see them sweat and you see them bleed. It’s something only a wrestler will truly understand.”