It was all about winning that big eagle for Sallisaw senior Emma Wissman. 

“I was a girlie girl growing up and didn’t know anything about wrestling, but I got on the first team they had in middle school and the coach told me about an upcoming national tournament, and if you place you get a big eagle,” Emma said. “And being a middle school kid, I thought, ‘that’s cool,’ so I went and placed and got my big eagle and I’ve been hooked ever since.”

Her coach, Darrel Hume, credits Emma with the popularity of the girls wrestling program at Sallisaw.

“Emma has wrestled for several years, including with Hurricane Wrestling in Tulsa, as well as preseason and postseason national tournaments,” Hume said. “She’s been to state every year with us, and last year when it became sanctioned she finished fourth. We started the program with just two girls and now we have 36 female wrestlers in middle and high school. We even have a girl’s wrestling class at school and Emma helps us with that program and teaches some of the younger girls.”

“That leadership characteristic is where I’ve really seen her grow,” added assistant coach LuWella Harris, who has worked with the girls for the last four years.

Her role model is Olympic wrestler Sarah Hildebrandt, who placed third in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

“I saw a photo of her with a cut on her eyebrow and blood coming down her face while she was smiling and I said, ‘I want some of that,’ which is crazy I know, but I want to be that dedicated,” Wissman said. “She’s my favorite person on the planet. She’s small like me and likes the single leg like I do, and I watch the videos she does that show how she does things.”

Emma’s experience of going to the first real state wrestling competition last year has made her hungry for more this year.

“There were a lot of girls there, but I went in with a positive mindset. I think the big lesson I learned last year was to not be nervous and control what I can control,” said Wissman, who is also a defender on the soccer pitch for the Black Diamonds and is involved in National Honor Society and FCA.

Emma already has several college offers in hand and plans to study psychology wherever she goes.