MILLERSVILLE, Pa. — Penn Manor High School sophomore Trinity Mowery remembers her introduction to wrestling.
"I had wrestled for one week and they threw me into my first tournament and it was a disaster," recalled Mowery. "I looked at them and was like 'I'm never doing that again,' and here I am four years later."
She started wrestling in sixth grade. Her family has a lot of history in the sport, and Trinity has covered a lot of ground since that first match.
"As an eighth grader, I went to Irving, Texas, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Fargo, North Dakota for all three national competitions," said Mowery.
"She's always doing something wrestling. That's someone who's dedicated to the sport and obviously has to enjoy the sport, to wrestle year-round like that. That's someone you want in your room," said Penn Manor girls wrestling Coach Jason Fellenbaum.
If you've been around Trinity, it doesn't take you long to see her passion for wrestling, and the same goes for helping the sport grow.
"I get to help coach for our elementary girls, which I really enjoy. Not even just the girls' program, but the guys' program as well," said Mowery.
Wrestling, coaching, and being a student can take up a lot of time, but for wrestling, Mowery is always up for more.
"We all got the email that they were opening up the junior officiating program, which I think is awesome," said Fellenbaum. "We had a bunch of girls express interest. Trinity was the first one to jump on board.
"As soon as they sent out the email, I was probably the very first person to respond," added Mowery. "Two minutes later, I was like, "I'm gonna do it!' I got all my clearances, passed my test, and here I am."
As one of the youngest and newest officials, Trinity does find the wrestler and official at odds in her head, even against herself now and then.
"They're like, that's two. And I'm like, 'It's not. I wouldn't have said that, but I'll take it," said Mowery with a laugh.
"She's done a couple of events that I've been at, so it's a little weird when I have to question a call that a wrestler I coach has just made. But, it's great cause we've got a dialogue outside of a wrestler-coach relationship. Now, we have an official and coach, and she's taught me a few things this year as far as rules and rule changes that I wasn't totally caught up on," said Fellenbaum.
Trinity has plenty of goals for herself on the mat this season, including being an all-American. Her different viewpoints within the sport can only help.
"I think she's going to end up being a more well-rounded wrestler. She's going to understand the rules and where the officials are coming from, and just kind of where the other parties are coming from and not just the wrestler," said Fellenbaum. "So, I'm hopeful that will make her a more intelligent wrestler on the mat and just give her a better perspective on the mat and what she can kind of glean from that on the official side."