Nationals

After graduating high school with her two state championships and three district titles, Marshall was recognized as a star athlete. However, at Wayland Baptist University, everything was at an entirely different level.

Her first year, Marshall would step into practice daily and know she was going to lose. While she felt she didn’t stand a chance, she knew it would pay off eventually.

“Eventually I gained that confidence. Yesterday the score was 12-0, today it’s 0-0,” Marshall said. “Just coming in with that mindset that it’s a new day, a new start, and I’m ready.”

One of the biggest differences was how much more was on the line at Wayland Baptist.

“You have to push yourself and be the best version of yourself,” Marshall said. “They’re depending on you… so if you want to win that trophy, you have got to bring your A-game.”

This caused Marshall to spend all her time in the gym and try to go even further. Her hard work paid off in her first and second year at Wayland Baptist, finishing fourth both years in the Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association National Championship. But she wasn’t satisfied. When junior year came around, Marshall pushed herself even more.

While she was handling the physical side of wrestling, the mental side began wearing on her.

“I’d worked so hard for a year and a half, day in and day out, it became like it was my job,” Marshall said. “I was working out so much it was taking the fun out of wrestling for me.”

The issue wasn’t Marshall’s competitive drive. She was a winner at heart. However, staying motivated became a challenge for the first time.

“Of course I wanted to win. You always want to win. The moment you tell yourself you don’t, that’s your downfall,” Marshall said. “It got to the point where I was just going because I felt like I had to.”

Weeks before her third national championship meet, Marshall attended a tournament where one of her friends was competing. She watched the match from the sidelines to cheer her on. As her friend fell behind, Marshall yelled out instructions. Marshall felt her experience with wrestling allowed her to know exactly what to say.

“I knew what to tell her because I’d been there so many times and I knew how hard she’d worked,” Marshall said. “To know what her goals were and to see her reach those goals, that meant everything to me.”

After her friend won, Marshall found coaching taught her something vital about who she was.

“That was the moment I realized that I don’t want to just wrestle,” Marshall said. “I want to be the one that’s helping athletes reach their goals.”

Marshall had re-thought everything about her future. But at the end of the day, she’d set out for a national title and she was there to win.

At nationals, Marshall won four matches, setting her up for another final.

This time it was a back and forth fight for first place. The entire season this is all she wanted. Marshall’s final match was tied at 5-5.

“If this is a legitimate goal you set for yourself, then you have to do everything that you can,” Marshall said. “I was just telling myself, you don’t stop shooting, you don’t stop until he blows the whistle, whatever you do you don’t stop.”

With four seconds left in the match, Marshall took a risk, and got behind her opponent for a takedown. With seconds left on the clock, Marshall won the match 6-5. It was the perfect ending to the perfect year, making her the national champion.

“I felt like if I could put my mind and my body under that much stress and still make it out on top, there’s nothing I can’t do in life,” Marshall said.

With pride and her accomplishment, Marshall took a sigh of relief. Now with a trophy in her hand, she felt weight lifted off her shoulders.

“Thank God I reached my goal, because I don’t know if I can continue to do this,” Marshall said. “It’s no longer fun to me.”