Galusha, Jennings Represent St. Paul At Disney Duals In Florida
It was a trip of a lifetime for two St. Paul Wrestlers as they got to represent Nebraska at the Disney Duals held in Ft. Lauderdale Florida as apart of the AAU Scholastic Open. Alexis Galusha and Delaney Jennings after qualifying at AAU State in Kearney were able to punch their tickets to Florida where they got to compete with Teams from all over the Country.
The Nebraska teams were mixed of Wrestlers from Gering all the way to Omaha. The teams from Nebraska went with an NBA Theme for their teams, Galusha, who became St. Paul’s first ever placer at State Wrestling this past year finishing 5th was apart of the Nebraska Pistons while Jennings wrestled for the Nebraska Jazz.
Jennings said representing her home state was one of the best opportunities given to her. “Representing team Nebraska in Florida is one of the best opportunities I’ve been given. If I had the chance to do this trip again, I would say yes 100 times over. The team I had was extremely supportive and I’ve made many lifelong friends that I’ll look for at every meet this next season. The coaches made wrestling fun and the parents who came to watch treated every girl on the team as their own.” Galusha echoed that sentiment as well. “This experience did help me become a better person and a better wrestler because other states have a different styles of wrestling than Nebraska does, so I had to adjust to their style and the pace also.”
Galusha went 7-5 over the duration of the Duals while Jennings went 5-7. It was a learning experience for both grapplers. “I would say that my biggest takeaway from this experience is to always keep your head up (figuratively and literally) and don’t be afraid to try new things. Before this tournament, I don’t think I ever took shots as much as I did at Disney Duals.” said Jennings. Galusha biggest takeaway was never getting caught in a certain move again while also working on sportsmanship. “My biggest takeaways is never getting caught in a double chicken wing ever again and to always have good sportsmanship no matter if I win or lose.”
The entire journey was special for both wrestlers even though on different teams to be able to share the moment together. “Alexis and I were separated but that’s okay because this trip was about having individual experiences and making the most out of the little time we had! We still texted nonstop about the little details and our friendship has definitely grown because of this trip!” exclaimed Jennings.