State tournaments are the perfect spot for historical moments, and for Giada Scherich, she rose to the occasion on the biggest stage. The Lakota Tech junior not only won her first ever state wrestling title for herself, but she’s also the first wrestler from her school to do it.
Scherich defeated Summer Guthmiller of Sioux Valley in Saturday’s 138 lb championship match by an 8-4 decision.
“It honestly felt really fast, really intense, high speed,” Scherich said. “Props to Summer, she really gave me a battle out there, made me work for what I wanted.”
Last year, Scherich finished third at the state tournament. She’s been wrestling a long time, and the hard work finally paid off.
“I’ve been wrestling over half of my life and this is the spot I wanted to be in every since I was a little girl, every since I ever heard of wrestling, got introduced to the sport,” explained Scherich. “It just makes me really proud of myself to even be in this position right now.”
She also hopes that her success can help inspire other girls to follow her path.
“It means a lot. I hope to pave a way for other girls on the reservation that wrestle. They can do it too, anyone can do it if you just put your mind to it and work hard, perseverance,” Scherich exclaimed. “It just means a lot to be able to bring one back to my hometown.”
As for what’s next, the Lakota Tech junior hopes to return to the state tournament next year to defend her title.
“I’m hitting up national tournaments, I want to keep working,” she stated. “I want to be in this spot again next year, so I’m going to even work twenty times harder to get further than where I’m at now.”
Scherich also won the outstanding wrestling award for girls wrestling at the 2024 state tournament.
As a team, Lakota Tech finished fifth in the team standings with 81 total points. Sandra Moves Camp placed fifth in the 165 lb weight class, while Brandy Marshall and Jessica Waln both placed seventh. Marshall in the 107 lb weight class and Waln in the 126 lb weight class.
