FOCUSED ON SUCCESS WITH MADISON SANDQUIST!!!

 Intro: Today for “Woman Wednesday,” a blog section created by American Wrestler as a way to motivate, inspire, and represent women wrestlers by sharing their achievements, we will be interviewing  Madison Sandquist. Madison is currently ranked 8th nationally by USA Wrestling , and ranked #1 in Texas by Wrestling Texas. She is a senior at  Kingwood Park High School and is looking forward to attend a college where she can continue wrestling and pursue a career in sports psychology and nutrition. On her spare time Madison enjoys baking , regardless she is always focused on success. We wish Madison the absolute best and are delighted to see where her path takes her. 

Q. How did you begin your wrestling career, how old were you when you started?

a. I started wrestling in eighth grade. I had just quit the swim team and my parents wanted me to be involved in a sport, so I started wrestling with my brother at the club that is now rise. My brother Nate inspired me to wrestle because he made it look fun. I loved how competitive and challenging it was.

Q. What makes you passionate about wrestling?

a. The challenge is what makes me so passionate. There is an obvious physical challenge in wrestling that is very addicting, but for me it’s the mental challenges that make me the most passionate because it pushes me to be the best version of myself on the mat and everything I do. I cannot thank the sport enough for how strong and confident it has made me as a person.

Q. Who is your favorite wrestler and why?

a. My favorite wrestler is Madison Sandquist. I chose myself because I know how much work I put into what I do. I aspire to be the best and that makes me my own favorite.

Q.  How has your High School Coach, Coach Knight, influenced your wrestling career?

a. Coach Knight has influenced me by always pushing me to be the best leader I can be. He always has taught me to help our team and be the best example I can be on and off the mat.

Q.  When you’re not training with your high school team, you’re training at Team Rise HTX, under Coach Waldroup.  How has training at Team Rise HTX changed you as a student athlete?

a. My experience at team rise HTX has made me into the wrestler I am today. That is where I started. I am so grateful for my teammates there that have become family. The culture there inspires hard work and pulls the best out of all the athletes. Training there has also pushed me to become good at time management because I had to figure out how to maintain good grades while practicing there, and at my high school. Lastly, I cannot say enough about how thankful I am for my club coach Derrick Waldroup. He has had high expectations for me and has taught me almost everything I know about wrestling.

Q. Congrats on winning your state title and currently being ranked 8th nationally by USA Wrestling & ranked #1 in Texas by Wrestling Texas.  Do you feel any additional pressure going into your senior season?  If so how do you work through it?

a. Thank you! I don’t feel any additional pressure this year because I don’t have anything to prove. I definitely put a lot more pressure on myself last year but all it did was stress me out. I don’t worry about pressure or expectations anymore because my only goal is to do my best, and for me, that has nothing to do with rankings.

Q. What do you consider to be your biggest strength when it comes to wrestling?  What part of your “game” do you feel you need to work on the most?

a. My biggest strength is probably my ability to stop shots from my opponents because I constantly work so hard on that in the room. The part of my game that I think I need to work on the most is my mental game because I feel like I am my own biggest opponent because I get in my own head.

Q. What do you enjoy doing during your down time? How do you relax?

a. My favorite thing to do when I have downtime is to cook/bake for myself and my family. Lately my favorite thing to make has been pie, I find it relaxing and I love bringing some to my friends to try.

Q.  Are you planning on competing in college next year?  If so, what are looking for in a University besides the wrestling program?  What are you looking forward to studying?

a. I am definitely planning on competing in college. I plan on studying sports psychology and nutrition, so I am looking for universities that have classes for both of those areas.

Q. What is your favorite food dish?

a. My favorite food dish is a tie between pad Thai and spicy rigatoni

Q. What are your most listened to artist?

a. My most listened to artist is Taylor Swift.

Q.  If you could pick three famous people to be a part of your entourage, who would you pick?

a. Three famous people that I would have as part of my entourage would be Taylor Swift, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Gordon Ramsay.