Mount Vernon’s Gracie Pinckney making a statement in senior season

MOUNT VERNON — In middle school, Gracie Pinckney wanted to go out for a sport. But, it wasn’t on a mat, and it wasn’t during the winter.

It was on the gridiron. It was football.

Her parents, Jimmy and Sara, weren’t keen on the idea. Instead, she joined the football program as a manager.

As for her involvement in sports, it was her eighth-grade year when she found her way to the wrestling mat.

“My parents told me no to football, so I said let’s try wrestling,” Pinckney said. “At first, I was just going to do practices and stay in shape.”

From being an eighth-grader in search of her sport to one of Mount Vernon’s first four-year female wrestlers, Pinckney has grown from not knowing much about wrestling to being a three-time state qualifier and a fifth-place finisher at last year’s state tournament.

“It’s been a lot of ups and downs,” Pinckney said. “My coaches have been great at learning with me, especially the different moves. They know I have to see it multiple times and have the move done on me, so I know what the pressure should be like.

“We’ve also learned that I wrestle best when I am mad, so that’s what I do. I get mad and then go out and wrestle.”

For Mount Vernon head coach Trevor Trende, having Pinckney in the Mustangs’ lineup brings more energy to the team.

It’s easy to notice.

“She’s a woman full of energy and is super outgoing,” Trende said. “She talks to her opponents and teammates. She brings good energy to our room every day.

“She’s been a good role model for our girls to see that hard work pays off.”

Pinckney’s hard work is paying off, indeed. On Dec. 8 at the Williamsburg girls tournament, she upset South Tama’s defending state champion, Autumn Elsbury, by a 4-3 decision.

It’s a match that still lives in her head and propels her to continue wrestling at a high level during the second half of the season.

“That match was a hard one,” Pinckney said. “My coach told me I had the match and that I needed to prove what I had been working for all summer. I’ve been pushing myself, and I had to be fast and smart.”

Wrestling at a high level has helped Pinckney become one of the team’s leaders.

Trende attributes this to the hard work ethic of their solid senior class in Pinckney, Carly Elliott, Kiersten Swart, Adeline Whisner and Kaylee Kintzel.

“These five seniors are our first group since we’ve had a sanctioned program,” Trende said. “It’s the first group of girls we will have had for four years. It’ll be sad to lose them. I’m just proud of all of them. They’ve paved the way for our program and have held our program to a high standard.”

Together, those five have created something special inside the Mount Vernon girls wrestling program.

“Everybody is family and that is the best part about this,” Pinckney said. “Everybody stays close and supports each other. We are always watching each other. It’s such a positive environment.

“It motivates you to do better.”

And, to the eighth-grade girl who may be contemplating sports, particularly wrestling, Pinckney has an important, motivating message for you.

“Believe in yourself,” Pinckney said. “Keep pushing yourself. If you put in that work, you’re going to get up there and be No. 1. Just do it.”