Player to watch: Maddy Tung

If you happen to walk into the wrestling room during practice, there’s a lot to see. Tens of live wrestling matches, hundreds of double-leg take downs and thousands of sweat drops. But amid all the tosses, slams and twists, you’ll see a single girl: Maddy Tung (’15).After starting martial arts at just five years old, Tung was introduced to wrestling after Samo’s coach Mark Black came to her sixth grade Physical Education (P.E.) class and demonstrated how wrestling worked.After Black informed students of Samo’s middle school wrestling program, Tung was quick to join.“When I heard about wrestling, it was the perfect match for me,” Tung said. “I knew it was totally my thing. I had to try it — it was a natural progression of my personality. Mentally, both [martial arts and wrestling] are combat sports that require focus and the ability to be one-on-one with your opponent and take responsibility for the match. Martial arts teaches self discipline, confidence, health, respect, perseverance, self-improvement, integrity and spirit. These principles in a way define me.”After seeing Tung wrestle for the first time as a sixth grader, Black knew that Tung was going to be something special. Black’s hunch soon became reality, as Tung ended her sophomore year by missing state championships by one place. Tung continued to dominate in tournaments around the globe.“She had an overly busy summer in terms of wrestling,” Black said. “She went to Las Vegas and Competed in Western Regionals and took first. She took fourth in the nationals in Florida and went to Austria and competed for team USA. After, she got to compete against some of the best girls in the world while training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.”For Tung, training with the best female wrestlers in the world not only allowed her to propel her wrestling techniques to the next level, but also helped her become the person she is today.“The experience was amazing,” Tung said. “I got to talk to world champions. I feel like I can become part of that group, and I’ve learned so many new techniques from them. But more importantly, it made me develop a more positive attitude and a heightened sense of self confidence.”Although Tung is the only girl on Samo’s current wrestling team, she is adamant that it doesn’t affect her. She has taken the lessons she learned when wrestling around the world and applied them back home.“Wrestling has taught me that I shouldn’t be afraid to pursue what I enjoy because of gender,” Tung said. “For example, I really like math, and I want to be an engineer. Though many people tell me that engineering is a man’s field, I’m not afraid of entering engineering because of [my experience] wrestling. I’m never going to let gender stop me.”Teammate Jake Beare (’15) said that Tung has gained the respect of the wrestling team, despite being the only female.“All of the men on our team look up to and admire her,” Beare said. “Day in and day out she is one of the hardest working wrestlers and she is always quick to motivate others to work hard too.”According to Black, Tung’s unwavering boldness will help her achieve success for her ultimate aspirations, becoming an Olympic champion.“She’s on a different trajectory,” Black said. “There’s no reason she can’t compete in the Tokyo Olympics.”