There was no way around it: she was intimidated.
But, then again, who wouldn’t be?
Megan Zelasky did not let that word–intimidated–define her, though. She took the word down, put it in a half nelson and pinned it over and over again.
Zelasky did not become the first woman from Chapel Hill to place in a state wrestling meet by being intimidated.
The senior was first introduced to wrestling in eighth grade with a clinic during gym class at McDougle Middle School. After the session was over, she decided that she would keep her ears open to any wrestling opportunities when she got to high school.
And, as it happened, after starting her freshman year at Chapel Hill, Zelasky heard about a wrestling meeting on the announcements. Zelasky attended the meeting and then did what any 14-year-old girl would do: join the high school wrestling team.
When practices first started, Zelasky was daunted with the reality of being in a locker room with a group of old, strong, and sweaty boys.
“It’s wrestling, it’s intimidating, it’s a bunch of guys and I was a scared little freshman,” Zelasky said. “Finding a practice partner was really rough, too.”
On top of the gender-related obstacles, Zelasky faced the challenge of learning a new sport, just like any other novice wrestler. She struggled to learn the different offensive and defensive wrestling moves.
“If I’m being perfectly honest, the first year I had no idea what I was doing,” Zelasky said with a laugh. “It was horrible.You can’t rely on luck; it’s actual skill.”
Zelasky continued to grind through the intense practices. Sweat poured down the faces of wrestlers as they drilled in the steaming hot practice room. The sound of heavy breathing echoed across the mat as wrestlers gasped for air. The smack of bodies hitting the mat after a takedown repeated in a rhythmic pattern.
Zelasky got discouraged, and the thought of quitting started to bounce around in her mind.
“I didn’t know if it was the sport for me,” Zelasky said.
This is usually the part of an athletes’ story where they give up or decide their sacrifices are not being reciprocated with success. But, Megan Zelasky did not make it onto the podium by stopping when times were tough.
A simple conversation quickly changed her view.
Assistant wrestling coach Chase Kernodle called a meeting for underclassmen during the latter part of Zelasky’s freshman season.
Kernodle preached about commitment, and it immediately stuck with Zelasky. With a reinvigorated outlook after the discussion, she decided not to give up on wrestling.
Wrestling coach Tripp Price noticed her resilience. “She was there every day working hard, pushing herself and the other wrestlers,” Price said.
Zelasky did not want to be weighed down by the wrath of anxiety and intimidation anymore. She was not going to let her obstacles define her.
Whenever she had doubts about getting back on the mat, she just thought to herself: “I’m committed to this. I’m not going to think about it. I’m just going to do it.”
Zelasky pushed on.
She continued to wrestle during her sophomore year and started to see some improvement.
“I really started to figure out what I was doing, and I started to enjoy it a lot more,” Zelasky said.
After going 6-9 in varsity matches during the season, Zelasky took another big step.
For two years, she had given everything to the program during the season, but she was determined to give more.
“I decided, you know what, I’ve been here for two years, and it’s time to get better,” Zelasky said.
Zelasky ramped up her training routine. She started to lift more frequently and go to offseason tournaments.
The summer before her junior year, she attended a wrestling camp run by, at the time, University of South Carolina head women’s wrestling coach Brandy Green. It turned out to be an experience that she would never forget.
“It was life-changing,” Zelasky said. “It wasn’t just about wrestling; it was all-around nutrition, and it was really empowering.”
Zelasky carried the mindset and skills that she learned from the camp into her junior season and really started to appreciate the sport.
“I really like the toughness of wrestling and the direct correlation between the work you put into it and the results,” Zelasky said. “If you want it, you’re going to get it if you put the work in.”
Zelasky willed herself to another level on the mat through hard work and determination.
“As she has gotten older, she has learned what works and what doesn’t work,” Price said. “Also, she has gotten a lot stronger, and that has made a big difference.”
The spring after her junior season was yet another stepping stone in her journey.
Zelasky was invited to go to the women’s folkstyle national championship in Oklahoma City with Green and several female wrestlers from South Carolina.
“Just the experience and exposure to other women in the sport,” Zelasky said, “it changed my mentality.”
That mentality led Zelasky to her senior year, when she was poised for her most successful campaign.
Zelasky wrestled in the 106-pound and 113-pound weight classes for the Tigers during the season and tallied her best varsity record at 15-9.
After Gray’s Creek defeated Chapel Hill in the second round of the team state playoffs, Zelasky was set to compete in the first official North Carolina women’s state wrestling meet in Winston-Salem. Zelasky had looked forward to the competition all season.
“I was really excited because that is a big step for North Carolina women’s wrestling,” Zelasky said.
A total of 85 women wrestlers from around the state traveled to Winston-Salem to compete in the event. Zelasky signed up for the 106-pound weight class, which featured the most wrestlers out of all of the brackets in the tournament.
Zelasky lost her first match in the double elimination tournament.
But, if there’s one thing that is constant about Megan Zelasky, it is that she does not give up. Being intimidated did not stop her, failing did not halt her progress, and one loss certainly was not going to keep her down.
So, what she did next was not a surprise: she pinned two opponents.
Then, in her fourth match, Zelasky was losing with only seconds remaining. With the clock approaching zero, Zelasky took her competitor down, capturing the win and sending her to the third place match.
After the comeback win, Price was sure Zelasky would not look back in her last match to place in the tournament.
“At that point, I knew that she was going to take the next girl out,” Price said.
Here’s a hint: Price was right.
Zelasky pinned her opponent in the third and final period, the victory placing her third in the tournament. She became the first female wrestler to place at a state meet in Chapel Hill history.
A picture shows Zelasky standing on the podium, grinning ear-to-ear, and why not?
Zelasky, the same girl who struggled to learn simple wrestling moves, who was anxious about being part of the wrestling team, was a state placer.
“It was awesome,” Price said. “Being able to see how much she has grown, that’s what it is all about.”
Now, even though her career is over at Chapel Hill, Zelasky is exploring the possibility of wrestling at the next level. She has been in contact with coaches at Simon Fraser University (Vancouver), Ferrum College (Virginia), and Gannon (Pennsylvania).
Whether she decides to wrestle in college or not, Zelasky has left a lasting impact on the Chapel Hill wrestling program. In fact, in Price’s 38-year tenure at Chapel Hill, Zelasky was the first girl to wrestle all four years.
Zelasky will leave a legacy at Chapel Hill, but the program has also left an impact on her.
Zelasky’s answer was simple when asked what she would tell other girls who are thinking of wrestling: Do it.
“Don’t let anything get in the way of doing things that you are interested in,” Zelasky said.
Zelasky did not let anything get in her way–and there is no way around it.
