The Rolla High School wrestling program is much bigger than most people think, extending beyond regional or state competitions. For example, this summer, Rolla athlete senior Serenity Tilford and wrestling coach Marty Hauck, traveled along with other former RHS wrestlers to Europe to participate in United World Wrestling—a high-ranking international wrestling competition. The first half of the trip was a tour, the second half consisted of intense competition. The team stayed in countries like Slovenia, Serbia, and Turkey and came home with many personal and rewarding accomplishments under their belts.
“[In] the days leading up to it, I think I was just kind of in awe that it was actually happening. I was like: ‘I can’t believe I’m actually doing this, like I’m going overseas.’ I’m a person who loves travel, and I love to explore the world, and to get to do that with one of my other favorite things—wrestling—was like an awe inspiring experience for me,” Tilford said.
Tilford, who had never received an opportunity to travel abroad before, had done a lot in preparation for the trip to make sure that she was at her absolute best for the rigorous competitions ahead of her.
“I was preparing with the mindset of knowing that I would be faced with very high-level wrestling. And so I studied certain videos. I’d go through my matches…and watch them over and over, and I’d write down things that I could have done better, things that were good, things that I could see I was trying to hit but that my timing wasn’t right…So then, when I got in the room, I’d drill those things…I think it’s about putting in one hundred and ten percent in the room every time,” Tilford said.
The competition was a showcase of unique wrestling styles all across the world, making Tilford’s training different than in high school. Hauck worked with Tilford behind the scenes to help her ready herself for the wrestling variances to come.
“There’s three different styles of wrestling. [At UWW] and the Olympics, you have women’s wrestling, which is freestyle, you have men’s freestyle, and then you have Greco-Roman. In Greco-Roman, you cannot touch legs, and [it’s] a male-only style. The style that we do in high school is folkstyle, and we are the only country in the world that does folkstyle,” Hauck said.
Outside of wrestling, the RHS wrestling team also explored many parts of Europe. They ate incredible food, traversed beautiful terrain, and even got to sleep in a castle.
“Being in a lot of different countries was something that brought a lot of joy to me,” Tilford said. “I love to learn about different cultures. The more I know, the more I can appreciate it, and the more it makes me look at my own life,” Tilford said.
The RHS wrestling team isn’t going to stop their travels any time soon, as Hauck is already working with places all around the world to continue competing abroad.
“A goal of mine is to do REPS across the world, meaning relationships, education, passion and servant leadership. So I built a lot of relationships that opened up many doors for our future athletes and future wrestlers for this program. A lot more opportunities are going to come from this…Our summer is [always] filled with international and national travel, that’s not going to go away, that’s not going to change,” Hauck said.
Tilford’s summer wrestling experience earned her many placements and awards. United World Wrestling was a game changer in Tilford’s wrestling trajectory, and to that, she shares advice for those who want to follow the same road.
“Don’t give up. Keep your drive high, because you never know when your next opportunity is going to be presented to you. Don’t ever throw a possibility out the window right away because if you would have told me my sophomore year that I would be placing fifth at state…and then go to Europe and qualify for…[an] international [wrestling] camp. I never would have dreamed of that sophomore year. Don’t limit yourself. What you can do is always set a higher goal…never be complacent!” Tilford said.
