Gaskalla signs with TU; Greenslade to enter prestigious tournament

The girls wrestling program at Clyde continues to build champions and history.Senior Avery Gaskalla made Flier wrestling history Thursday as she signed her official letter of commitment to Tiffin University."It's a big moment for Avery and a really proud moment for our program," Fliers wrestling coach Adam Greenslade said. "She's been a part of this from the ground-up coming through our youth program, sticking with it and helping build the foundation of what our girls program is today."She is the third girl to wrestle collegiately from Clyde. Nena (Garcia) Cauda wrestled prior to it becoming an official varsity sport and sanctioned as a girls only sport. Audrey Miracle currently wrestles for the women's wrestling team at Heidelberg University as a freshman. HU debuted their women's team this past winter in November."Avery is a part of that lineage," Greenslade said. "She's also helped push things forward in this new era of girls wrestling at Clyde. She's helped raise the standard and we are excited to see what she does next at Tiffin. She has accolades, but more importantly, she is a leader and the younger girls look up to her."Gaskalla's resume doesn't lie: she is a two-time state qualifier, state alternate, their first four-year letter winner and school record holder for the most career wins.Her signing though was unique for the community, as it involved pairing with Clyde Nutrition, a local drink and nutrition shop and TU's women's wrestling team, which started in 2018-2019 .Clyde Nutrition created a tea specific for the event called "Dragon Tea" and TU's wrestling women's team came out to host a free training session for girls from biddy through high school which was open to all the schools. "We want the program to be about more than just competition," Greenslade said. "It created a really great community event, and it was a really positive experience for everyone involved. It gave the younger wrestlers something to look up to and showed what's possible. We are very intentional about trying to grow this program and growing it the right way."Another pioneer of the Fliers wrestling program, Meredith "Mimi" Greenslade, will be heading to Walsh Jesuit High School on Dec. 12 to wrestle in one of the most prestigious national competitions, the Women of Ironman Wrestling Tournament."It's a huge honor and well earned," coach Greenslade said. "The Ironman is widely considered the toughest in-season high school tournaments in the country, and to have Mimi invited to the girls division says a lot about the level she has reached."The tournament itself is invite-only and has over 800 wrestlers from over 300 high schools across the nation. It's three days of high-level competition and is one of the premier showcases of talent."There's no automatic entry; you've earned your way into a bracket that's loaded from top to bottom," coach Greenslade said. To be selected, it looks at a variety of factors: state placements, national-level results, head-to-head wins and overall body of work. Qualifying and placing at Fargo carries a lot of weight in determining whether a wrestler can compete.Mimi Greenslade is a two-time state placer, placed at central regionals and has wins over high-level athletes. She has competed on Team Ohio, which is Ohio's National Team. She has participated in club wrestling as well as other offseason training."She's checked a lot of the boxes and it built a strong case," coach Greenslade said. "But nothing is guaranteed and it makes it a lot more meaningful."For the Fliers wrestling program, it's a huge accomplishment and shows the girls in the program that anything is possible through a willingness to work hard."We talk a lot about growing the sport and creating opportunities," coach Greenslade said. "This is what it looks like exactly. It puts Clyde on the map a little more in the girls wrestling world, which opens up more doors for the next group coming up."