Pinning and winning: Moyer remains diligent, determined in offseason, earns tournament title at Liberty camp
· Yahoo Sports
Vivian Moyer hasn’t seen a big stage that she couldn’t conquer.
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The incoming Ashland freshman has been one of the grappling groundbreakers for the girls wrestling program. She is a state middle school wrestling runner-up and has made multiple trips to the state tournament with the varsity team.
Moyer spent her offseason representing Ashland and showcasing her growing wrestling abilities, traveling to different states and competing under a national spotlight in several events, including winning a title at the Liberty University Open Tournament on July 18.
Moyer already possesses plenty of mat experience, and it accompanies her, fueling her competitive nature and increasing her confidence.
“It’s definitely helped,” Moyer said, “especially when it comes to the opponents that I have faced in tournaments and at State. I really have become grateful for it because I know without them, I wouldn’t be able to perform like I do at these national tournaments. It helps immensely and boosts my confidence. I do feel better about myself.”
Vivian and her young Ashland teammates perform well beyond their years. The impact has already taken hold, and their coaches expect it to expand further as they enter high school.
Ryleigh Mahan earned the program’s first regional crown when Ashland hosted the tournament in February. She later represented Kentucky at a prominent national event in Iowa after making the podium at State.
Moyer stayed busy over the summer and caught the attention of coaches and competitors across several states. She became the first wrestler to earn both individual and dual national placements, according to her coach.
New Ashland girls wrestling coach and proud mom, Janie Moyer, said the duo is just “built different.” She said they wrestle like they have something to prove, and it makes them stand out.
One word best describes it.
“It’s discipline,” Janie Moyer said. “My son was a wrestler. It’s how I was introduced to the sport. Vivian has that discipline. Butch (Scarberry) and I have our practices together, boys and girls. But if you can find a wrestler that possesses that discipline, it’s the edge. Ryleigh is incredibly disciplined. It’s like a movie watching her perform. Vivian is probably my most skilled. She is incredibly hard-working, but her discipline doesn’t stop. It’s an amazing trait.”
“I love to work in the offseason,” Vivian added. “It gives me something to do, but it also helps me perfect my craft. It’s so amazing to venture out from Kentucky to Ohio or Pennsylvania. It’s great to see how far women’s wrestling has grown and how it’s still growing. It’s so amazing to be a part of it. I love going to camps in the summer and my offseason practices.”
Vivian competes in only one sport, and it has her full attention. Team success remains important, but the best feature of wrestling is where she finds motivation. The playing surface is one of the smallest in all sports. It’s just two in the circle, and you have to find a way to take down the opponent.
“It’s about you and your opponent meeting at that line in the middle of the mat,” Vivian Moyer said. “It’s just you two and the referee. When you get to that moment, and the suspense builds, you are right up against them, and everything else disappears. … What matters is your hard work, discipline and if you are willing to do what needs to be done.”
The girls wrestling team has been to six camps this summer. The team has an offseason formula, but it’s not set in stone. The new coach will find them camps and set a workout schedule to put them in the best situations to succeed.
“Wrestling is one of the most demanding and taxing sports,” Janie Moyer said. “Even if they can’t attend all the offseason events, it’s not going to be a major factor because when we get back to the season, we are conditioning like machines. If you want to be a standout wrestler, you have to do the offseason work. If you are a multi-sport athlete, it’s great. As long as you continue to move, work out, eat really well, and try to pick up camps, you are good with me.”
Veteran Ashland coach and reigning All-Area Coach of the Year, Butch Scarberry, said everything the girls wrestling program achieves is due to hard work and not settling for second-best.
“They just have a drive to learn and get better,” Scarberry said, “and be the best they can possibly be. Ryleigh excels at everything she does, especially softball and wrestling. Vivian, both on the mat and in the classroom, thrives on getting better, always acquiring knowledge. She wants to be the best at whatever she’s doing.”
Wrestling programs combine their efforts during the offseason. The sport shares a bond. They are opponents inside the circle but come together outside it so it can thrive. Coach Moyer said that schools formed dual teams during the offseason and attended camps and tournaments as one solid unit.
Girls wrestling is trending in the conversation, and the evidence remains in the numbers.
“The whole idea of the girls coming together and getting themselves out there to camps was astonishing to see,” Janie Moyer said. “We are in a sweet spot for girls wrestling. These girls have revived the wrestling conversation. … Vivian went to a tournament in Sandusky, Ohio, and it was so big and a lot of the girls’ weight-class events were larger than the boys.”
Vivian Moyer spent four days at Liberty University camp. She traveled without her Ashland teammates but made new friends who shared a common interest. Days were filled with individual instruction and dual wrestling matches, in which Moyer wrestled and defeated girls up to 40 pounds heavier.
Moyer said she just returned home from another camp when her mom informed her she would be heading to Liberty later that week.
“The camp was amazing,’ Vivian Moyer said. “I had already been to a couple of college camps, but Liberty University stuck out to me. I really like the fact that it was a Christian-based school. The practices were great, and it was led by counselors who were wrestlers on their college team. It was amazing to learn and talk with them.”
Wrestlers from all ages and locations participated at the camp, including college competitors and older adults. Each had their own divisional tournament.
Vivian Moyer was part of the 135-151 pound middle school tournament. She faced opponents in a round-robin format and made quick work of the field to claim a championship.
All three of her matches lasted less than a minute. Moyer pinned each opponent in 30 seconds, 58 seconds, and the final match took less than 19 ticks off the clock.
Vivian Moyer has met so many incredible and talented wrestlers during her offseason journey, and in her travels she has shown her competitors that those same wrestlers also reside in her home state.
“It’s a main reason why I travel and compete in tournaments,” Vivian Moyer said. “I really want people to recognize that girls wrestling is growing in such a way that there are amazing wrestlers at places we wouldn’t even consider. Kentucky is not a huge wrestling state, like Pennsylvania, Iowa, or Ohio. It’s growing here, and it’s something we should know about and recognize more.”
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