By Rich Winter

605 Sports

FARGO, N.D. — A year ago Spearfish wrestler Taylor Fierbach-Graveman was the only female wrestler from South Dakota to compete at the USA Wrestling Championships in Fargo. Fierbach-Graveman earned All-American honors in 2021 with a sixth place finish. 

Fast forward just one year and South Dakota sent nine girls to the national championships, with two of those young ladies earning All-American honors. 

“When South Dakota sanctioned girls wrestling two years ago I was happy because it just reassured every little girl's dream that if they wanted something they could go out and work for it,” Taylor Fierbach-Graveman said. “It is cool to watch the numbers grow and to see where girls don’t have to wrestle boys and girls don’t have to worry about boys accepting them.” 

Fierbach-Graveman finished 5th in Fargo this year (132) and she had the company of Canton’s Zoe Adam (200) who earned All-American honors with an 8th place finish. 

Following her ‘blood’ match to move into All-American status, Adam was so focused on wrestling, it took a few minutes before she realized she was an all-american. 

“I wrestled four matches in about 90 minutes,” Adam said. “It was good to take a breath because that was my final match, but once it hit me I thought, ‘This is crazy, this is awesome.’” 

While Adam is no novice to wrestling, she is a newbie to South Dakota as her family relocated from Alberta, Canada prior to the 2021/2022 school year. 

“I saw a lot of kids talking about the state tournament on Instagram and thought it would be cool to go to one of those,” Adam said.

Adam won a state title at Canton last year, but she says the Fargo experience was a whole new feeling. 

“Fargo is elevated and you have more and better wrestlers,” Adam said. “I felt some pressure because there are college coaches watching and critiquing everything you do.” 

It is no accident these wrestlers are good. Both spend time, sometimes multiple times per day working on their craft. 

“I work out almost every single day,” Fierbach-Graveman said. “I have to get a wrestling workout every day, on the mat or working on something that imitates wrestling.” 

Taylor Fierbach-Graveman showing some skills on her way to a 5th place finish - Photo courtesy of Bree Adam - Just One More Moment Photography

The weight room has not been lost on the Spearfish senior. 

“You gotta lift to be strong to outwill your opponent,” she said. 

For Adam this summer has been one big commitment to working out. She’s been working out twice a day and two weeks prior to Fargo she started training at the Legends of Gold Wrestling Academy, sometimes three times a day. 

After Adam earned All-American status she found her dad for a hug. 

“My dad has been my wrestling coach for a long time and he’s never missed a tournament,” Adam said. “He’s been a huge voice in my wrestling career and I’m super thankful for all the hard work and how he’s helped me move on in this sport.”

Zoe Adam gives her father a hug at the USA Wrestling National Championships - Photo courtesy of Bree Adam, Just One More Moment Photography

Girls wrestling in South Dakota is still in its infancy. One wrestler to Fargo last year, nine this year, Fierbach-Graveman, who has college aspirations in wrestling is glad she’s part of the pack paving the way for the next generation. 

“It means a lot because I know I have a lot of little people, and people of all ages and not just girls looking up to me,” she said. “They see someone can do it and if they see someone doing it they know they can do it also.” 

Having another All-American from South Dakota join her this year meant a great deal to Fierbach-Graveman. 

“Last year I was the only girl that went and competed up at Fargo,” she said. “I was super impressed with Zoe’s performance and it felt pretty good to share the journey with someone else.” 

Adam feels like the Fargo tournament, and her performance was surreal. 

“You see something like this in the movies, someone being the first to do something and you never think it’s going to be you,” she said. “I didn’t think it would be but everything in my life is for the glory of God.”