By Rich Winter

Several weeks after visiting wrestling superpower, Iowa, with a collegiate visit, Spearfish senior Taylor Graveman found her dream college in Naperville, Illinois.

The two-time South Dakota state champion will be taking her talents to North Central College next fall. 

“I honestly chose North Central because it felt right and the environment fit me,” Graveman said. “The whole community was supportive of the team and all of the athletic programs and the coaches were amazing.” 

Despite having offers from a multitude of Division I programs, Graveman chose the top Division III program in the country. Spearfish coach Joel Martin explains the magnitude of the signing and compared his athlete signing to that of Pierre’s Lincoln Kienholz signing with Ohio State. 

“This is a really big signing,” Martin said. “People don’t know that the NCAA only has like 60 women’s wrestling teams. North Central College is one of the top programs in the country so this is a pretty cool thing.” 

Martin said he met Gravemen when she was in the fourth grade after her brother started wrestling in the Spearfish youth club. Martin has been coaching football and or wrestling for 26-years and says Graveman’s work ethic is unmatched. 

“She basically takes August off and starts back up in September,” he said. “She wrestles with the Black Hills Wrestling Academy and is an accomplished powerlifter.” 

Graveman says she holds many national and even world records for power-lifting, something that helps her a lot when she competes at a national level. 

During the recent snowstorm and accompanying blizzard, Graveman didn’t miss a beat in her training, making it to her father Shane’s gym every day. 

What pushes a young South Dakota athlete to train like no other? 

“I don’t want to be a good athlete, I want to be the best athlete,” she said

Courtesy Photo

Last summer Graveman received All-American honors with a fifth-place finish at that national  tournament in Fargo, North Dakota. Sixth at that tournament the year before Martin said Graveman was on the verge of a national title a year ago. 

“She was beating the girl that won it 9-1 and we just kinda fell into a couple of mistakes,” Martin said. “People said that was the toughest weight class in Fargo and she beat two Iowa recruits while she was there.”

The success at the high school and national level from Graveman has paid dividends for the Spearfish girls program. 

“Last year grades 6-12 we had 12 total girls in our program,” Martin said. “This year we have 32 girls and I truly believe those jumps come directly from Taylor and Maraia Kruske who is going to sign to wrestle for the University of Sioux Falls.”

The Spearfish girls were ranked No. 2 in the latest Dakota Grappler team rankings. Graveman is well aware that the next generation of wrestlers are watching her. 

“I know that I”m a leader and a lot of little kids look up to me,” she said. “Not just little girls but little boys also see that all the hard work I put in pays off.” 

For Graveman, the high school wrestling season is only a stepping stone to the bigger meets that will come in the summer of 2023. Her goals are not ordinary goals.

“I want to win another state title and I’m hoping for a 2023 national championship,” she said. “There is a tournament in Texas that if I do well I’d be able to represent the United States at the Pan American Games next summer.” 

Goals beyond that find Graveman in rarified air. 

“One of my bigger goals is to represent the United States at the Olympics someday,” she said.