By Arabella Saunders, Editor-in-Chief

A beam of light from the small, square window of the wrestling room glints off the practice mat as the lone female grappler calls out drills.
“Down block!” “Down block, shot!” “Sweep!” Sprawl!”

The wrestlers halt.

“Ninety seconds to cool down,” assistant coach Jay Hawes says.

The seconds pass quickly before the wrestlers are back in their starting positions — knees bent, sweat dripping down their faces to hide beneath layers of cotton warm-ups.

Senior Alex Nguyen continues to call drills, gliding across the mat with seemingly endless intensity and grace. The boys persist with heavy breaths and slower movements. She laughs, mistakenly calling “down block” in the place of “sprawl,” and soldiers on.

Although Nguyen transferred to First Flight from Clarksburg High School in Maryland in the fall, her transition into the the FFHS wrestling program has proved seamless.

“She fell right in, fell right in place,” head coach Russell Kepler said. “She doesn’t mind working hard and we love that about her.”

News of Nguyen’s move traveled fast. She arrived as an accomplished wrestler, going 24-4 her junior year, as well as earning multiple national placements in competitions such as the Super 32 Challenge and Body Bar Women’s National Championships.

“My first impression of her got to me before I even got to talk to her,” Kepler said. “It traveled pretty quickly that she was going to be moving down to this area and even before I met her I was pretty excited.”

Nguyen first began wrestling in the sixth grade. She progressed through the middle school program, placing sixth at a state-level wrestling match. By her junior year at Clarksburg, Nguyen had earned the title of team captain.

Despite her talent for wrestling, however, Nguyen is best known for a different form of grappling.

“Jiu-jitsu is my passion,” she said. “It’s my sport.”

After abandoning judo due to changing rules and a dimming desire for the sport, Nguyen first picked up jiu-jitsu when she was 9.

“I started competing in jiu-jitsu about two months after I started. It was just a local tournament, but even then the losses just made me want to keep pushing and keep on doing jiu-jitsu,” she said. “I learned from my losses, and still do today. I guess that’s my drive, learning from the sport.”

While losses once proved beneficial, chances for those learning experiences are growing slim. Nguyen is a two-time world champion in jiu-jitsu. In the juvenile blue belt division, she’s taken first at International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) in 2016 and Jiu Jitsu World League in 2017. She also holds first-place titles from IBJJF American Nationals and Pan-Americans, as well as countless other regional and state competitions along the East Coast.

“She’s won everything she’s entered since the day I met her,” Maryland-based coach Greg Souders said. “Under me, she’s only lost I think two matches. One was against a heavyweight girl who outweighed her by almost a hundred pounds and the other time was to a rest decision when we were competing under a tournament with a newer rule set for us.”

With the help of teammates and coaches, as well as adequate rest periods and a healthy diet, Nguyen is able to successfully balance jiu-jitsu and wrestling. Although she manages well today, it was her setbacks that ultimately prompted her to alter her intensity.

“I learned the hard way that I can’t do both at the same time. When I did that I actually tore my quadriceps muscle. I was wrestling for two hours and then I went to my gym to lift and then I went to jiu-jitsu,” she said. “That was a month right before (wrestling) States. It was really upsetting that I didn’t get to go, but I’ve learned my lesson now, so I guess it’s a good thing.”

In addition to finding a balance between wrestling and jiu-jitsu, Nguyen has also had to overcome the hurdle of oftentimes being the only girl on the mat. She recalls past experiences of entering a foreign wrestling room that is clouded by both intimidation and embarrassment.

“I always come in a little shy and kind of quiet, but I just let my actions speak for myself until I get comfortable with the guys and build a friendly relationship with them,” Nguyen said. “Once they realize that I take the sport seriously, I get respect back. It just takes a while to get used to.”

Even with the challenges of balancing two male-dominated sports, Nguyen has emerged victorious. Not only has she secured international recognition, but she has recently been sponsored by Murilo Santana — a world-renowned grappler best known for his success in the jiu-jitsu middleweight division.

“Murilo Santana is a very famous guy in the jiu-jitsu community, he’s like Simone Biles in gymnastics,” Nguyen said. “I feel honored that he’s gonna sponsor me and help me out. He’s just gonna help me with free membership training and work with me one-on-one to help me achieve my goals.”

One of those goals is to become a black belt world champion. Nguyen is currently a purple belt, two steps away from a black belt, but with plans to postpone her secondary education, she hopes to attain her goal in her early 20s.

“Once I complete that, I do plan on going to college and getting a degree in engineering or something because I really like math,” she said. “I don’t want to be a jiu-jitsu bum and rely on my sport to give me income. I really want to actually have a career that I like.”

As far as wrestling goes, Nguyen has her mind set on a state championship. She is seeded third in the 120-pound weight class out of the East Regional with a 34-6 record) and heads to Greensboro for this weekend’s NCHSAA 2A State Championships with senior teammates Arien Leigh (No. 1 seed at 113 pounds with a record of 28-1) and Jeremiah Derby (No. 1 at 126 pounds with a 37-0 mark).

“I’ve never been to states before,” she said. “Jiu-jitsu is my main passion, so I’m mostly doing wrestling to boost my jiu-jitsu up, but since it’s wrestling season I have a set goal of making it to states or becoming state champion.”

Although her chances of winning a state championship may be unclear, one thing is certain: Nguyen’s addition to the wrestling program has benefited the entire team.

“She’s made everyone see that they need to work harder,” Leigh said. “She’s good at encouraging people, she stays on task, she works harder than almost everyone in the room and I think she just helps boost our morale.”

Senior Arabella Saunders can be reached at saundersar0214@daretolearn.org.