Episode Details

Anthony Godfrey:
Hello and welcome to the Supercast. I'm your host, Superintendent Anthony Godfrey. She is a two-time State Champion female wrestler in Utah, a five-time All-American and has placed in the top six at three national wrestling competitions. On this episode of the Supercast, meet Copper Hills High senior Anya Hatch, who is also a world wrestling top-ten champion. To make her story even more incredible, Anya joined the sport of female wrestling just shy of two years ago. How is she accomplishing so much in such a short amount of time? Let's find out.

We’re here with Anya Hatch, a female wrestler here in Jordan School District, who has been traveling the world showing people her skills. Anya, thanks for taking time to talk with me today.

Anya Hatch:
Yeah, of course.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about what got you into wrestling?

Anya Hatch:
What got me into wrestling? Well, at first I did volleyball and then my sophomore year wrestling came out for Utah, cuz like it wasn't a thing. And my dad asked me to come out, and at first I was like, “no”. And then he asked me again and I was like, “Fine, I'll come try it out”. So I went, and like I told myself I was gonna just practice for a week and like, I'm done. Like, I'm out.

Anthony Godfrey:
And your dad knowing you probably knew better than to think that you were only going to do it for a week.

Anya Hatch:
At first, I was like, no. Like there's no way I'm gonna touch someone else. Like I cannot be physical.

Anthony Godfrey:
Volleyball is not a contact sport.

Anya Hatch:
Uh huh, volleyball is like a team thing.

Anthony Godfrey:
Bump set, spike, it seems very, you know, aggressive but organized.

Anya Hatch:
It is, and just knowing that like, I had to do this by myself. I didn't want to, but a week passed and I was really interested. What caught my attention was just the moves and just making new friends.

Anthony Godfrey:
Did you feel in the very first week that you did it, could you tell that you had some talent for it?

Anya Hatch:
Yes, I did. When I first started, I didn't know what I was doing, but I'm like a really fast learner. For a lot of people it was difficult, and for me it just came naturally.

Anthony Godfrey:
Yeah. I can tell you that athletic events for me do not come naturally. I have to think about every single move. Nothing seems natural, so I'm always envious of people like you who are able to just jump in and pick up a sport. Volleyball, wrestling, what other sports do you participate in?

Anya Hatch:
When I was seven, eight years old I played soccer. And then when I got to my freshman or sophomore year, I did track. So soccer, track, and volleyball, and wrestling.

Anthony Godfrey:
That’s awesome. Not to say it doesn't take a lot of hard work, but it's great when you have that natural ability to kind of connect with what you're supposed to be doing. So what are some of the things that you've learned? You've only done this for less than two years, right?

Anya Hatch:
Yeah.

Anthony Godfrey:
Tell me about some of the things you've learned as a wrestler.

Anya Hatch:
As a wrestler, I learned it's tough. It mentally gets me stronger. I learned that like a lot because I'm mentally preparing, like by myself when it comes to a match. And I'm not used to that because for volleyball,