Olympic gold medal is Golston's dream

Typically, a trip to your big brother's wrestling meet could be bothersome when you are a 4-year old girl.

But hey, you can always bring your dolls along for the ride right?

That is, unless of course you are female wrestler Erin Golston.

Golston entered the world of wrestling at the age of 5. Now, nearly 10 years later with countless tech falls, pins and major decisions behind her, Golston has made a favorable decision of her own which took little grappling at all.

Come August, Golston will head to the University of Northern Michigan where she will begin training at the United States Olympic Education Center as preparation to later compete on the Women's Olympic Freestyle Wrestling Team.

So what does it take to be an Olympic athlete you ask?

This 14-year old Crystal Lake South High School freshman and Lake in the Hills resident has the answers.

Competing in a predominately male sport, Erin began her career facing adversity.

"I went to see my brother Gerard wrestle and I thought it was very cool," said Golston. "I was always watching him, and quickly decided that I wanted to do it.

"When I was younger, people used to always say that girls shouldn't wrestle."

Longtime coach and Erin's father Kenneth Golston admits it wasn't always easy.

"We have taken a lot of flack over the years from parents, coaches and athletes but we have gotten a lot of support too," Kenneth said.

Lesson No. 1: Resilience

In nine years of competing, Golston has missed just one tournament which was simply a precautionary measure taken after a chair fell on her leg in class.

While nearly 5,000 high school girls wrestled in 2006 according to an article published in the New York Times last February, the numbers continue to pale in comparison to the some quarter-million boys who currently are involved in the sport.

Ten years ago, the number of female wrestlers was roughly five times lower.

Women's freestyle wrestling just made its Olympic debut at the 2004 Summer Games. The freestyle wrestling program at the USOEC was created on the heels of those Games and is the newest addition to the USOEC.

Due to the small number of female wrestling programs in the United States, the resident athlete program at the USOEC has attracted Olympic-aspiring female wrestlers from across the country. There are typically 14-20 resident athletes participating on the team annually.

Still, Golston took matches where she could get them.

Coming up with the Martinez Fox Valley Elite, Golston studied the sport under head coach Jose Martinez along with her dad, who wrestled for Chicago Orr in his high school days.

"My dad has coached me throughout my entire career," said Erin Golston. "He and coach Martinez have taught me a lot. They have made me what I am today."

Today, she has found success against both male and female opponents.

"Wrestling both guys and girls can be hard," Golston said. "I wrestle guys most of the time, and it's probably a little harder wrestling the boys.

"It's the same technique for both, but it is different. I think guys have a different aggression level."

Lesson No. 2: Desire.

Currently a member of the freshman squad at Crystal Lake South, Erin is 17-0 in the 98-pound weight class which includes three first place tournament titles.

In 2005, she was a member of the Martinez Fox Valley Elite team which took home a state championship title.

Competing in middle school, Erin became the first girl in Illinois history to wrestle for a national middle school duals team (The Illinois National Team).

Amidst multiple girls national titles, Erin has placed fifth twice in the Illinois Kids Wrestling Federation (IKWF) boys state tournament.

In April of 2007, she nabbed first place honors competing in the Body Bar Women's National Championships held in Colorado Springs, dominating the 80-88 pound weight class.

Last year, while attending a camp at the U.S. Olympic Education Center, Golston caught the attention of Olympic women's freestyle wrestling coach Shannyn Gillespie when she competed with the USA wrestling Cadet (age group) champions in the Junior Canada Cup held in Guelph, Ontario.

"As a 14-year old, Erin won the Junior Canada Cup against older athletes ranging in ages from 15-18," said Gillespie.

"At that point, and while assessing her talent in the camp held at the USOEC, it became apparent that Erin has what it takes to be an Olympic champion."

Most recently, Golston earned a No. 9 national ranking from the United States Girls Wrestling Association in the 98-pound weight class. She is one of just three girls in the state of Illinois to be ranked.

Lesson No. 3: Work Ethic.

Earning such accolades in a male-dominant sport doesn't come easy.

"A dream of mine has always been to wrestle in the Olympics and train with Olympians," said Golston. "I have always been willing to do what it takes to achieve that."

According to her father, Erin is never intimidated.

"We make a list of the top guys in the area that Erin will face," he said. "Before meets, she likes to look at that list.

"She simply sees an opportunity to cross those names off one at a time."

Erin loves every minute of every match.

"My favorite thing is beating guys," she said. "I think a lot of them underestimate me.

"Before matches, you get a nervous rush, but you take it all out on the mats. Once you get out there, you don't feel it anymore. You should always know who you are wrestling too. If you can, watch them before you face them."

But perhaps the most difficult part of being an Olympic athlete takes place off the mats.

Lesson No. 4: Commitment

"Always train hard and work hard," Kenneth has been telling Erin from Day 1.

"It has been very exciting, and it has been very busy," Kenneth explained.

In fact, here is a typical weekday from the Golston's now 10-year routine.

Kenneth goes to work, drives home, pulls into the driveway and honks the horn. The kids come out, often do homework and eat dinner in the car and go to wrestling. At about 10 p.m. they arrive home in time for bed, and do it all over again the next day.

On the weekends, it's a little different.

Tournaments run all day so it is breakfast, lunch and dinner at the concession stand.

"That's our family," Kenneth laughed. "I figure, if we weren't doing wrestling, what would we be doing?"

With great thanks to mom, dad, family and friends, it hasn't much seemed like work to Erin.

"Sometimes, it can be hard work," said Erin. "But you always know that you are getting better. All of my friends like Jasmine and Jessie always come out to support me and cheer for me at meets. They tell me to keep working hard.

"My family and I travel a lot for wrestling and it's really more like a vacation that way. It makes me so happy. Wrestling is one of my favorite things in the whole world. I don't know what I would do without wrestling."

Which brings us to the hardest part of all…leaving.

"It was a very difficult decision for us to let Erin go," said Kenneth Golston. "She will be leaving three years earlier than she would leave for college.

"You know us dads. We want to hold onto our little girls as long as we can. One thing I loved most was when we first started this we would walk around holding hands, she'd sit on my lap and we'd talk about everything. It has been a lot of family time as my wife has been there every step of the way too I have coached every one of her matches until this year. It will be the hardest thing for me, but it is what she wants and it is what she has worked so hard for."

In addition to training, Erin will attend and complete her high school education at the USOEC.

In February, 1989, the U.S. Olympic Committee named Northern Michigan University as the nation's only United States Olympic Education Center. The USOEC's main focus is the resident athlete training program, where athletes actively train for the Olympic Games while also continuing their education.

"I'm really excited but also a little scared," said Erin. "I've never been away from home so far for so long, but I have to do what it takes to be a champion.

"The best part will be noticing improvements. I'm very excited to take it to the next level. I am excited to see strong competition and improve through facing such talent It makes me really happy because the hard work I put in is paying off. I've sacrificed a lot but I just have so much fun in the wrestling room. My goal now is to keep working hard, to be successful, to win big competitions in other countries and to win an Olympic Gold Medal."

As for the United States Olympic Women's Freestyle Wrestling Team, they look forward to having her.

"Work ethic, desire, commitment and resiliency are all qualities Erin possesses at a very young age," said Gillespie.

"Her father and mother and coaches have done a great job preparing her to be an elite student athlete."