Madison Sandquist - Woman Wednesday Q&A
a. I started wrestling in eighth grade. I had just quit the swim team and my parents wanted me to be involved in a sport so I started wrestling with my brother at the club that is now rise. My brother Nate inspired me to wrestle because he made it look so fun I loved how competitive and challenging it was.
Q. What makes you passionate about wrestling?
a. He challenge is what makes me so passionate. There is an obvious physical challenge in wrestling that is very addicting but for me it’s a mental challenges that make me the most passionate because it pushes me to be the best version of myself on the mat and everything I do. I cannot thank the sport enough for how strong and confident it has made me as a person.
Q. How has your High School Coach, Coach Knight influenced your wrestling career?
a. Coach night has influenced me by always pushing me to be the best leader I can be he always has taught me to help our team and be the best example I can be on and off the mat.
Q. When you’re not training with your high school team, you’re training at Team Rise HTX, under Coach Waldroup. How has training at Team Rise HTX changed you as a student athlete?
a. My experience at team rise HTX has made me into the wrestler I am today. That is where I started and I am so grateful for my teammates there that have become family. The culture there inspires hard work and it pulls the best out of all the athletes. Training there has also pushed me to become good at time management because I had to figure out how to maintain good grades while practicing there and at my high school. Lastly I cannot say enough about how thankful I am for my club coach Derrick Waldroup he has had high expectations for me and has taught me almost everything I know about the sport of wrestling.
Q. Congrats on winning your state title and currently being ranked 8thnationally by USA Wrestling & ranked #1 in Texas by Wrestling Texas. Do you feel any additional pressure going into your senior season? If so how do you work through it?
a. Thank you! I actually don’t feel any additional pressure this year because I don’t have anything to prove. I definitely put a lot more pressure on myself last year but all it did was stress me out so I just don’t worry about pressure or expectations anymore because my only goal is to do my best and for me that has nothing to do with rankings.
Q. What do you consider to be your biggest strength when it comes to wrestling? What part of your “game” do you feel you need to work on the most?
a. My biggest strength is probably my ability to stop shots from my opponents because I constantly work so hard on that in the room. The part of my game that I think I need to work on the most is my mental game because I feel like I am my own biggest opponent because I get in my own head.
Q. What do you enjoy doing during your down time? How do you relax?
a. My favorite thing to do when I have downtime is to cook/bake for myself and my family. Lately my favorite to make has been pie I find it relaxing and I love bringing some to my friends to try.
Q. Are you planning on competing in college next year? If so, what are looking for in a University besides the wrestling program? What are you looking forward to studying?
a. I am definitely planning on competing in college. I plan on studying sports psychology and nutrition so I am looking for universities that have classes for both of those areas.
Q. What is your favorite food dish?
a. My favorite food dish is a tie between pad Thai and spicy rigatoni.
Q. What are your most listened to artist?
a. My most listened to artist is Taylor swift.
Q. If you could pick three famous people to be a part of your entourage, who would you pick?
a. Three famous people that I would have as part of my entourage would be Taylor Swift,Dwayne “the rock”johnson ,and Gordon Ramsay.