Prep Athletes of the Week: Anoka wrestler Gigi Bragg sticks to competing against boys

Tornadoes coach Todd Springer is frustrated with Bragg, he says while grinning from ear to ear. It’s for selfish reasons. He would like to see her become the school’s first girls wrestling state champion.

Bragg won’t have anything to do with it. She has lofty goals, so she continues to wrestle for Springer’s boys program.

“I want to wrestle where I am challenged the most, and right now, the boys do that,” said Bragg, who wrestles against girls outside the high school season and is ranked sixth in the nation in the girls 115-pound class by FloWrestling. “It’s not about awards for me right now. I have higher goals and need to challenge myself.”

Bragg has been doing that since she started wrestling as a 6-year-old in Germany.

“My dad [Gary] was in the military and stationed there. He got my brother into wrestling on the base,” Bragg said. “He saw there was a girl on the team and got me started, too. I instantly fell in love with the sport.”

Bragg, who is 20-11 this season, bounces between the 107- and 114-pound weight divisions. She recently recorded her 75th career victory.

“She will end her career with Anoka with 100-plus varsity wins against boys,” Springer said. “She is an amazing leader on and off the mat.”

Bragg was elected a captain this year by her teammates.

“Gigi pushes others on the team with her competitive spirit and drive to be the best wrestler she can be,” Springer said. “She is very focused to become the best possible wrestler she can be daily. Gigi has many individual goals to wrestle in the state tournament again, college and in the Olympics.”

Bragg reached state as a freshman but lost both her Class 3A matches at 106 pounds.

“I am hoping this year is a different story,” she said. “I want to get back to state and win some matches.”

Nelson has gone on quite the run for the Cougars. He has scored at least one goal in eight consecutive games and has 24 goals this season with 18 assists. “Heath has worked extremely hard to get where he is right now and is playing with a ton of confidence,” Cougars coach Ritch Menne said. “He has terrific vision, great hockey sense, developed into a pure goal scorer and can score from anywhere on the ice.”

The difficulty of Speers’ routines separates her from others. “When she goes, I know she is going to hit her routine,” Royals coach Emily Johnson said of Speers, a senior who owns the fourth-highest all-around score in the state with a 37.525. ”Annabelle is so reliable. She is so calm under pressure.” Speers is aiming for a fourth consecutive trip to the state meet, where she finished seventh in the all-around competition last season.

Douglas is a big reason the Knights are 14-3 this season. The junior guard scored at least 30 points five times in a recent 10-game stretch. “Ai’jhon has that natural ‘it’ factor that you can’t teach. God-given abilities,” Knights coach Steve Solaja said. “He is a hard worker, passionate and has a desire to get better. He is a force to be reckoned with.”

Adair is hitting her stride after taking last season off from racing. “Ally adds top-tier speed to our talented team,” Hornets coach Jared Scribner said. “She is getting stronger and faster each race.” The junior won a three-team Lake Conference meet with a time of 43.25 seconds at Buck Hill. “She really put the hammer down last week,” Scribner said.

The senior captain has one last goal to achieve: become an individual state champion. A four-time place winner at state — twice third and twice runner-up — he is 31-2 and ranked No. 1 at 152 pounds in Class 2A by The Guillotine. He recently beat the No. 15 wrestler in the nation. “Cash is an outstanding student-athlete that is a role model for all Simley wrestlers,” Spartans coach Will Short said.

Bronson has five shutouts during the Cougars’ 12-game winning streak and hasn’t yielded more than two goals in any game during that stretch. The senior goaltender has 10 shutouts this season for the Cougars, ranked 10th in Class 2A by Let’s Play Hockey. She has a .961 save percentage and a 0.92 goals-against average.

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