Fairbury wrestler earns national championship at Disney Duals

FAIRBURY, NE — A high school wrestler from southeast Nebraska is on top the sport’s mountaintop.

"I was just so excited," Makena Schramm said. "All I could think about was being a national champion."

Fairbury’s Makena Schramm earned the national gold at the 2022 Scholastic AAU Duals - also known as the Disney Duals — in Orlando earlier this month.

At the national tourney, Schramm was a perfect 12-0 on the way to the championship. She also helped the Nebraska girls team to a fourth place finish.

"I don't like to lose," she said. "I just kept going. I'm like, 'I can't lose this one.' I stepped on the mat with the mindset that every girls is a good as me and I'm as good as every girl. [I just needed] to stay level-headed and wrestle as good as I could."

Schramm competed in the sport when she was younger, but then stopped for a while. She got back into wrestling her sophomore year of high school.

"I got started because I liked physical sports," Schramm said. "I played football, soccer, which I can make soccer physical, so I just liked those types of sports that got real competitive."

Now heading into her senior year, Schramm says her experience competing against some of the best high school wrestlers in the country is an unforgettable one.

"The wrestling was just awesome," Schramm said. "It was cool seeing all the teams, the best of the best, from every state and seeing how loud and energetic all of us were."

"I have a lot more friends than I did before. There's a lot more people around Nebraska I can't wait to see next wrestling season."

And she hopes her and her newfound friends and teammates from across the state will have an impact on girls for years to come.

"I think it's great because all the younger girls are going to see this and be like, 'I can wrestle too. I can be like them. I can go down and compete for team Nebraska.' It's not just a men's sport. Women deserve to have a chance at it."