Lady Knights grappler continues to down men’s competition
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Aynsley Fink was all smiles June 10, moments after being named the Most Valuable Wrestler of the 2020-21 Smoky Mountain Conference Tournament. Fink became the first female to win a Smoky Mountain Conference tournament championship. Photo by Art Miller/amiller@grahamstar.com
Robbinsville – It seems that every time Aynsley Fink steps on the mat, another chapter is added to the annals of North Carolina High School women’s wrestling history.
Now at 30-4 (19-2 this season) in her career, the Lady Knights junior tacked on one more impressive accolade to an already-storied resume: the first-ever female to win a Smoky Mountain Conference championship.
At June’s 10 divisional tournament in Robbinsville, Fink pinned Andrews’ Elvin Trigueros in the 106-pound finals, to etch her name into the record books.
Though reserved, she exuded a feeling of excitement after picking up the victory.
“This feels great. Awesome. I’m proud of myself,” Fink said.
Women’s wrestling has began to pick up steam across the country, as a long-overdue movement for equal recognition of female sports has seen positive strides made. In Robbinsville, there have been very few girls to suit up for the much-vaunted Knights wrestling program, which started in 1975 and has built a reputation of consistency and excellence since its inception.
But that changed with the 2019-20 season. New to the team were Fink, Gracye Burchfield and Kensley Phillips. Mere weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down high school athletics across much of the United States, the first-ever women’s invitational tournament in state history was held at Carolina Courts in Concord on Feb. 8, 2020.
Burchfield and Fink would compete that day. Fink defeated opponents from Pamlico County, Swain County and Carrboro to advance to the 106-pound finals, where she dropped an 11-8 decision to South Granville’s Katerina Pendergrass. Two weeks later, Uwharrie Charter’s Heaven Fitch (106) became the first female in history to win a state championship in the men’s individual tournament.
Fast-forward to present day and Fink is hungry. Not only did she compete in the 1A Western Regional tournament Tuesday – at 113 pounds – but she will keep busy over the next two weekends, splitting time at both the 1A Women’s and Men’s Invitational tournaments. Both will be held at Glenn High School in Kernersville.
As for her success, Fink points to the simplest of game plans: hard work and discipline.
“I constantly like to challenge myself to get better, day-by-day,” Fink explained. “A lot of drilling in the room; my drilling partners help me a lot. Offseason training and weightlifting are a big part of it.
“I’m finishing the (regular) season 18-0; I’m feeling pretty confident about both (state) tournaments.”