Jenna Joseph knew she wasn’t done competing when she returned for her junior year on the Simpson College women’s wrestling team. After not being able to compete her sophomore year due to an injury that progressively got worse throughout her rookie season eventually requiring surgery, Joseph hopes to come back bigger, better, and stronger this year than she was two years ago and even make it back to Nationals and get that All-American status.
“I had ended my freshman season at the National Tournament, going 0-2, so I mean, ending at Nationals with two losses under my belt didn’t necessarily feel great,” Joseph said.
Joseph first wants to take baby steps by placing at any tournament. During her rookie season, she placed fourth at regionals and third at the Luther Hill Invite, the Grand View Open and the York Open. Placing at the Luther Hill Invite her first year was monumental for Joseph and the newly instated women’s wrestling program at Simpson.
“I was going into my first college tournament thinking, ‘Okay, goal for the year, win a match,’ because I didn’t understand the level of competition that I was going up against, and then the first college match ever, I won,” Joseph said. “It was also the first win for Simpson women’s wrestling and the program.”
Joseph finally returned to the mat during the first match of the 2024 season at Simpson’s Luther Hill Invitational on Nov. 2. She was both extremely nervous and excited because she loves the sport and it had been over a year since she last competed.
“Oh my goodness, I was so nervous because it felt like, obviously, it was mostly just me putting pressure on myself, but it felt like there was more pressure on myself for me to come back and be exactly where I was when I left two years ago when I pretty much stopped,” Joseph said. “And that’s obviously not the case. I’m a very different wrestler than I was back then, which is fine.”
Unfortunately, Joseph’s first meet didn’t go as planned. “It proves that there’s still something for me to improve upon,” Joseph said.
Joseph went 0-2 and ended with an injury default, which resulted in a trip to the emergency room with a fear of broken ribs. While not great, Joseph had better results in discovering she had costochondritis, which means she had inflammation of the cartilage that connects the ribs to the breastbone.
“I kind of need to move my body, and it hurts to move my body now. And I zero out of ten recommend ending up at the ER, it wasn’t a great experience,” Joseph said.
With the injury, Joseph had to sit out of both practice and the Luther Open on Nov. 9 and doesn’t have a definite return date yet.
“It might be a second before I’m back out there again, which kind of sucks, but luck of the draw, I guess it happens,” Joseph said.
Joseph hopes to make it through the current season, if her body allows, “because, oh my goodness, it’s been rough coming back, but it’s okay, we’re getting through it,” Joseph said. On top of wanting to place at Nationals this year, she also wants to place the next three years with her eligibility.
“I’m not done yet, can’t get rid of me that easily,” Joseph said.