By Craig Sesker
Titan Mercury WC

Editor's Note: Mensah defeated 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Randi Miller in the finals at 69 kg/152 lbs to win her first Senior nationals title and earned Outstanding Wrestler in the women’s division at the U.S. Nationals/Trials Qualifier on Dec. 19 in Las Vegas.

COLORADO SPRINGS – Tamyra Mensah didn’t start wrestling until she was 16 years old.

And there were times – lots of times – where she was ready to walk away from the sport.

“At first, I hated it,” she said. “My practice partner was way more experienced than me and she was very rough on me. She was double-legging me non-stop. It was not a pleasant first couple of months at all. I wanted to quit.”

But Mensah stuck with it.

She won her first competitive match and her outlook on the sport immediately started to change.

She followed by winning district and regional titles before becoming a state runner-up. She capped her career with back-to-back Texas state titles for Morton Ranch High School.

And now she’s considered one of the favorites to make the United States Olympic Team in 2016. Mensah placed second at the 2015 U.S. World Team Trials in women’s freestyle wrestling and she is ranked No. 1 in the U.S. at 69 kg/152 lbs.

“My dream is Olympic gold,” Mensah said. “I don’t just want to make the Olympic Team – I want to be an Olympic champion. I want to be the best in the World. I’ve had that dream since I started wrestling.”

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