By Jen Page
USA Wrestling

Mental preparation is key to success in wrestling. For four-time Junior Nationals All-American Tirza TwoTeeth , who was the Montana winner of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award in 2025, and her old teammates at Ronan High School in Montana, this preparation includes smudging.

Smudging is a traditional ceremony common to many Indigenous people in North America. Plants such as sweet grass, cedar, or sage are placed in a shell or clay bowl and burned. The flames are then gently extinguished, and the healing smoke is wafted over a person while prayers of gratitude and well-being are said aloud. It is important to hold focused intention and stay fully present during the ritual. Negative thoughts and feelings are absorbed by the ashes, which are then returned to the soil of the earth. The ceremony helps participants center themselves and unifies the energies of the people within the circle. Smudging removes negative energy and helps create a positive mindset.

TwoTeeth grew up on the Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribes Reservation in Ronan, Montana. Her father is Sunchild-Cree, a tribe located in Alberta, making her a member of First Nations Canada. Her mother is Salish, which is a confederation of distinct tribes in the Pacific Northwest with shared ancestry and language. The Salish community in Montana is where she was raised and found her love of wrestling.

TwoTeeth began wrestling in kindergarten alongside her three sisters. When she was in fourth grade, a Team Montana coach reached out and invited her to join their practices. For the next eight years, TwoTeeth made the one-and-a-half-hour commute four times a week, in addition to her local practices. 

“She was just always willing to learn, willing to practice at any time,” John Neiss, TwoTeeth’s high school coach, stated. “I mean she loved to practice. She would practice with anybody. We’ve had some college athletes come back, males, and she would practice with them. She just didn’t care; I think she just loves the sport.”

Neiss, a member of the Montana Indian Athletic Hall of Fame, coaches the first girls wrestling team at Ronan High School. As a successful Native wrestler, Neiss is a role model for young athletes in the community, and his kindness and generosity are a great inspiration for TwoTeeth. Under his leadership, the girls’ high school wrestling team grew from just four girls in TwoTeeth’s freshman year to 27 girls by her senior year.

“Our town is a little reservation town, but it’s a wrestling town. So, the town was ready for it,” Neiss noted.