McNary junior McKenna Unger was on the mat when her wrestling opponent from South Salem High School made a mistake.
“I eventually put on a half nelson and pinned her,” said Unger.
The match was over in 11 seconds – and gave Unger what coaches say is a remarkable achievement.
With that win on Thursday, Feb. 6, Unger posted her 100th win as a McNary wrestler.
“It’s something the vast majority of high school wrestlers will not accomplish,” said Coach Sam Martin. “McKenna getting to 100 wins is a testament to her work ethic, attitude, and competitive nature.”
The Celt wrestler now gets ready for the conference meet on Feb. 21 and has her eye on state. Last year, as a sophomore, she finished fourth at state.
Her goal is to win a state championship.
Unger has grown up in a wrestling family. Her father, Mike, was a three-time state champion while wrestling for Cascade High School in Turner and then went on to wrestle at Oregon State University. He now is an assistant coach for McNary’s girls wrestling team.
When she was younger, Unger watched her brother, also named Mike, wrestle and went to meets put on by a local mat club coached by her father.
“I always thought, ‘Maybe I could try it,’” Unger said.
She started competitive wrestling while in the eighth grade at Whiteaker Middle School and remembers her first match – against a boy. She was behind on points when she got control with a half nelson and pinned her opponent.
“I was ecstatic,” she said. “This could be, like, my thing.”
Her dad coached her on what to improve, and she recognized the need for conditioning.
In her freshman year at McNary, she competed in a tournament in Kelso, one of the largest high school meets on the West Coast. She won her first match and then lost a second, dropping her into a consolation bracket. She fought her way back, ending up fifth.
In the next season, Unger faced the same girl who defeated her in Kelso.
“She kept beating me” but Unger won when they met at the district tournament.
In her sophomore year, she won the district title at 135 pounds and then logged her fourth-place finish at the state tournament.
During the season, practice dominates her schedule. She typically goes for a long run before school, attends team practice after school. She follows that with another two hours at a local mat club, finishing her wrestling day by 8:30 p.m. or so.
Ahead of a match, Unger finds a place to run sprints “to get my lungs working.” She stretches legs and shoulders before stepping on the mat. She focuses.
“I put emphasis on getting in the zone,” Unger said. “I need to go to work. It’s time to do a job.”
She said wrestling is as much mental as physical.
“People aren’t willing to put in the work when it starts getting hard,” she said. “You can definitely tell who has put in more work, who has the mental capacity to keep going even when you’re down. There’s always a way to win.”
Her father said Unger works hard at wrestling.
“She’s just pretty natural at it – very aggressive,” he said.
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