... but let's do this anyways!
Southern-Anne Arundel junior Domenica Gladwell often wears a singlet in the Bulldogs’ blue and yellow school colors and adorned with the letter “S.”
“It’s a championship final singlet,” Gladwell said. “It stands for ‘Southern.’”
But the uniform could easily indicate that Gladwell is “Supergirl” given the courage, determination and strength displayed as the 115-pounder persevered throughout her season to overcome her previously undisclosed injury.
Gladwell won her second consecutive title in last weekend’s all-girls’ state tournament at Show Place Arena in Upper Marlboro despite enduring a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in her right knee.
The injury occurred during a pre-season tournament in November, according to Bulldogs’ coach Jeff Schrumm.
“Domenica Gladwell won her second straight state title with a torn ACL. The news has been kept under wraps,” said Schrumm of Gladwell, who placed third at states as a freshman.
“Domenica tore her ACL during the first week of the season at the Fall Brawl. She sat out the first month and ended up wrestling 28 matches on one knee. Most of those matches were against boys. She has surgery set for this Friday. She is a warrior.”
Gladwell confirmed on Sunday that her surgery is scheduled for March 8.
“I tore my ACL on my right leg at the Fall Brawl on November 19th. The trainers ran onto the mat and told me it was not serious and that it may be a meniscus,” Gladwell said. “But I was still having some pain. So, I got an MRI, and, come to find out, I tore my ACL. I was devastated over the news and that I would probably be out the rest of the season.”
Gladwell said she chose to compete after consulting with medical professionals.
“Even though I knew wrestling with a torn ACL wasn’t safe, I still wanted to continue and wrestle the season,” Gladwell said. “I missed about three weeks in the beginning of the season, then I went to the doctors and got cleared to finish out the season and get surgery after states.”
Gladwell won her second consecutive all-girls crown with an 8-1 decision over freshman championship rival Rileigh Romberger of Smithsburg, this, following a 12-2 major decision and falls in 3:23 and 4:32.
“Wrestling with a torn ACL was hard, and I had to change the way I wrestled a little bit. This season was definitely my most challenging mentally and physically and many times I didn’t think I would finish the season,” said Gladwell, whose record on the year was 22-15 with 15 pins, raising her career mark to 51-15. “But I have great coaches who knew I could push through and finish and win states again. I get surgery March 8th, and it’s looking to be about a six-to-eight-month recovery time. So, I’m just ready to get back on the mat next season for my senior year. I want to be a three-time state champion.”
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