Kyra is a wrestler at a local high school, but she’s loved the sport for much longer than her time there.
She played soccer for five years and wanted to try something new when she saw a flyer in the North Gwinnett Middle School gym about Try a Sport Day.
“At the end of that practice, I decided wrestling is the sport I wanted,” Kyra said. “Wanting to win is what has kept me going this long.”
Now a sophomore at Seckinger High School in Buford, Kyra is a standout both in school and international competition.
She recently was one of 62 athletes from 23 states to compete for Team USA in the International School Sport Federation Games in Bahrain.
Kyra helped Team USA to an ISF title and claimed a fifth-place individual finish in the under-17 division at the 65-kilogram weight class.
Kyra also competes for the Seckinger Jaguars.
The Georgia High School Association has only crowned state champions in wrestling since winter of 2023. There will be 324 schools with girls wrestling in 2025 compared to 374 with boys wrestling.
“It can be scary to take on a new leadership role but because of my previous wrestling experience, it’s easy to explain to other girls what they should do in certain situations because I’ve been in their position and I’ve made their same mistakes,” Kyra said.
“Until I reached high school, 98 percent of my opponents were boys and I had to fight hard for every win because the boys were physically stronger and I had to outthink them to win. Now that the sport is growing and girls can only wrestle girls, I show other girls how to wrestle smart to win.”
Her career has had setbacks, including a concussion and a knee injury. Kyra’s mom, Dannica Barnum, is the girls wrestling coach and a teacher at Seckinger, and she helped connect Kyra with certified athletic trainers affiliated with Northside Hospital Orthopedic Institute – Sports Medicine.
“After they looked me over, we set a plan for treatment and when I could resume practice safely,” Kyra said. “From then on, if a minor injury bothered me or I had some slight pain, they would suggest exercises I could do to strengthen the muscles around the injury.
“They were really helpful.”
Dr. Jaeson Courseault of Northside Hospital oversaw Kyra’s treatment. Source Sports Medicine provides certified athletic trainers to Seckinger and all other high schools in Gwinnett County Public Schools, and other high schools across greater Atlanta.
“Dr. Courseault was kind and didn’t really worry me with any of his findings,” Kyra said. “I was initially worried about what he was gonna say about my knee pain, but I felt better when he explained everything to me.”
Kyra said she found the certified athletic trainers Mitch Gill and Lexus Robertson to be thoughtful, kind and straightforward in her care.
“Kyra was an excellent patient to work with,” Robertson said. “She was very compliant with her rehab program, which resulted in her being able to return to wrestling sooner.”
Staying healthy
Kyra’s experience both with overcoming injury and competing in a packed schedule — getting to work preparing for the Jaguars’ season as soon as she got home from Bahrain — gives her wisdom about health and conditioning to pass on to others: “Listen to your body and hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.”
Kyra occasionally fits in cardio work at gyms to boost her endurance and follows an informal nutrition plan when trying to keep to a certain weight class for wrestling.
“It’s not set in stone, but I will avoid certain food items to reach my goal,” she said. “I still get to eat many of the foods I love but they are in moderation (so a small order of fries instead of a large fry).”
Robertson noted that Kyra also keeps up an exercise routine to maintain her progress.
“She’s a great athlete and I look forward to watching her wrestling career over the next couple of years,” Robertson said.
Find a sports medicine provider at Northside.
*The health story shared here is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Patients should consult with their own physician before making medical decisions.
