Beckman wraps up well-decorated career
Finishing in style wasn’t necessarily the primary goal this year for Avery Beckman as she concluded a stellar four-year varsity wrestling career at Friendswood High School.
Her focus this spring was more about catching her breath and relaxing after the Lady Mustang senior wrangled on the mat for 11 consecutive years while never participating in another sport.
Having earned state titles in the 148-pound weight class as a freshman and the 152-pound division as a junior, Beckman’s outlook on her senior season differed dramatically from her three previous varsity campaigns.
“The other years it had been more about being the proper weight,” Beckman said. “I wanted to actually enjoy my senior year and I just said, ‘I’m not going to watch my weight this year’. I just told myself I’m going to wrestle where I am, and I’m going to have fun.”
For Beckman, that meant competing in the 185-pound weight class.
“It was very scary going up a couple of weight classes because I had never wrestled that heavy in my life,” Beckman said. “A lot of my technique is based off strength, and I didn’t know if that would work because these girls were bigger and stronger.”
As it turned out, not formulating a concise plan worked well.
Beckman pinned Rebekkah Sorrell of Princeton in the 2024 championship match of the Class 5A 185-pound division to capture her third University Interscholastic League Class 5A title in four years.
The victory culminated an impressive career in which Beckman won 123 of her 128 matches.
“I went into the state tournament not thinking I was going to win it,” Beckman said. “I came to terms with that, and I was OK with it. I knew if I went in hoping to win and didn’t, I would have been upset if I lost. I lowered my standards a bit and said this will just be for fun. I knew other people wanted me to win it, but I knew for myself that I didn’t need to win it.”
If one senses wrestling burnout from Beckman, that assumption would be incorrect.
“I still love it, but it’s more like do I want to push my body to a place where maybe it shouldn’t go?” Beckman said. “I know I can stay in the sport in other ways such as coaching and officiating, but I feel like I should give my body a break and maybe try something else. I haven’t done a different sport since I was five.”
Avery’s older brother, Brady, helped his sister get her start on the mat at an early age.
“I wouldn’t have wrestled without him,” Beckman said. “He was always at the big tournaments, cheering me on any way that he could. He would go to my private lessons and be my partner, even though we were five years and 80 pounds apart. I just wanted to do everything he did but do it better.”
Beckman’s parents were instrumental in her success as well.
“They have been crazy influential,” Beckman said. “They’ve been everywhere, and at least one of them has been with me at every single tournament. My dad has his coaching credentials so he’s technically a coach, and my mom chaperoned a bunch of tournaments with me.
“My mom is the booster mom for wrestling, and she said she was never going to be that parent, but she loved our team and our coaches so much that she was the right fit for that position.”
Beckman says each of her state titles fills a special place in her heart.
“My freshman year, I had some confidence, but there was also a lot of pressure,” she said. “I was really nervous through all of it because I had never been there before. But there was a lot of confidence because I had been doing so well.”
The sophomore state tournament was trying.
“I was very, very disappointed after losing,” Beckman said. “I cried a lot after I lost. There was so much pressure. People were saying, ‘Oh you can be the first girl at Friendswood to win four state championships.’ I said, yeah that sounds great, but it’s a lot of pressure. And then I felt like I let everyone down.
“It took a couple of months to get over that loss, and I even debated quitting. My parents talked me out of it.”
Beckman’s junior year revitalized her.
“My junior year is a core memory,” Beckman said. “I remember sitting down on the floor with the spotlights, waiting for the medal ceremony. It was so gratifying to know that the sophomore year was the fluke and not freshman season.
“My freshman year was the COVID year, so I was like ‘Did I just win this because a bunch of parents didn’t want their kids wrestling?’ The junior year was justification. It just proved to me I deserved to win and not because someone else wasn’t there.”
Her junior state title then set the stage for Beckman to repeat, and she accomplished it in a decidedly more challenging weight class.
“They were all special in their own ways,” Beckman said of the three state titles. “I think this last one was definitely the most surprising. It’s certainly great to end your career by winning your last match.”
“I wanted to actually enjoy my senior year. ... I just told myself I’m going to wrestle where I am, and I’m going to have fun.” Avery Beckman