Fox Chapel freshman Ariana Morris felt that wrestling was a sport she was destined to compete in. When the Foxes started their own girls team a few years ago, the plan for Morris to follow in her family tradition was set into motion.

“My father did it and my brother did it,” Morris said. “Honestly, it always called to me with all the physical and mental push to it.”

Morris has gone through the growing pains that every first-year wrestler does. She improved to 3-8 on the season Jan. 21 during a 36-22 loss to Kiski Area at home.

Morris, whose previous two wins came by injury default and forfeit in early December, collected her first career pin when she beat Kiski Area’s Kamdyn Pitts in a 100-pound bout.

“I think I lost a lot, but each time I lose, I get better,” Morris said. “To win tonight felt really good to see my efforts actually pushed through.”

The Fox Chapel girls team has a lot of inexperienced wrestlers working toward navigating their way through the sport. The Foxes are 1-4 in dual meets.

Lauren Bachman, a 142-pound junior, leads the team with a 14-7 record. Senior Emma Srodes has the second-best record at 10-4. She is 35-20 in her career and has won at least 10 matches each season she wrestled.

“We’re still working on the basics, ’cause I feel like once you get the basics down, you can outwork a lot of people and win a lot of matches,” Srodes said. “We’ve been trying to build a lot of confidence with scramble drills.”

Morris showcased some of what she learned in her match with Pitts. After the first period, Morris trailed 7-2 after being taken down twice.

In the second period, Morris was able to leverage a reversal into a near fall that set up the eventual pin.

“I didn’t expect it,” Morris said. “It just played out in my favor sometimes. Like she would go to positions where I would think, ‘She’s right there. I can just push her down and get on her back.’ ”

Srodes said it is fun watching the younger wrestlers find success.

“It’s so exciting,” Srodes said. “Those are the most exciting matches to see. Just seeing their growth and knowing how scary that was. Just seeing them win matches against good girls is exciting.”

Morris wants to continue to try to improve in the sport. She is willing to take risks and isn’t discouraged by the results.

“Doing things over and over again and getting comfortable being in certain uncomfortable positions definitely helped me,” Morris said.