Rachel Wessling, a sophomore nursing student, has always been a competitor. Her competitive spirit is what led her to where she is today. It all started in high school when Wessling played in a Homecoming powder puff game and a player on the opposing team decided to bend the rules.
If that player knew what the rest of the world is finding out about Rachel Wessling, odds are she would have kept her hands to herself.
“I was getting checked in the throat by an opposing senior girl. I knew that was not right,” Wessling said.
In response to the cheap shots, she took the girl, picked her up and threw her to the ground. Wessling was summoned to the vice principal’s office, unsure of whether or not a punishment would be given.
None was.
Instead of a punishment, the vice principal offered a constructive piece of advice, suggesting that Wessling find a way to channel all of her aggression and competitiveness into something more productive.
Wessling took that advice to heart. She enrolled in boxing classes her senior year af high school in Lockport, Ill.
When it came time for her freshman year of college to start here at Saint Louis University, Wessling chose to focus on school, not boxing.
Upon arriving at school, she began to realize how much she missed the sport and looked for another means to satisfy her competitive hunger.
Instead of immediately returning to boxing, she tried her hand at a new type of combat sport: Kickboxing.
“I soon realized that I really liked what I was doing earlier and wanted to just enroll in some more kickboxing classes,” Wessling said.
She found a local boxing gym here in St. Louis on Olive Boulevard. The boxing gym soon became her new home ring, where she took all-female kickboxing classes on a weekly basis.
It was at this gym where her boxing talents finally became noticed. A man named Rob Wisdom came up to Wessling after one of her classes and asked her how long she had been boxing.
“I told him that I have never been trained to fight, just some classic boxing skills and these kickboxing classes. Then he asked me to join his fight team. I was really surprised that he asked me,” Wessling said.
She accepted his offer.
As a college freshman, Wessling had to balance nursing classes and a part-time position on a fight team, something not many college students can do. Wessling has done so admirably, however.
After months of difficult training, Wessling discovered that she would be able to participate in her first fight in January of 2011. That was all the incentive she needed to step up her training regimen. Wessling began taking her training and focus to a whole new level.
“Once I found out that I was going to be eligible to fight, we stopped practicing and started training. Three times a week for an hour a day and then two hours on Tuesday and Thursday,” Wessling said.
Like most SLU students, Wessling was able to enjoy her Christmas holiday with family and friends, but she returned early to ensure that she would be prepared to compete. When she did return, her one hour a day, three day a week workouts gave way to an even more brutal regimen.
Wessling began training four hours a day, six days a week in preparation for her contest. According to her, the hardest part of it all was not the physical punishment, but the mental strength required.
“Training was the hardest thing ever; you really have to mentally push yourself. Boxing is complicated like that,” Wessling said.
Jan. 28, the date of her long-awaited fight, did not go as smoothly as she had predicted. Wessling’s first opponent, Whitney Powell, cancelled the fight that morning. However, to Wessling’s surprise and relief, a new opponent was scheduled. Elle Fisher, a junior championship kickboxer, was a little bit younger than Rachel but still just as much of a competitor.
After three exciting rounds of boxing, Wessling won the fight after a vote from the judges.
“I was really excited; it went really well. After watching the tape, I saw some things that I could have done better, but overall, I was really happy with my performance,” Wessling said.
Currently, Wessling is not fighting or training for any upcoming fights. She does however, have dreams of fighting in the future.
In the meantime, on top of school work and workouts with the boxing club, Wessling has started practicing with the SLU club womenís soccer team.
Wessling knows that beyond the fighting, she still needs to thrive academically.
“I am still working out with them, not as much as I would like. But my school work is now my first priority,” Wessling said.
When all is said and done, Rachel Wessling is just like any other sophomore in college. Classes, extracurricular activities, friends and family all take up considerable chunks of her time. The only difference is that she can probably kick your ass.
