Oklahoma prep Lacy shines bright in Dark Cloud
Editor’s Note: This article appeared in WIN’s Volume 31 Issue 9, which was printed on June 5, 2025. Click here to view WIN’s subscription options (Print/Digital/Combo). Subscribe by July 24 to receive WIN’s Volume 31 Issue 10 Fargo Commemorative Issue by mail!
By Wes Littlefield
With a small-town wrestling program, steeped in tradition having produced many state and even multiple-time NCAA champions, it’s challenging to be the first to accomplish audacious goals, but that’s just what Abagail Lacy did in her freshman season at Oologah High School.
Defying the odds and charging toward challenges is nothing new to Lacy. She lost her dad, Tory, at seven years old due to heart complications. But he, a state-qualifying wrestler, helped instill in her a drive and love for wrestling that her mom, Sarah, continues to selflessly foster.
Lacy reluctantly joined the Dark Cloud Wrestling Club in sixth grade after her football coach “made her.” Coach Gorczynski, the former head coach of DCWC, was persistent in saying she would excel at wrestling, having seen her strength and natural athleticism on the football field. It turns out he was right.
That first season, she won in the novice division as well as the open girls’ and boys’ brackets. Coach Veloquio, an assistant at the time and current head coach of DCWC, said he saw the potential in her. “From the beginning, she accomplished what she put her mind to. She hit the ground running, being able to perform techniques that the advanced wrestlers were doing.”
The next few years were marked by significant youth accomplishments, including winning Preseason Nationals and Tulsa Nationals, where she staged a thrilling comeback to defeat the top-ranked girl. But, a shoulder injury put a halt on her highly-anticipated freshman season.
“People tend to give up after they get hurt instead of working hard and achieving their goals,” Lacy said. She wanted to be the first girls’ state wrestling champion in school history, but the doctors weren’t sure her shoulder would be healed in time.
Though discouraged, Lacy fought to make it back. She attended physical therapy and missed 95 percent of the season, waiting to be cleared by her doctor.
The day she emerged with the doctor’s note, she doubled up practices with the high school and the DCWC.
Lacy participated in a few practices before she returned to wrestling tournaments. She broke her nose in her first match back yet placed second in the tournament. A few weeks later, she avenged her loss, won regionals, and was seeded ahead of the returning state champion at the state tournament.
“I was nervous that first day of the state tournament,” Lacy reflected. “I made myself sick worrying about being the lightest in the bracket.” She fought through the nerves and made it to day two where she admits, “I got a little cocky because I won my first matches so fast.”
But then she started thinking about wrestling the returning state champ in the finals the following evening. Her high school coach, Emma Johnson, had to talk with her and remind her she deserved to be there. “I can’t remember much that anyone told me because I was zoned out worrying. I felt like the day was wearing on forever, and thinking about the finals match didn’t help speed things up,” Lacy admits.
Finally, the match began, and Lacy flipped a switch. She transformed from a self-proclaimed “head case” into the first girls’ wrestling state champ for the Oologah Mustangs. “I was so proud of her; I cried,” Sarah said.
“I was mostly in shock and exhausted; I didn’t know what to feel,” Lacy reflected. “I didn’t feel happy until after I received my medal, when it really hit me that I had won.” Lacy had just achieved an incredible accomplishment for herself, her family and her school. She overcame an injury that would have derailed most wrestlers’ seasons.
While Lacy has had a lot of help and support along the way, Coach Johnson said it best: “No one gets to take credit for Abby except Abby.” She was humble, a great teammate, and fun to be around before winning the state title, and nothing has changed since.
Now, Lacy has her sights set on some prestigious goals. She is aiming to become the first four-time state champion at Oologah High School, attend college on a wrestling scholarship, and compete internationally to continue growing women’s wrestling. A tremendous ambassador for the nation’s fastest growing high school sport, the storybook finish to Lacy’s adversity-filled freshman season was an inspiring example of courage and determination.
