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ORDER GAME PHOTOS
In the course of our lives, we are from time to time placed in an unknown setting or in some cases by coincidence encouraged to partake in an extracurricular activity or athletic competition that may or may not strike our interests. On average, it is more common than not for an older sibling who by nature of circumstance influences their younger siblings to follow in their footsteps.
The next HIDDEN GEM in my prep series is a returning state champion with multiple national level accolades to her credit who began her wrestling journey around the age of 10, but in somewhat of a diametrically opposite way. To cut a long story short, Joely Slyter of Lewiston High School entered the circle based solely on a strong ultimatum from her father. Case in point, prior to, Joely regularly attended local wrestling competitions with her family to support her younger brother, McCoy. As we all know too well, weekend tournaments can be long and drawn out and to be a kid not participating can be very boring to say the least. As a result, Joely often made it known to her parents that she did not want to spend each weekend hanging out in crowded noisy gymnasiums. In response, her father made the ultimatum that if she did not stop complaining, he would enter her in the next competition. Without hesitation, Joely then boldly responded, “do it.” This ultimatum is what brought Joely into the sport of wrestling and the rest is history.
The initial wrestling experience for Joely was positive and, in the process, activated her interest to learn much more. From day one, she focused on attending practices held at the Lewiston Wrestling Club, but did not compete at any local or state competitions. According to Joely, she really enjoyed wrestling and from the get-go gravitated to the challenges in presented. Being told by others that she was not capable of wrestling only motivated her to prove herself even more. It took about a year, but when she finally stepped on the line for her first time, it didn’t take long for her nerves to set in, but once the whistle blew, it was game on and all demons of doubt disappeared. From that point forward, she felt more relaxed in competition and looked forward to growing in the sport.
Early on, Joely experienced some great success on the mat. For starters, she earned her first kid’s division state title in Greco and followed with strong performances at the Freestyle and Folkstyle State Championships. By the time she entered the middle school ranks, she began to challenge herself even more. For instance, Joely competed in the boys division at the Middle School State Championships because the girl’s division lacked the numbers in the bracket. At the end of the day, she wanted more than one match at state! Subsequently, she battled her way through a larger bracket and placed third. Most definitely, this was an early leading indicator that Joely embraced the challenge and process to achieve.
In my previous HIDDEN GEMS’ article, I discussed the dynamics of athletic development and the importance of focusing on the process, not results. Above all, the road to the highest levels of competition and in life requires an internal resolve or “PASSION” by an individual to remain focused on the objective as well as sustaining both mentally and physically during the long and arduous process of higher-level development. Based on my observations thus far and what I have learned from her coaches, Joely embraces the process and has great growth potential and is on a trajectory to the next level and beyond. According to Lewiston Wrestling Club Coach Bob Maurer, “Joely is the hardest worker in our room. Her work ethic and hunger to learns and get better sets the tone and rubs off on all the kids in the room.” Additionally, “she is a very driven young lady. I feel with her mental toughness and ability to embrace the grind, she will be successful not only at the next level, but in anything she decides to do.”
According to Joely, it was in the eighth grade that she realized that the sport of wrestling was going to be an integral part of her foreseeable future. It was shortly after going undefeated (8-0) at the Heartland Duals in Iowa with Team Idaho that Joely realized that she was more than capable to competing at the elite level. Shortly thereafter, she earned titles in both Freestyle and Greco at the 16U State Championships in addition to earning All-American honors at the Fargo Nationals in Freestyle.
Now and again, transitioning from one competitive level to another can be very challenging and intimidating to some degree. From the very start, Joely had her challenges when entering the prep ranks at Lewiston High School, but by mid-season proved that she was more than capable of competing at the state level and placed in the top 4 at the highly competitive Rollie Lane Invitational and followed with a title at the Jaybird Memorial Tournament. By the end of the regular season, Joely was more than ready to test her talents in the post season and battle for a spot on the medal at state, which in 2022 marked the first official State Championships for the girl’s division in Idaho. In that event, only 10 weight groups were being contested with the intent of expanding in the future years to follow. Despite her regular season successes, Joely was still growing into the lightest weight group at state (106s) and as a result, it would have been more suitable for her if there were a 100 pound-division. To the contrary, Joely met her competition head on and battled to a finals appearance at districts and then a top 6 spot on the medal stand at the State Championships.
At the conclusion of her first prep season at Lewiston High School, Joely was extremely motivated to continue growing in the sport and challenge herself even more so at the state and national levels. With one All-American honor (Fargo) to her credit, Joely competed at several local and state level competitions in preparation for another shot at earning All-American honors at Fargo, but this time with the goal of climbing a few more steps towards the top of the medal stand. Former Olympic decathlon Gold medalist Daley Thompson says it best, “In sport, if you want to be the best you have to compete against the best…” This quote definitely defines Joely’s outlook in wrestling and life to the “T” and has been the common denominator of her accomplishments thus far. Moving forward, she earned a second All-American honor
(3rd Place) at the USA 16U Nationals and then reached the championship finals at Fargo, bringing home All-American honor number 3.
“Joely is a natural leader and works hard…She understands that greatness comes with a price and that price is hard work.”
- Colton Maddy, Lewiston Head Coach
Joely entered her sophomore season with the goal of making it to the top of the podium at districts and state. Her focus and training regimen remained the same as she won her second title at the Jaybird Memorial Tournament, as well as placed sixth at Tri-State in the boy’s division. Entering the post season ranked number 1 in the 100-pound division (Note – Idaho expanded the number of weight groups from 10 to 12), Joely easily won the District Championships and left no doubt at state that she was the best in her weight group by pinning three opponents and dominating the championship final by a technical fall.
By this point in her young career, Joely was becoming a force to reckon with and a student of the sport with the mindset and focus that there is so much more to learn and grow to be the best. Now ranked among the top lightweights in the country, Joely continued competing at several competitions in Idaho and abroad in preparation for the Fargo Nationals. Prior to, she competed at the USMC Women’s U17 National Championships and in the process earned her fourth All-American honor. Not too long after, she traveled with Team Idaho to the Fargo Nationals with the goal of not only earning another All-American honor, but the top spot. Initially, all went as planned on day one when she reached the quarter-finals, but unfortunately lost in that round, placing her in the consolation bracket. Only one match from placing, she then lost in the blood round (round of 12), falling short of earning a fifth All-American honor.
Always moving forward and learning from her experiences, Joely began her junior season with a strong performance at the Rollie Lane Invitational, only giving up four points in the entire tournament to win the 114-pound weight division in championship form. More recently, Joely dominated her competition at the Clearwater Classic in Lewiston by registering three pins and four technical falls overall. She was not alone in the celebration as she was joined by seven other Lewiston girls that together brought home the team title for the Bengals. Being a leader at Lewiston, one of Joely’s goals is to grow girl’s wrestling and take it to higher level. To date, Lewiston won the District title in 2023 and is working hard to repeat in 2024 and much more.
The norm for each and every wrestler that I have written about thus far in the HIDDEN GEMS and TIER ONE series is academic excellence. Joely also joins that prestigious group of student/athletes and since her freshman season has not only excelled on the mat, but the classroom as well. She presently holds a 4.0 grade point average all while taking college prep and advanced placement courses. Furthermore, she plans to join the National Honors Society this coming fall of her senior year. On top of that, Joely is very active in community service as well as volunteering her time to coach youth wrestling.
As of this writing, we are just about a month or so away from the post season district and state tournaments. Joely’s journey thus far has been very impressive both on and off the mat and is a well-grounded blueprint for the next generation to follow. Her growth potential and trajectory to reach the next level and beyond is headed in the right direction. Having participated in other youth and middle school sports, such as soccer, cross country, basketball, and gymnastics, it has been wrestling that has become her passion. Regardless of any difficult challenges or drawbacks that may come her way, I am confident that she will meet each head on and move forward. In retrospect, it was Joely’s younger brother and his participation in youth wrestling that initially placed her in a position to be where she is today, one of the best lightweight wrestlers in the state and country to ever come out of the Gem State in the girl’s division. As a matter of fact, her brother, McCoy is now in the sixth grade and competing for his middle school program.
Presently ranked number one in Idaho as well as nationally recognized, Joely is not only the next generation of pioneers in the girl’s wrestling, but an exceptional student and leader among her peers. This past week, I had the opportunity to conduct a Q&A interview with Joely and we discussed her start in wrestling, family, academics, future goals, and much more. Below is my Q&A in addition to a strong list of her top tier academic and wrestling accolades. Enjoy!
Q&A INTERVIEW WITH JOELY SLYTER
HOW DID YOU FIRST GET INVOLVED IN THE SPORT OF WRESTLING?
JOELY – My little brother started wrestling when I was around nine or ten. I hated how long and drug out the tournaments would be and I often complained about it. One particular tournament I was complaining to my dad about it and he threatened to enter me into the tournament if I didn't lose my attitude. I smartly said “Do it” and the next week I was rolling around the room and I immediately fell in love with wrestling and havent looked back since.
WHO HAS BEEN YOUR BIGGEST INFLUENCE IN WRESTLING?
JOELY – I’ve been fortunate to grow up with a very positive wrestling environment. My coach, Bob Maurer, has been a tremendous influence on my growth in wrestling, as well as my family and teammates who support me unconditionally on and off the mat.
NOW THAT YOU’RE WELL INTO YOUR JUNIOR SEASON, WHAT ARE YOUR SHORT- AND LONG-TERM GOALS AT LEWISTON HIGH SCHOOL?
JOELY – My goals for this season are primarily to help grow and empower the women's wrestling team at Lewiston High and put our girls’ team on the map. As for me personally, I’m looking more toward freestyle where I would like to make a world team and compete internationally as well as redeem my loss in the Fargo finals by capturing the title.
HAVING HAD SOME GREAT SUCCESS AT THIS POINT IN YOUR CAREER, DESCRIBE YOUR TRAINING ROUTINE AND YOUR OUTLOOK IN THE YEARS AHEAD.
JOELY – Every Monday-Saturday I have two-and-a-half hour practices, as well as weight training and cardio sporadically throughout the week.
DESCRIBE YOUR ACADEMIC AND WRESTLING EXPERIENCE AT LEWISTON HIGH SCHOOL.
JOELY – I compete on the boys varsity dual line-up at 113lbs as well as wrestle tournaments with the girls team at 114lbs. I’m also in numerous AP/dual credit classes in which I have maintained straight A’s for the past three years.
WHAT ARE YOUR ACADEMIC GOALS AT LEWISTON HIGH SCHOOL AND BEYOND?
JOELY – I’m striving to be valedictorian in high school, as well as graduate top of my class in college and dental school.
DO YOU HAVE AMBITIONS OF COMPETING IN COLLEGE OR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION?
JOELY – Yes, I want to compete at the collegiate level, as well as earn my place on a world team and compete at international competitions.
IS THERE AN OLYMPIAN, COLLEGIATE LEVEL WRESTLER, COACH OR SOMEONE OUTSIDE OF THE SPORT OF WRESTLING THAT YOU WANT TO ASPIRE TO BE SOMEDAY?
JOELY – I’m very fortunate to be in this sport at the same time as high-level women wrestlers. One that comes to mind is Cierra Foster, whom I respect and admire because of her willingness to give back to the sport and help girls in Idaho make gains within the sport of wrestling.
WHAT LIFE LESSONS HAVE YOU LEARNED IN WRESTLING THAT APPLIES IN YOUR DAY-TO-DAY LIFE?
JOELY – Growth is more likely to occur when you are more focused on the progress you have made rather than the results that you finished with. As well as not letting the fear of failure stop you from achieving your goals.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE A YOUNG WRESTLER WANTING TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE SPORT OF WRESTLING OR IN LIFE?
JOELY – Be willing to learn new things, evolving constantly is key to success in any aspect of life.
WHAT OTHER GOALS DO YOU HAVE IN LIFE?
JOELY – One day I would like to own a successful dental practice. I also want be a role model for the next generation of girl wrestlers.
DO YOU HAVE A SAYING, MOTTO OR PHILOSOPHY THAT YOU LIVE BY?
JOELY – “You can’t beat the person who never gives up” or “do the hard things”
ONCE YOU ARE DONE COMPETING, DO YOU HAVE PLANS TO STAY INVOLVED WITH WRESTLING?
JOELY – I would like to one day be the coach of a high school girls team.
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OUTSIDE THE SPORT OF WRESTLING, WHAT OTHER HOBBIES, SPORTS, AND FAMILY FUNCTIONS DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST?
JOELY – I enjoy cooking and baking recipes, as well as shopping, and spending time with my friends and family.
ACADEMIC AND ATHLETIC PROFILE
SCHOOL: Lewiston High School
GRADE: 11 (Class of 2025)
WRESTLING CLUB: Lewiston WC
WEIGHT: 114
ACADEMIC ACCOLADES
GPA: 4.0 (College Prep/AP Courses)
HONOR ROLL: Multiple
HONORS SOCIETY: Beginning fall of next school year (Senior)
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
- Key Club (Community Service)
- Women’s Empowerment Club
- Volunteer coach – youth wrestling
WRESTLING ACCOLADES
- Rollie Lane Invitational Champion ’24
- USMC Women’s U17 National Championships – 6th Place (ALL-AMERICAN) ’23
- Idaho Girls High School State Champion ’23
- IHSAA District I-II Champion ’23
- Tri-State – 6th Place ‘22 (Boys Div.)
- Jaybird Memorial Tournament Champion ’23
- 16U Fargo Freestyle Nationals – 2nd Place (ALL-AMERICAN) ’22
- USA Wrestling 16U Nationals – 3rd Place (ALL-AMERICAN) ’22
- Idaho Girls Division State Championships – 6th Place ’22
- IHSAA District I-II Championships – 2nd Place ’22
- Jaybird Memorial Tournament Champion ’22
- Rollie Lane Invitational – 4th Place ’22
- 16U Fargo Freestyle Nationals – 8th Place (ALL-AMERICAN) ’21
- Idaho 16U Freestyle State Champion ’21
- Idaho 16U Greco-Roman State Champion ‘21
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