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Highland sophomore Aleksandra Bastaic never loses.
At least, not from her perspective.
“Even if I don’t win, I like to learn, and I learn from my mistakes when I lose a match,” Bastaic said. “And that still brings me joy because I’m learning and getting better.”
But losing is rarely the outcome for Bastaic, who is a two-time Indiana High School Girls Wrestling state champion after finishing first in the 140-pound weight class at the state meet in Kokomo on Friday.
Bastaic earned a 5-3 decision against Silver Creek sophomore Ava Allen in the state championship match. Lake Central senior Elly Janovsky also became a two-time IHSGW state champion with a first-place finish at 145, and Merrillville junior Joy Cantu was the runner-up at 110.
The state title is the latest accolade for Bastaic. She was the 16U freestyle runner-up at 138 during the USA Wrestling Junior National Championships in July, and she is ranked No. 14 nationally at 140 by FloWrestling.
But Bastaic remains her sharpest critic and offered critiques of her performance in the state championship match.
“I didn’t wrestle my best,” she said. “But I didn’t wrestle my worst because I pulled it off at the end.”
One day after that win, Bastaic turned down an opportunity to rest and wrestled in the Northwest Crossroads Conference Meet in Lowell, where she finished third at 144 as the only girl in the bracket. That kind of situation has never fazed Bastaic, according to Highland coach Mark Maldonado.
“She came here to get better,” Maldonado said at Lowell. “She gets good matches here, and she just has a love for the sport. Every time she’s out there, she’s always looking to improve her wrestling. This is the stuff she trains for.”
Bastaic will routinely be outnumbered by boys in the bracket for the rest of the season. With girls wrestling labeled as an “emerging” sport by the Indiana High School Athletic Association two years ago — putting it on the fast track toward possible sanctioning — Bastaic said she wants to compete against the boys while she still can.
“I want to go out with a bang,” she said. “And because my last season got cut short.”
Bastaic was referring to the 2023 Portage Sectional, where she suffered a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in her left elbow during her first match. After begging athletic trainers to let her continue, Bastaic earned the one win she needed to finish fourth at 126 and qualify for the regional.
“It was so weird,” she said. “I couldn’t pull on their head with my arm. I couldn’t shoot. I couldn’t move the guy. I couldn’t post on my elbow. It was crazy.”
Bastaic’s injury could’ve been worse. A full tear would’ve required Tommy John surgery, which is more common in baseball, and would have sidelined her for a year. Instead, she was out for a month.
Bastaic is used to challenges. A longtime multisport athlete, she was a running back on Highland’s football team last season. Her first sport was soccer, but that quickly took a back seat due to her playing style, which was described as “a bull in a china shop” by her mother, Lauren.
When Bastaic came home with a pamphlet for the Highland Wrestling Club, her sports path was set.
“We thought it might be good for her, and she thought it was fun,” Lauren Bastaic said. “When she was in third, fourth and fifth grade, she barely won a match. She got manhandled. But she learned so much from getting manhandled that way.”
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Aleksandra Bastaic, who is the one doing the manhandling these days, said she isn’t sure where wrestling is going to take her next.
“I’m just hoping to do something with it,” she said. “Wrestling’s going to be one of my main things, so I just want to succeed at it and make myself proud.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.