Sidelined perhaps all season by a fractured sternum suffered in a match, Alice Scharp keeping her mental and physical conditioning in fighting shape so she doesn’t fall behind

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com
When Merrillville brings its girls and boys wrestling teams to Chesterton on Wednesday for dual meets with the Trojans, Alice Scharp won’t be competing, but in her head she’ll be wrestling every match.
Sidelined by a fractured sternum suffered in a match on Dec. 6, Scharp will watch all the girls matches, holler encouragement and pointers. And then when the girls are done, she’ll move to the side of the gym where the boys compete and will continue her role as supporter/adviser.
Just because Scharp is sidelined, she said likely for the remainder of her sophomore season, that doesn’t mean her development as a wrestler has come to an end.
“I’m still able to do lower-body workouts in the weight room,” Scharp said.
The injury came with extreme pain, “just the first day mainly.” Breathing, for example, was painful.
Guess how soon she resumed weightlifting?
“The second day,” she said.
Obviously, Scharp’s passion for the sport, a family trait, hasn’t waned. Her goal hasn’t changed. She still wants to make it to state every year she’s healthy and when she’s a senior, she wants to be one of three sisters wrestling at state for the Trojans. Her sister MJ is a freshman and has been the team’s best wrestler this season. They also have a sister wrestling in seventh grade. Their father, Will, is assistant to Chris Richardson for the girls wrestling team.
If as she suspects Alice’s season is over, she finished with a 21-10 record with 14 pins, two technical falls, and two major decisions. By the way, she won the match that ended her season, 11-5. Shortly after she felt the injury, her opponent took an injury timeout.
“Then when she came back there were only about 40 seconds left, so I just finished out the match,” Scharp said.
Finished and won, in true tough wrestler fashion.