PULASKI (NBC 26) — When Pulaski wrestler Harlow Skenandore was just a freshman, she took home a state title.
This past winter, in her sophomore season, she earned second place, coming up just short of her goal. She used that as fuel for the fire and recently won a national title in Fargo, North Dakota.
“Well, for the longest time, I thought I was only good enough to place at tournaments,” Skenandore said. “This shows me that I can do it.”
For her coaches, from the time they met Skenandore, one word came to their minds: Special.
“Harlow has always been special. She’s a super hard worker and she’s always been a lot more mature than her age as far as her work ethic and her dedication,” said Neysa Bianchi, the Wisconsin Wrestling Federation women's director, who has known Skenandore for over a decade.
“Harlow is special,” said her Pulaski wrestling coach Ashton Kapla. “She puts in a lot of time, so there’s nobody that works harder than Harlow. I’m just really happy to see her accomplish something as big as Fargo.”
Hear Skenadore talk about her amazing feat in Fargo:
Skenandore, heading into her junior year at Pulaski, has been wrestling since she was five years old. She says that when she started, she was quite nervous, but deep down, she really liked the sport. She also had to wrestle boys until she was about 10 years old.
“I think my first year, like competing, was probably when I was like 7. I think I only won like one wrestling match,” Skenandore said.
But she says her parents always told her that losing is just a way to make you better.
“How I got better was just going to practice every day and just not worrying about the outcome and just trying to get better and work hard,” said the Pulaski soon-to-be junior.
It’s not just the losing that made her better; she also realized that she needed a mindset coach to help with her self-confidence issues.
“That takes a lot of strength and character to really look at herself that way,” Bianchi said. “She made those adjustments. As long as she trusts her work, she has confidence in the work that she does and trusts in her coaches, her family, and God, then it’s all about the wrestling, and she’s going to be fine.”
Becoming a well-rounded wrestler led Skenandore to winning the 2025 U.S. Marine Corps Junior Nationals for the 16-and-under, 140-pound weight class in Fargo just over a week ago. She was a 10 seed heading into the tournament.
“Definitely meant a lot this year because this is like my first national tournament that I won,” she said.
Skenandore is proud of her achievements in wrestling and equally honored to represent the Oneida Nation as a Native American athlete.
“You don’t hear a lot about Native Americans in wrestling, so I’m really lucky to be able to represent them and win a national title,” said Skenandore.
Her coaches believe that with her relentless work ethic and talent, the sky is the limit.
“I just think if she believes in herself, there are very few people that can go toe-to-toe with her,” said Kapla.
Skenandore's next goal is to make the Team USA U17 World Team.
