Meet Zoey Rivers. She is a lady wrestler at Casteel high school. At first glance, you see a young, happy, and normal high schooler, but get to know her and you will see a warrior who has been through a lot. This strong and inspiring young lady has seen more trials and loss than most will see in their whole life. Zoey never knew her father and, at a young age, was taken away from her mother due to abuse and neglect. She found herself bouncing around from family member to family member and eventually “ran out of family members to stay with,” so then she ended up in the foster system where she bounced around a little more. Always wondering if she would find her family. Eventually, she did find her family that would “love her as much as she loved them.” The Rivers family made it official and adopted Zoey. Her story doesn’t end there, though.
Zoey would see more loss in 2019. Back to back heartache. She lost her biological mother tragically in the summer of 2019 in a car accident, and then one month later, her brother took his own life. So much loss for a child to have to endure and try and understand. Thankfully she is surrounded by an army that has helped her overcome it. She credits her team, coaches, friends, and family for helping her get out of the dark moments.
However, more dark moments came as 2020 brought on the pandemic. One that Zoey admits was “hard on her,” and her grades started to slip. She was able to talk through it with her coach, who helped her get back on her feet.
Zoey loves wrestling with all of her heart. She loves everything about it. She loves the ‘family aspect” especially.
Zoey is truly an inspiration, and she wants everyone to know, “it won’t always be like this.”
Thank you, Zoey, for sharing your story with us all. You inspire us and give us hope to keep going. We will always be cheering you on!
