By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
BRYSON CITY, N.C. – Anasette Cooper, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and a senior at Swain County High School (SCHS), signed a letter of intent to wrestle collegiately for the Frostburg State University Bobcats during an event held at SCHS on the morning of Friday, March 28.
“It feels great,” she told the One Feather. “I never thought I’d be signing, honestly, so it feels great to finally be doing it.”
Anasette Cooper, seated, a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and a senior at Swain County High School (SCHS), signed a letter of intent to wrestle collegiately for the Frostburg State University Bobcats during an event held at SCHS on the morning of Friday, March 28. Shown, left to right, are Brandi Cooper, Anasette’s mother; Anasette; Cameron Cooper, standing in back, Anasette’s father; and Mechelen Cooper, Anasette’s brother. (SCOTT MCKIE B.P./One Feather photo)
Cooper has been wrestling since she was a freshman. “I just fell in love with wrestling. It was just so fun and just getting the chance to meet a bunch of different people. I got to make a lot of friends wrestling because everyone’s connected, everyone’s really nice. You get to talk to everybody and meet everybody.”
At Frostburg State, she plans to major in pre-med and bio-chemistry with the goal of getting a doctorate in forensic pathology.
She thanked her wrestling coaches for helping her achieve this dream. “They taught me how to wrestle, and I got to go get a lot of opportunities to go across the country and wrestle.”
Cameron Cooper, Anasette’s father, played college football at Western Carolina University. He noted, “She’s done it all herself. The one thing I’ve always told her is, ‘you have to want to do this. This isn’t something that I want. This is something that you have to want. What I’m going to do is provide you the opportunity and the guidance to get to that level if that’s what you want to achieve’.”
He added, “She’s the one that got up in the mornings and went and worked out. She’s the one that said, ‘dad I want to go do this tournament. Dad I want to do this’. I just helped to make it happen. So, I give all the kudos to her because, at the end of the day, she’s not here without her own work ethic and as strong as she’s been.”
Brandi Cooper, Anasette’s mother, commented, “She’s doing awesome, and I’m really proud of her. I’m excited, and I’m ready for her to go and grow up. She’s going to learn a lot. We know it. She knows it.”
Adam Jaimez, Swain Co. women’s wrestling head coach, said, “The thing that I would say about Anasette Cooper is the power of consistency. She understands it very well and it’s not just every other day, it’s every day. I just wish everybody could understand the power of that is so impactful, not just in your life but in your everyday choices. If you can try to be consistently the best version of yourself, with every turn, every choice, and every opportunity they can give, it’s going to lead to big things.”
He went on to say, “I’m extremely proud of her for just showing up every day. I hope she continues to do that and I believe she will.”
Ian Roper, Swain Co. women’s wrestling assistant coach, said, “She has really been a foundation of what our girl’s program has turned into. We’ve been the state runners-up in the past two years in the dual teams for girls wrestling. When we look back on the genesis of our program and the success it’s had, there are three kids that are going to stand out above all others…our three seniors this year. All three of them eclipsed a 100-win mark this year.”
In January, Anasette got her 100th career wrestling win. Roper noted, “Anasette has the third highest win total in girls wrestling history at Swain County High School and is graduating as a three-time state qualifier. She’ll always have a big part in whatever we go on to become as a girl’s wrestling program. I appreciate all the hard work she put in.”
Frostburg State University, located in Frostburg, Md., competes in the NCAA Division II in the Mountain East Conference.
