TEXARKANA MAGAZINE
“When I walked into the gym that first day, I was immediately drawn to the process,” Addison said. “I loved the way they warmed up, and you could sense the chemistry they had as a team.” The coaches’ confidence in their athletes, the culture they had built—it was all the invitation she needed. She stepped onto the mat and never looked back. For Kortina, watching her daughter wrestle for the first time was something else entirely. “I was a ball of emotion,” she said. “It was both extremely exhilarating and nerve-wracking. I found myself crying and cheering at the same time. My main concern was that she didn’t get hurt and that her face didn’t get scratched.” Thankfully, her face stayed intact, and so did her winning streak. Addison claimed back-to-back regional and state championship titles for Arkansas High. While she was collecting wrestling hardware, Addison was also putting in work as a discus thrower in track and field. She had fallen short of a state title her sophomore year and spent the offseason making deliberate, measurable improvements. It paid off. She won at the state meet and earned an invitation to the Arkansas Meet of Champions at Harding University in Searcy, a prestigious event that brings together the top athletes from every classification across the state. She went in with a personal best of 132 feet. On her final throw of the day, she let the discus fly and watched it land at 144 feet 5 inches. It was good enough to win. What happened next is the kind of thing you would not believe if you had not been there to see it. Leaving the meet, a stranger called out for Addison. He told her he had just seen her compete, and he was going to call Coach Kraft at Arkansas State University. Kortina was skeptical because they did not know this man and knew little about Arkansas State. However, “by the time we made it to Little Rock from Searcy, Coach Kraft was already on the phone with Addison,” Kortina said. “I couldn’t believe it.” Addison’s reach extends well beyond athletic fields. She is a member of the National Honor Society, Health Occupations Students of America, Future Business Leaders of America, the Arkansas High School Student Council, and the Army
As a middle hitter and blocker, Addison rises at the net for a hit during a 2025 game.
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