There was a time when Conner High School senior Rose Thomas was able to pick up a violin and play it with ease. She was in love with the idea of making music. And so was her mother, also a music-loving native of the Republic of Senegal.
Satou Sovare, who grew up in Africa’s westernmost country, saw joy when her daughter played the violin. Eventually, however, Rose’s passion for the instrument reached a crescendo and she told her mom about losing interest.
“I used to play violin in middle school,” Thomas said. “When I told my mom I didn’t want to do it anymore, she said I had to do something else. She always wanted us kids to be involved in something. I eventually picked up wrestling.”
Unlike her surprise interest in the violin, the idea of wrestling didn’t come out of nowhere. Two older brothers, Oliver and Jeremiah, wrestled at Conner. Rose saw them in action. She has vivid memories of Jeremiah. He had a successful Cougars wrestling career before graduating in 2022 and proved to be a catalyst for change in his sister’s life. Oliver is a 2019 Conner graduate.
“When I was talking to my mom about giving up the violin, Jeremiah said I should come out for wrestling,” Rose said. “I thought he was joking.”
Jeremiah likes to kid around with his sister but this time he wasn’t kidding.
“He said I could go with him to conditioning and he seemed like he was serious,” Rose remembered. “At first, I didn’t really like the sound of it. But I did try it.”
As a result of her open-mindedness, Conner girls wrestling won’t be the same.
“We’ve never had anybody like her in our program,” said eight-year Cougars coach Zack Fisher, a Conner grad. “Rose has a lot of natural athletic ability, and she applied it to wrestling. It’s a pretty good story.”
Rose Thomas tagged along with brother Jeremiah when he went to wrestling conditioning ahead of her freshman year at Conner. She joined the Cougars’ wrestling team the next year, becoming the first female member as a sophomore. When the KHSAA authorized girls wrestling her junior year, Rose became the first sanctioned female wrestler in Conner history.
“One thing we found out right away, she is tough with a capital T,” coach Fisher said. “And she kept improving.”
The firsts kept coming, and the records are piling up for one of the greatest sporting trailblazers at Conner High School.
Rose Thomas is the first Conner girls wrestler to win a match. She is the first Conner wrestler to win a Northern Kentucky Athletic Conference girls weight-class championship. She did so last season by taking the 132-pound title. In December, she became the first to repeat as NKAC girls champion.
Thomas is the first Conner wrestler to win a girls regional title following last season’s Region 3 championship performance. Combined with her conference crowns, she’s the first with three local weight-class championships.
Thomas is the first girl at the school to win a state tournament wrestling match and the first to place at the state meet. As a result of being a state placer, Thomas became the first girl to have her name placed on Conner’s hallowed Robbie Clarkston Wall of Champions. It’s in the Wayne Badida Wrestling Room near the gymnasium.
Every Conner state placer for 54 years is remembered with a wall plaque made of red plywood. On each plaque is a wrestler’s name etched with white lettering, along with weight class, state placing and the year. If state placers are finalists, they get a blue shape of Kentucky added to their plaque.
“It’s nice to see your name up there,” Thomas said.
Junior teammate Clayton Badida said it’s no surprise Thomas is there.
“Rose worked hard for all of that,” said Badida, also a Wall of Champions member. “Personally, she’s the first girl I’ve known to win region. She just won conference again. She’s the first girl to do everything in wrestling at Conner. It’s pretty amazing what she’s accomplished. She’s getting better and better, and she’s not done.”
Badida and coach Fisher are well versed in Conner wrestling history, so they know what they’re talking about when it comes to Cougars grappling. Badida’s father wrestled at Conner and appears on the Wall of Champions. His grandfather is former longtime Cougars coach Wayne Badida. Coach Fisher is also on the Wall of Champions. His wife, Megan, does the lettering for each new Wall of Champions plaque.
“That’s the goals, win region, get to state and place and hopefully win,” Clayton Badida said. “I see no reason why Rose can’t do all that because I know how tough she is.”
Thomas sets a new school record every time she steps on the mat. Last season, she put together a win-loss record of 9-3. She reached the 20-win milestone while winning last week’s conference championship. She enters the next phase of the season with a record of 12-3, putting her at 21-5 in a brief but remarkable career.
Coach Fisher said it takes a special talent, regardless of gender, to win 80% of the time.
“Rose is coached by the same coaching staff that coaches our boys. We have a number of coaches that have contributed to her growth,” Fisher said. “But mostly, it is her work ethic and determination.”
Better technique, as well, is unlocking Thomas’s potential.
“Her timing on her shots is quite impressive,” Fisher said. “I think she can continue to improve throughout the season and make another strong run at the state podium.”
Clayton Badida, Kentucky’s fourth-ranked wrestler at 120 pounds, has been a witness to his teammate’s sudden ascension, and he has an idea of what her opponents are going through.
“For a while, she was our only girl, so she wrestled in practice with guys near her weight,” Badida explained. “Even though we have more girls now, she still hops into our groups. The other day in our live group, she was with three other guys. We’ve been out there together, and she is physical. She’s not scared of anyone, not a single person.”
Thomas’s ability to grasp wrestling concepts and apply them on the mat is also undeniable. But she admits that success can come a little easier when a younger sister has already learned the art of escape from two older brothers.
“Yeah,” she said with a laugh. “I learned a lot from my brothers.”
Thomas has come so far so fast on the mat that she has two scholarship offers from small college programs. Even so, she isn’t pinning all her hopes on wrestling. A bilingual speaker, she plans on prioritizing class work in college with interests in mechanical engineering and aerospace. In the future, she hopes to make a third trip to Senegal, where she was born. Thomas came to the United States at age 3 after her mother met her father, a Louisiana native.
“Rose is also a quality student in the classroom and humble about her achievements,” said Fisher, who believes the wrestler’s stature as a trailblazer at Conner will ultimately transcend her sport.
“She has brought new interest to the program,” the coach added. “We have had a few other girls come out to try the sport this year. Currently we have two female wrestlers, and we will continue to look for opportunities to recruit and retain more.”
Fisher won’t be able to keep Thomas. She graduates this year, but not after blazing a trail from Senegal to Hebron.
“I think she’s inspiring in life,” Badida said. “On the mat, she’s crazy good.”