For Petaluma High student-athlete Amelia Grevin, any sport will do

To say Petaluma High School senior Amelia Grevin is busy is like saying the Titanic had a leak.

In an era when most high school athletes are specializing in one sport, Grevin is not only a three-sport athlete, she has been for four years. She has earned 11 varsity letters, one for every semester possible during her high school career, with COVID-19 taking one year away from her.

She said her favorite sport is wrestling, but it’s more likely to be whatever sport is available.

With COVID-19 finally abating, her senior year has been typical for Grevin who played tennis in the fall, wrestled in the winter and is finished out her high school year playing badminton.

She began her athletic career playing soccer when she was 2.

As a seventh grader at Petaluma Junior High School, she went out for the wrestling team just to get in better shape for soccer. She liked the sport so much that, her first year at Petaluma High School, she continued to wrestle, reasoning that she could play soccer for her club team.

Although she loves wrestling, Grevin skipped wrestling in 2021 during the height of the coronavirus pandemic when there was no real mat season, and her parents were leery of putting her in harm’s way.

During the lockdown, she filled her need for sports by throwing the football around with her father and even tried golf with borrowed clubs.

Her athletic accomplishments have in no way interfered with her academics. Heading into her final semester she has a cumulative grade point average of 4.3. She even managed to excel in the classroom when classes were all conducted remotely.

“It was different,” she said. “I don’t know why, but I kind of excelled.”

When she doesn’t have a weekend tournament or game she fills in the gap by working at a pizzeria.

The obvious question is how does she manage such a herculean schedule?

Her response is simple.

“There are a lot of sleepless nights. I often study until very, very late at night.”

Competitive by nature and heredity, she said wrestling is her favorite, but not solely for the challenge of head-to-head competition, but also from the camaraderie of her teammates as they all go through the difficult training and conditioning demanded by the sport.

“I really like the team aspect. We all go through the same thing every day,” she explained. “It is really competitive. You kind of live with constant soreness.”

Back on the mat after missing the COVID-19 season, she had her best wrestling season, finishing third in the Vine Valley Athletic League championships and earning a spot in the North Coast Section Tournament.

Tennis was a natural for Grevin. Her mother and her father are both competitive tennis players. As a freshman, Grevin played soccer, not joining the tennis team until her sophomore year.

She started playing No. 3 and No. 4 singles against Napa County girls who play tennis year round and benefit from club coaching. It was difficult, but she stuck with it, learning as she went along. Her competitive nature took over this past fall as she played No. 1 singles. She played and challenged the top players in the league and more than held her own. Grevin and partner, Meg Rawson, battled their way to second place in the league doubles tournament.

It was her sister, Miranda, who turned Grevin into a badminton player during her freshman year in high school. “She talked me into it,” Grevin said. “I thought,’ Why not?’ and we had a lot of fun together.”

Miranda, three years older than her sister, played four years of soccer at Petaluma High.

“She had a great deal of influence on me. I think we’ve gotten closer as we’ve gotten older,” Grevin said.

This year Grevin is one of the best Trojan badminton players, playing No. 2 singles.

Grevin’s entire family – mother, Leslie; father, Shane and her sister - has been instrumental in her success and passion for sports.

“I don’t think my parents have missed a single game,” she said. “My family got me into sports and inspired me to play.”

At the beginning, it was her father and grandfather, Bob Horan, who coached her in soccer, and the entire family has been behind her ever since.

Although Grevin is very competitive on the courts and the mat, her mother said one of the things she is most proud of is Grevin’s attitude towards sports.

“Amelia is one of those people who just loves to play and she is a natural at everything. Her sportsmanship is outstanding, and it would be difficult to find anyone to say anything negative about her on or off the playing field. She is a very kind person,” Leslie said.

Now, it’s time to take the next step, moving on to college where she will study computer science. She isn’t yet quite sure where that next step will take her. Her first choice would be Cal Poly Pomona, but that is still to be determined.

She said she probably will not pursue collegiate sports, but will definitely participate in intramural. Which one? How many do they offer?