February 12, 2025 | Jennifer Smith
Senior Ryan Anderson ’25 donned a fitting accessory for the occasion. An enthusiastic thumbs up!
Bob and Jeremy readily took up the challenge to equip Graceland’s wrestlers with a small but significant safety feature — and more than that, they offered to gift the entire men’s wrestling team and their coaches – 40 upper and lower arches! – with custom mouthguards.
Mouthguards are not an obvious aspect of wrestling mat safety: they provide a protective cushion from trauma to the jaws and teeth, consequently ensuring long-term oral health. Beyond injury prevention and general well-being, they give athletes the confidence to focus solely on their next move without fear of injury. Plus, they simply make them look and feel cool!
At one of the Fry Orthodontics locations in the greater Kansas City area, Brianna Thompson, DDS, was getting all set, preparing an assembly line and her team for the Graceland delegation. All coach Mullins had to do was gather his Yellowjackets for a fun day out in KC, for which we’ll just let the photos in the online gallery speak.
The team enjoyed some downtime in the waiting area as the Fry Orthodontics crew completed fittings.
The day left lasting impressions on both the practice and wrestling team. “With all our hands on deck, everything went smoothly. We were very happy to make it work for the Graceland wrestlers,” Thompson says.
For Mullins, the outing turned into an unexpected team bonding activity — everyone enjoyed getting out of the regular campus routine for a day, taking silly pictures during the molding and fitting procedures, and sharing a good restaurant meal.
“If there’s time on the clock, there’s time to wrestle.” — And put those mouthguards to work!
As Fry Orthodontics can complete the entire process in-house with their dedicated technicians, it was highly efficient and the turnaround expedient — the team was fitted on a Monday, and on Friday, Sakima Roberts personally picked up the mouthguards and delivered them to Lamoni. The mouthguards turned out perfectly, are so well-fitted and comfortable that they did not take much getting used to. “The guys love them and wear them all the time,” Mullins reports. Yellowjacket teeth saved!
Wrestling Team Mouthguard Fitting images
We are excited to announce the addition of women’s wrestling to our athletic programs in the fall of 2025. The new Yellowjacket team will compete in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), which officially recognized women’s wrestling as a championship sport in 2022. The new program creates opportunities for student-athletes to compete at a high level and continue their educational and athletic journeys. Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. By introducing this program, Graceland is excited to play a role in supporting the sport’s growth and providing female athletes with new paths to success.
Read the full news release here.
