A Tribute to the Evolution of the WCWA National Tournament
Women wrestlers and fans, the highly anticipated WCWA national championship portion of the 2018-19 collegiate season is still in our rearview mirror. The final few weeks leading up to the tournament were dedicated to the culmination of hard work and perseverance, the sadness of injury, stories of continued domination and the impending crowd pleasing rise of underdogs that remained hungry and humble. Putting all 2018-19 accomplishments aside, this article will recognize some moments that directed us to this place in history.
The WCWA National tournament is not new to women’s collegiate wrestling. In fact, it’s where most of our current USA women’s national team shined throughout their collegiate experiences. In 2004, coaches from Missouri Valley, Pacific University, the University of the Cumberlands and Menlo College formed a women’s collegiate national tournament (Abbott, 2013). In 2008, the Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Associate (WCWA) was officially created in a collaborative effort by coaches that penned the WCWA’s first formal bylaws (Abbott, 2013).
Collegiate Experiences that Impacted Team USA
When looking to our current U.S. National and World Teams, world-class athletes have represented their collegiate wrestling teams with stories of growth and success. Simon Fraser had the likes of Helen Maroulis, Victoria Anthony & Mallory Velte. King University produced talented powerhouses Alli Ragan, Sarah Hildebrandt, Haley Augello & Forrest Molinari. Missouri Valley’s Jacarra Winchester is a monster and Wayland Baptist is represented by two-time Yarygin champ Tamyra Mensah-Stock. Yet, competition is expanding. No outlier to strength, Campbellsville built Kayla Miracle and McKendree has more than just a few active participants at the Junior and Senior levels. This list is not exhaustive and does not, in words, honor all the names of greatness on our current U.S. teams, but rather illustrates the widespread talent across the nation that centralizes to compete at the single national tournament for women’s collegiate wrestling. These women were pioneers in high school and collegiate wrestling. However, those that transitioned to USA Wrestling and are active on the national circuit right now were not the first to shine and represent women’s wrestling, and they certainly are not the only.
Remembering the First & the Many
Imagine this scenario: you are an 18 year-old girl wrestler that just graduated high school where you competed on the “boys” wrestling team, and you want to take your talents to the next level. There are no coaches recruiting you and no network of scholarships to pay for your college education or travel opportunities. You make it work anyways. That is what our pioneers did to make the current framework possible.
University of Minnesota-Morris created the first women’s collegiate wrestling program, but Missouri Valley College, University of the Cumberlands, Menlo College and Pacific University were front-runners with athletes like Clarissa Chun, Leigh Jaynes, Toccara Montgomery, Alaina Berube, Katherine and Sara Fulp-Allen (Abbott, 2013). Other women, including Sara McMann, Patricia Miranda, Erin Tomeo and Jenny Wong competed on the men’s varsity team at Lock Haven University (Abbott, 2013).
With many new collegiate programs exploring the benefits of adding women’s wrestling, it’s easy to forget the depth and rich history of long-standing programs that built and supported historical women wrestlers. Before exposure, women’s wrestling was a pocket within its own community. As women’s wrestling is becoming the gem it has worked to be, there are a great number of women that never saw any form of recognition for their efforts – there’s this whole gap in coverage for the pioneers. The last decade + has been full of exciting competition. Oklahoma City University and King College were terrors, capturing national team title for years in a row with depth unique to their programs, but contenders like Simon Fraser have been just takedowns away. There is no way to list all of their names, but these remarkably talented women from various programs include Jessica Medina, Emily Martin (featured photo), Michaela Hutchison, Tatiana Padilla, Ashley Hudson, Nicole Woody, Emily Webster, the Doi Twins, Carlene Sluberski, and the Fulp-Allen sisters.
Thank You, Pioneers & Coaches
With the growth of the sport and sanctioning of girls wrestling in more states at the interscholastic level, the recognition women in current competition receive is well deserved. But we, the wrestling community, must thank and solidify our appreciation to the importance of our pioneers. Whether or not all of the pioneers were at a national caliber in today’s measure is not the question of this article – the important fact here is that these women helped change the structure and landscape of the opportunities each woman wrestler has today. Here are some thoughts about their accomplishments as they worked sans recognition:
The playing field of life isn’t level – it never has been & it never will be. The sooner we realize this, the sooner we can move on from a state of being the victim of life. Change doesn’t just happen because something isn’t fair. Change doesn’t happen without struggle. Change can only occur when individuals and groups decide something is important enough to achieve that even though they won’t reap the formally recognized benefits from their struggle, others will down the road.
To you pioneers, the women on men’s teams that upheld the values of wrestling to the highest level, the ones that worked toward championships regardless of the gender of your competitors, thank you. If you were national caliber, or had only seemingly small success, thank you. To the first of the collegiate women to wrestle, thank you. To the club, high school and collegiate male and female coaches that helped pave the way, thank you. You are all part of the reason women are able to compete today and be a part of the WCWA, and soon to be recognized NAIA, National Championships evolution. Take this moment to reflect on your success. You are recognized.
If you are a reading this as a current female wrestler – you are part of history. You represent the sacred values embedded in the wrestling culture from the legends. Do what is in your power to uphold the integrity of those values. Train in a way that represents the opportunity you have. Take ownership of your greatness and your strength as a woman.
Take a moment to reach out to your influencers & coaches with a thank you – they’ll appreciate it.
