Photo by Jim Thrall/MatFocus.com
Everyone has seen the shirt that says, “Grow Women’s Wrestling.”
Team Ohio has taken it to heart.
With 11 All-Americans in the 16U (6 placers) and Junior (5) National Freestyle Championships, the Buckeye state has raised the bar of excellence.
It’s the most All-Americans Team Ohio has ever had, eclipsing the mark of eight set in 2008, 2021 and 2023.
“Just looking at numbers, this year, we broke over 1,000 girls registered with USA Wrestling cards in Ohio,” Girls freestyle co-director Rob Dearwester said. “Almost 1,200 at the end of May, which is double the number from two years ago. Girls wrestling is growing and growing fast. You can see it in the schools and you can see it with USA Wrestling. Five years ago, there were less than 20,000 female athlete card holders, with less than 300 from Ohio. The number is now over 45,000 in the country.”
Getting those wrestlers out is good, but getting them to take the next step is what the 2024 teams can take pride in.
In this year’s 16U tournament Deionna Borders (235 pounds) highlighted action with a second-place finish. Libertie Nigh,(94) and Elizabeth Loveland (170) were third. Mackenzie Carder (118) was fourth, Carolyn Geckler (118) was fifth and Camryn Gresham (106) was eighth.
The junior saw Chloe Dearwester (110) finished second. Makennah Craft (100) and Alexandria Alli (170) were fifth and Brianne Graves (100) and Raegan Briggs (120) were eighth.
In the last four years, the girls programs have brought home 34 stop signs from Fargo, to show just how much the girls program is growing.
It’s a trend Rob Dearwester doesn’t see slowing down any time soon.
“For Team Ohio, it's all about creating opportunities and helping the girls get better together as we move ahead,” Dearwester said. “There are so many great coaches in our state that volunteer their time to help create opportunities and pass on their knowledge. We can never thank them enough. The goal is always to keep getting better. We want others taking notice when we walk into a tournament representing Ohio.”