The future of WFS in the USA - the importance of growth in women's college wrestling

Photo by Tony Rotundo

At last weekends OTT's, 47/61 of the total wrestlers were affiliated or have been associated with a NCAA or NAIA college. This heavy relation between college wrestlers and WFS in the USA reinforces the importance of growth in college wrestling to better the future of WFS. Women wrestle folkstyle in high school, but they wrestle freestyle in college, allowing the transition from college to the senior level to be very seamless.

The news that women's wrestling will be NCAA sanctioned by 2026 will create an even bigger jump in the sports success than it already has in the past few years. Sanctioning will cause D1 school to more highly prioritize starting women's programs, allowing more funding to be involved at the college level. Along with this funding, it will encourage more females to join early and remain in the sport. The combination of an earlier start, better resources/competition and more coaches/training partners will cumulate to a powerhouse of WFS athletes coming out of the USA!

Here are some highlighted colleges with women's wrestling:

Life University - located outside of Atlanta, GA, life university has been a rising womens program, claiming second place in the overall team title at the last two NAIA championships! Lead by head coach Ashley Flavin, they have established themselves as a top college with 8 all-americans at the championships (Devyn Gomez,  Diana Gonzalez, Ariana Martinez, Anna Krejsa, Sarah Savidge, Zaynah McBryde, Jamilah McBryde and Latifah McBryde). Jamilah McBryde was their sole individual champion.

King University - located in Bristol, TN, King University finished 3rd place at the NCWWC championships this season (after placing second overall the 2023 and 2022 championships). They had 12 all-americans and one individual champion, Claire DiCugno. This was their 4th straight season with at least one individual champion, solidifying them as a top program. Lead by head coach Jason Moorman, and 9 OTT participants associated with the program, their future is bright!

Written by Natalie Vecchio