Fox Cities News

A motivated group of new Titans is eager to help start a University of Wisconsin Oshkosh (UWO) women’s wrestling program this fall. Among them are future biomedical engineers, prospective elementary teachers, and students from various other majors.

Delaney Rapp from Imperial, Missouri, is among the nearly 30 inbound Titans comprising the inaugural UWO Women’s Wrestling team. These student-athletes hail from 10 different states and are drawn to UWO for both its educational opportunities and the chance to engage in women’s wrestling.

“Oshkosh is definitely the perfect fit for me,” said Delaney Rapp, 18. “Finding a university with both biomedical engineering and women’s wrestling is no easy feat.”

Several wrestlers have already connected through a late-June camp during their Titan Takeoff orientation visit. This gave them, along with Women’s Wrestling Head Coach Jared Costa and his team, an opportunity to prepare for the upcoming school year.

“One of the things I’m telling all of them right now is that there is a buzzword: culture,” Costa said. “This is our culture: family, hard work and all of that. Culture is the team.”

Costa noted that the team motto has inspired the season hashtag: #BeThe1st.

Cassidy Vanden Heuvel of Kaukauna highlighted the numerous opportunities at UWO.

In total, the inaugural women’s wrestling team includes 26 student-athletes from Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin. According to Costa, this marks significant growth in a sport expanding rapidly post-COVID-19 pandemic.

“When I first started coaching women’s wrestling in fall 2021, there were just about 15,000 girls in high school wrestling,” he said. “This past year more than 55,000 was the estimate.”

When UWO decided to join this movement and chose Costa to build the program, he launched a national search for recruits through high school coaching networks and alumni connections.

High school wrestlers across the country are increasingly seeking college opportunities as women’s wrestling grows. In Wisconsin alone, UWO joins Lakeland University, Carthage College and UW-Stevens Point in offering women’s wrestling programs.

“It was exciting. It was a long journey,” Costa said regarding recruiting efforts. He emphasized that out of 34 girls who visited campus this year, 26 decided to join.

Sophia Garza from La Vernia, Texas expressed her excitement about joining both UWO's new wrestling program and its engineering program.

“I chose UWO for a multitude of reasons,” Garza said. “Some being how excited I am as a Texas girl to have the opportunity to be part of the new women’s wrestling program.”

Tahonesty Donnell from Milwaukee also shared her enthusiasm: “I picked UWO because of the coach and family... I can’t wait to reach my goals!”

Mya Delleree from Ozaukee began competitive wrestling in sixth grade and looks forward to continuing at UWO while pursuing an elementary education degree.

Costa highlighted that many incoming student-athletes have high academic achievements: “We want to be the national team GPA champions.”

The inaugural season begins on October 10 with practice sessions followed by their first competition on November 2 at UW-Stevens Point. Home duals will commence on November 16 at Kolf Sports Center featuring both men’s and women's teams.

Assistant Chancellor for Athletics Darryl Sims stated: “It’s exciting to add a growing sport that has immediately drawn so many gifted student-athletes from around the country."

Rapp concluded by noting her excitement about setting up new traditions within both wrestling and biomedical engineering at UWO: "I came here because everyone was outgoing and wanted me to succeed."

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