At the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro, Helen Maroulis became the first American women to win a gold medal in wrestling since women’s wrestling was added to the games in 2004.
In turn, she helped continue to launch the rise of the sport which has taken off within the last decade among young women.
Maroulis, however, did not attend some powerhouse, name-brand college. She started her college wrestling career at Missouri Baptist and finished at Simon Fraser in Canada.
Both schools are members of the Women’s College Wrestling Association, or WCWA. There are currently 38 members of the WCWA.