Dorothea West’s parents weren't sure what to think. Their daughter wanted to wrestle and they didn’t know what that meant for a competitive swimmer. 

West had a chance encounter with the wrestling coach at Manhattan Science High School in New York on the second day of her freshman year. He had one request for West: try out for wrestling. 

“I showed up for one practice and never stopped,” West said. “My high school had an all-girls team, which is a reason I ended up sticking with it.”

Never stopping and sticking with it is the foundation of West’s improbable wrestling journey. Her wrestling appetite was raging but a global pandemic meant lost practice time and no competitions. College wrestling was a consideration but, by her junior year, she had limited experience and limited options. 

“It was a week into lockdown and I realized how important wrestling had become in my life,” West said. “My teammates were some of my best friends and my coach was a second parent. I saw my coach sometimes more than my actual parents. I was suddenly missing the community that was built.” 

Going West

Drexel University in Philadelphia has a men’s wrestling team but there were no opportunities for women. West researched club wrestling with New York RTC and Columbia club coach Emma Randall and Lori Ayres of Division I Women’s Wrestling.

Ideas are one thing. Execution is another. 

West explored training with the men’s team and learned from Drexel coach Matt Azevedo that several girls tried to start a club but the process was shut down because of COVID. She approached the club sports department and applications were closed — again — because of COVID. 

Step one was writing a club constitution and filing the paperwork when the application process opened. That resulted in two years of correspondence with changing deadlines and different requirements. The club sports department finally caved since it was no longer fair to drag out proceedings. 

“There were a lot of times when I wanted to give up,” West said. “I have a lot of friends who have been supporting me through this whole process. My family has been very supportive. I’m very stubborn. I don’t like to start something and not finish it. 

“I started this whole process because I wanted to have the opportunity to be on a team and compete and wrestle.” 

Drexel finally formed a women’s wrestling club following two years of consistent work. 

What Is Club Wrestling? 

Most universities have sanctioned athletic teams with a competition schedule. 

Club teams compete and travel but it’s not mandatory — and it’s not at the level of a varsity team. 

The Drexel women’s wrestling club won’t have tryouts and no experience is required. This is a value-based experience where the virtues of the sport are more important than the outcome of a match.

Those values and virtues are what drove West to stay persistent despite seemingly insurmountable barriers. 

“What I really missed was the family of female wrestlers who I had throughout high school and that group of people who have this united understanding of what’s happening,” West said. “I just kept thinking about how important that was. There aren’t many people who have the willpower to not give up. If I give up, who is the person who does this for other people who come after me?

“Throughout all this process, I’ve been practicing on my own with high school groups or college groups or whatever I can find and being on my own — but it’s not the same as having a team of people who are there for you.” 

What’s Next? 

For now, West is the president and coach of the club. The team can’t currently practice on campus so they use the Beat the Streets facility, which is a few blocks from campus. 

Volunteer coaches and, possibly, wrestlers from the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel will eventually run practices two or three times a week. Participants can compete in tournaments — or not. It’s all about learning and growing through the sport. 

The New York Athletic Club hosts a novice tournament in the spring for wrestling neophytes who want to have fun. West wants Drexel club wrestlers to give it a shot. 

“I’m hoping the girls who don’t want to compete, maybe after time, when they learn the sport, they might be interested in that,” West said. “We don’t have any official club funding yet but we can accept donations. We’re going to do some fundraising with the Drexel alumni and Beat the Streets. We already have donors who are interested in supporting this cause.” 

Now, hopefully, after five years of effort, Dorothea West’s parents think that wrestling is a cause worth pursuing — even if they didn't understand it at first.