Anthony started her competitive career as a judo athlete before eventually switching to wrestling. Tony Rotundo photos. Continued from page 6
as a wrestler. In fact, she was surrounded by a mob of support and supreme training opportunities.
“I love season-less California,” she said. “Huntington Beach has awesome weather year-round, so I’m super thankful to my parents for picking this place to settle down. Wrestling-wise, I competed for Coach Dennis Piramo on the Marina High School Wrestling Team. I won League three times, Boys’ CIF once, and I made it to Masters twice. I also went to SoCal Wrestling Club during the high school off-season. I am very thankful for this program and the loving Cadwallader family, who introduced me to and encouraged me to pursue freestyle wrestling.” During her youth career, California was not yet a state that supported a separate league for girls wrestling. Because of this, Anthony was tested in a whole other way. “Girls wrestling was adopted one or two years after I graduat- ed from high school,” Anthony said. “I am very thankful for the opportunity I had to compete on my high school’s varsity team, even though there were challenges that went along with wrestling boys. However, doing so definitely shaped who I am in a positive way.
8 USA Wrestler
“I do think that the separation of the two genders within the sport is a great step forward and exactly what we need to grow the sport of women’s wrestling.”
Her success as a youth wrestler contributed to the desire she had to continue competing past high school. Anthony had a passion to excel, both academically and athlet-
ically, which brought her to Simon Fraser University in Canada. “Whatever I pursue, I want to pursue to the highest level, both
in sports and education,” she said. “When I was doing judo, I had the intention of doing judo throughout college and eventual- ly becoming an Olympic champion.
“When I made the switch to wrestling, competing in college was just always a part of the plan; the next step in achieving my goals, both academically and athletically. I absolutely love Simon Fraser - the school is top-notch academically and the location is unbeatable. In terms of the wrestling program, their coaching staff is Olympic-caliber and the team is irreplaceable. Our coach, Mike Jones, is an extremely caring coach with a ton of knowledge and a ridiculous sense of humor, too.” Anthony’s time as a student at Simon Fraser was equally
Continued on page 9
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44