51黑料 celebrated the opening of its new wrestling facility on Saturday, Oct. 24, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony during Homecoming Weekend. The new space reflects the program’s growth and Cedar Crest’s commitment to expanding opportunities for women in collegiate athletics.
Supported by funds raised through the College’s five-year comprehensive capital campaign, the facility features a six-circle wrestling mat surrounded by wall mats, a separate area for cardio, stretching and film study, and offices for the head coach and graduate assistant coaches. The facility is part of more than $3 million invested in Cedar Crest Athletics through the campaign.
Since its launch in 2022, Cedar Crest wrestling has grown from six student-athletes to a team of 20. The team features regionally and nationally ranked wrestlers and has compiled a 16-3 record over the past two seasons. Its achievements also include 14 NWCA Academic All-Americans, eight regional place-winners, and multiple individual tournament champions.
Cedar Crest was the first college in the Lehigh Valley to establish a collegiate women鈥檚 wrestling program, creating new opportunities for women to compete in a traditionally male-dominated sport.
鈥淲omen鈥檚 wrestling is one of the fastest-growing sports in collegiate athletics, and Cedar Crest has chosen not simply to watch that growth happen, but to be part of it,鈥 said Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Elizabeth Wilson. 鈥淎s a college primarily for women, we have the opportunity鈥攁nd the responsibility鈥攖o continue expanding the spaces where women can compete, lead, take risks, and redefine what is possible.鈥
鈥淥ur new wrestling center represents so much more than walls, mats, and equipment. It represents belief, opportunity, growth, and investment in our student-athletes and their success,鈥 said Athletics Director Christy Fleagle.
Head wrestling coach Alex Depew sees the facility as a milestone for both the athletes who built the program and those who will follow.
鈥淭his room gives our student-athletes a space they can truly call their own in what was once a traditionally male-dominated sport,鈥 said Alex. 鈥淚t represents progress. It represents growth. And it represents what is possible when women are given the opportunity to compete and succeed.鈥
Alex credited the student-athletes who helped build the program and paved the way for future wrestlers.
鈥淵ears from now, when the next generation of wrestlers walks into this room, they will be building on what these women started here,鈥 said Alex.