Contact: Deb North
Email: deb.north@yesathleticsusa.com
Phone: 785-256-0877
 
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 
   
 
OTTAWA, Kan. - Yes! Athletics, the NAIA's official women's wrestling shoe, has awarded the Ottawa University women's wrestling team with wrestling shoes for the 2022-2023 Season. 
 
OU's women's wrestling program began in 2014 and was one of the first women's wrestling programs in the NAIA. Dalton Weidl took over as head coach of the program in 2021 andhas turned the  the women's program into  a trailblazer for the women of the future. They currently have 30 women on their active roster for the 2022-23 season and last year, they had multiple nationally ranked individuals in the NAIA Polls. The team will continue to build and make their team known during the 2022-23 campaign.
 
"Last year, we had close to 20 women on our team and most of them were first-year student-athletes at the collegiate level, so we really focused on instilling the culture we want our program to be known for. Last years' class bought into the process, held each other accountable to ambitious standards and made sure to do even the littlest of things right." said Weidl "Making those expectations known really helped bring in this years' class of athletes, as they were welcomed into that culture and knew what was expected right away. We have an incredibly young team here and cannot wait to see what this group does on and off the mat."
Yes! Athletics was founded by Deb North, a Kansas City entrepreneur and single mom of three girls,in 2019 when North's daughter began wrestling and she discovered that there were no wrestling shoe options made specifically for girls.  Yes! Athletics empowers young female athletes by filling the gap in sporting goods gear for girls in sport.
 
North was a vendor at the National Wrestling Coaches Association Convention in August  and she invited attendees register to win free shoes for their team.
 
"We had a general winner (Grey's Harbor College in Aberdeen, Wash), and I wanted to ensure I supported an NAIA School. I was so excited that Ottawa won. They have been a trailblazer in women's wrestling and are right down the road from us," said North
 
In April 2022, the NAIA announced that women's wrestling was officially a Championship sport. The National Championships will be held on March 10 and 11 in Jamestown, N.D.
   
ABOUT OTTAWA UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1865, Ottawa University prepares professional and liberal arts graduates for lifetimes of personal significance, vocational fulfillment and service to God and humanity as a Christ-inspired community of grace and opening inquiry. Ottawa University is a comprehensive, not-for-profit educational institution, serving more than 4,500 students through its residential campuses in Ottawa, Kan., and Surprise, Ariz., and adult campuses in Overland Park, Kan.; Surprise, Ariz.; Brookfield, Wis.; and online. Visit www.ottawa.edu for more information.