With competition right around the corner, the Solon Girls Wrestling team is expecting a season of growth and success under first year head coach JJ Cooper.
Cooper, who was previously an assistant coach for Solon Boys Wrestling, stepped into the head girls coach role with a lot of excitement,
“What drew me to girls’ wrestling is just their willingness to want to get better. They want to win. They want to be successful,” says Cooper.
As the team enters the season under Cooper’s leadership, his focus isn’t solely on winning matches but also on developing as athletes and pushing his athletes to reach their full potential.
“I want them to get better. I want them to push themselves a little further than they normally would. I don’t want to take it easy on them, it’s not going to help them in the long run. I’m here to give them that extra push when they need it,” says Cooper.
Cooper believes that if his team can do this, success will follow.
“There’s going to be several of them who qualify for state and make the podium at some point in time,” Cooper says.
With an outstanding 26 girls on the team, Cooper anticipates that such a large number of girls will contribute to the team’s success as well.
“The numbers are a big part of it. When you go to a dual meet, having a full lineup changes the outcome of the whole meet. It also allows for them to have different practice partners so they’re not with the same one all season,” says Cooper.
Olivia Bonnema, Makayla Keller, Lucy Miller, Ella Sheeley, and Kara VeDepo graduated in May. Bonnema and VeDepo were 2025 State Meet qualifiers.
The girls on the team are also anticipating a successful season under Cooper’s leadership. Junior and third year varsity member Tess Richard’s expects Cooper’s knowledge of the sport to give their team an advantage during competitions. Richards qualified for the 2025 State Meet with fellow senior McKenna Rogers.
“He’s introduced new moves to us and so we’ve been able to learn a lot of new things and see a different side of wrestling and with that comes really good technique. We’re going to be able to do moves that our opponents can’t stop which is cool to think about,” said Richards.
Building friendships and being there for one another is another important aspect of building success for this Solon team.
“We want to show up every day not only for ourselves but for each other. Even on days when you don’t feel like it, you have to continue to push yourself and your practice partner so we can all grow and build success together, because it’s going to take all of us,” Richards said.
2025 Varsity Girls Wrestling Home Meets
Thursday, Dec. 11 – Vs. Independence, 6:00 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 15 – Vs. Benton Community & Marion, 5:30 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 19 – Solon Girls Wrestling Duals AT Solon Middle School, 3:30 p.m.