Cody Thorn
Nevaeh Smith will be headed to North Carolina this weekend to take a look around Montreat.
The junior at Francis Howell Central will be going on her first recruiting trip to check out the Tar Heel Wrestling Club. Currently, the roster lists only one female wrestler.
She is coming off a solid season this year for the Spartans when she went 41-3 and reached the semifinals in Class 2. Smith capped off the season by taking third place in the 130-pound bracket.
Since the high school season ended, she’s been training at the Purler Wrestling Academy. The coaches at the facility in Moscow Mills helped kickstart the recruiting for Smith, who talked to the coaching staff at North Carolina and was invited for a visit.
“I’m excited and a little nervous, mainly to see what opportunities there are for me,” she said.
She’s also gotten interest from East Stroudsburg University in East Stroudsburg, Penn., and Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn.
She knew back in seventh grade that her future would likely include wrestling in college.
After all, having five older brothers she’s been wrestling for a long time — not just not the mat.
Once she started wrestling and beating the boys her age, she was hooked on the sport.
“I didn’t wake up and not be blessed; not a lot can just step on the mat and wrestle well,” she said. “I took the opportunity I had.”
She recalls back in eighth grade she had a match against Jackson Tucker, who later told her that she was really strong after beating her.
Tucker, for the record, was the 138-pound champion this past season in Class 3 for Hillsboro.
She said his affirmation was a boost for her….
