Adrian College Women’s Wrestling Makes Great Strides

Creating a wrestling environment that student-athletes, alumni, families and fans would be proud to be a part of is the goal of any female wrestling program that hopes to grow and prosper.

In addition developing a training program that would allow college graduates to continue to train and strive for World and Olympic success is an added plus.

Those important goals speak to the hopes of Adrian College’s Women’s Wrestling Program.

As growth in the WCWA (Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association) continues to surge, Adrian has been a welcome team member in being a part of that expansion.

Adrian College is a private, co-educational liberal arts college conferring bachelor’s degrees in 40 academic majors and programs. The college is located in the city of Adrian, Michigan, a drive of approximately 45 minutes northwest of Toledo, Ohio, or 45 minutes southwest of Ann Arbor or 90 minutes southwest of Detroit.

**fci elite competitor, fciwomenswrestling2.com articles, By Dwight Burdette – Own work wikimedia photo credit**

The 100 acre campus contains newly constructed facilities along with historic buildings.

The academic institution features a variety of athletic programs as well as a theatre department.

Adrian College is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and is accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in the United States.

The college had its origin as a theological institute founded by Wesleyan Methodists at Leoni, Michigan, in 1845. This institution merged with Leoni Seminary, another Methodist school, in 1855 to form Michigan Union College. In 1859, that institution closed and its assets were transferred to Adrian to establish Adrian College.

The college was chartered by the Michigan Legislature on March 28, 1859, under the first president of the college, abolitionist Asa Mahan.

Their origins speak to a very pivotal point in American history.

Their present speaks to a very relevant journey in modern American life.

Let’s meet them. Here is part of their story through their own eyes.

At http://adrian.edu we can appreciate their magical story and what a prospective student can expect. “This isn’t some fairy tale but it is the beginning of a story—yours.

Adrian College is more than just four years of your life. Whether that is in the classroom, or on the court, here you will find the foundation for your inspiration and the roots of your future.

Become a part of our story and as your chapter unfolds, you’ll understand that it’s more than just numbers here. Our extraordinary retention, graduation, and placement rates mean when people come here, they stay here. When they leave, their journey has just begun.”

Here is what one student stated at studentsreview.com. “I enjoyed my experiences and could sense a continuation of constant building up of facilities and atmosphere that gives the institution spirit. Faculty are great.”[adToAppearHere]

The prestigious US News & World Report selected Adrian College as a ‘School to Watch’ and recognized it as the “#1 Up & Coming Baccalaureate College in the Midwest” in 2009 and 2010.

They surpassed expectations and in 2012, Adrian College was selected as a ‘Top College in the Midwest’.

That’s very impressive.

Their beautiful campus consists of just over 100 acres, over 20 academic and service buildings and 11 residence halls, plus apartments and themed housing.

The city of Adrian is sometimes referred to as “the Maple City” due in part to the many sugar maple and other maple tree species found throughout the city. The Adrian High School sports teams are known as the “Adrian Maples” and several local businesses use maple in their names.

Adrian’s cultural life has connections to the mid-19th century.

The Adrian City Band is one of the oldest continuously active community bands in the country, founded in 1836. Also of historical note is the Croswell Opera House. The Adrian Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1981. Adrian College and Siena Heights University also offer many cultural opportunities.

Adrian is an all-around great place for adults to live and children to grow up; with its elite schools and its thriving cultural scene, including the historic Croswell Opera House.

Downtown, Nestled inside historic buildings you’ll find an interesting mix of specialty shops, professional services, clothing boutiques and dining options.

At the city site they nicely summarize, “Located in Southeast Michigan’s Lenawee County, Adrian is home to historic architectural gems such as the former Adrian Library, now home to the Lenawee County Historical Museum; the historic Croswell Opera House, a professional symphony orchestra; two centers of higher education, Adrian College and Siena Heights University; numerous recreational facilities; a great parks system and an amazing vintage downtown district where you will find the south branch of the River Raisin.”

Let’s explore the regionally famous River Raisin.

The River Raisin is a river in southeastern Michigan.

It flows through glacial sediments into Lake Erie.

The area today is an agricultural and industrial center of Michigan. The river flows for almost 139 miles.

French settlers named it as La Rivière aux Raisins because of the wild grapes growing along its banks, since the French word for grape is raisin.[adToAppearHere]

Sounds enticing. We would love to go visit Adrian.

The well-respected college offers 40 majors and pre-professional programs, 32 athletic teams and eight institutes dedicated to a diverse and personalized approach to education.

Female Wrestling comprises one of those athletic teams.

As posted on October 10, 2017 on their athletic page, “The Adrian College wrestling coaching staff is excited to introduce the 2017-18 freshman recruiting class for the women’s program, which hits the mat for its third season of competition on Saturday at the Emmanuel College.”

On October 14, 2017 we view the results of their participation in that very competitive tournament. “The Adrian College women’s wrestling team had a successful 2017-18 season opener Saturday at the Emmanuel College Open in the Shaw Athletic Center, where the Bulldogs had three student-athletes place including two runner-up finishes.

Senior Kassidy Block finished in second place at 123 pounds while freshman Mackenzie Matta–a three-time All-American in high school–also was a runner-up at 143. Senior Autumn Rux also placed in sixth at 170. As a team, the Bulldogs were sixth in the tournament.”[adToAppearHere]

The women’s wrestling team is getting off to a great start and the expectations are that they will continue to improve and be very competitive.

“I am an example of what is possible when girls from the very beginning of their lives are loved and nurtured by people around them. I was surrounded by extraordinary women in my life who taught me about quiet strength and dignity.”…Michelle Obama

The Adrian women’s wrestling team is a fantastic addition to the surging ranks of the WCWA.

As they continue to exceed expectations, we know that they will continue to make the WCWA proud.

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OPENING PHOTO fci elite competitor, fciwomenswrestling2.com articles, adrian.edu photo credit

https://www.michigan.org/city/adrian#?c=44.4299:-85.1166:7&tid=1082&page=0&pagesize=20&pagetitle=Adrian

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_College

http://www.adrianbulldogs.com/sports/w-wrestl/2014-15/releases/20141215qgjvat

http://www.adrianbulldogs.com/sports/w-wrestl/2016-17/releases/20170105t57kcy

http://forum.thecaliforniawrestler.com/index.php?topic=86642.0

http://www.adrianbulldogs.com/information/Mission_Statements_-_Complete.pdf

http://adrian.edu/about-us/from-the-president/

http://adrian.edu/about-us/our-story/