Junior World medalist Maya Nelson is Bold for Change
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by Andrea Rodriguez, USA Wrestling
Photo of Maya Nelson of the USA at the 2016 Junior World Championships in Macon, France.
March is Women’s History Month and Maya Nelson has her own place in the history books.
In 2014, she broke two barriers. Competing for Denver East High School, Maya was the first female to qualify in the Colorado 5A high school state boys wrestling tournament, the most competitive division, and was also the first female to win a match during the 5A State Tournament
Maya told her mom when she was four years old that she wanted to wrestle. Like so many other young women wrestlers, most of her competitors were boys. That didn’t stop her because she looked at herself not as a girl competing with the boys, but as a wrestler stepping onto the mat. Her coach treated her the same way.
Wrestling has taken her places that she never would have gone in many traditional sports. She has traveled the world through wrestling and has been made a stronger more empowered person.
After high school, Nelson first competed at the University of the Cumberlands, and is now a U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athlete
Here are just a few of her accomplishments:
• 2013 USA Wrestling Girls Folkstyle Cadet National Champion
• 2013 Cadet Freestyle National Champion
• Three-time Junior Freestyle National Champion (2013-2015)
• 2016 Women’s University National Champion
• 2016 Junior World Bronze Medalist
• Second in 2017 U.S. Senior Open
Oh yeah, and she is also a singer. She made it through the first round of “The Voice” but was eliminated in the second round of competition when the show was held in Denver.
See Maya’s video at http://donate.usawrestling.org/5weeks
March is Women’s History Month and Maya Nelson has her own place in the history books.
In 2014, she broke two barriers. Competing for Denver East High School, Maya was the first female to qualify in the Colorado 5A high school state boys wrestling tournament, the most competitive division, and was also the first female to win a match during the 5A State Tournament
Maya told her mom when she was four years old that she wanted to wrestle. Like so many other young women wrestlers, most of her competitors were boys. That didn’t stop her because she looked at herself not as a girl competing with the boys, but as a wrestler stepping onto the mat. Her coach treated her the same way.
Wrestling has taken her places that she never would have gone in many traditional sports. She has traveled the world through wrestling and has been made a stronger more empowered person.
After high school, Nelson first competed at the University of the Cumberlands, and is now a U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athlete
Here are just a few of her accomplishments:
• 2013 USA Wrestling Girls Folkstyle Cadet National Champion
• 2013 Cadet Freestyle National Champion
• Three-time Junior Freestyle National Champion (2013-2015)
• 2016 Women’s University National Champion
• 2016 Junior World Bronze Medalist
• Second in 2017 U.S. Senior Open
Oh yeah, and she is also a singer. She made it through the first round of “The Voice” but was eliminated in the second round of competition when the show was held in Denver.
See Maya’s video at http://donate.usawrestling.org/5weeks
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