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Erin Vandiver is Bold for Change

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by Andrea Rodriguez, USA Wrestling

Photos of Erin Vandiver during her competitive career by John Sachs, Tech-Fall.com


Erin Vandiver is an Assistant National Women’s Coach for USA Wrestling. She started wrestling when she was five years old, getting into the sport after watching her two older brothers Matt and Tom practice and compete.


Under her maiden name Erin Tomeo and competing for Grove City High School, she was the first girl in Pennsylvania wrestling history to place at Districts and win a match at the Regional high school boys wrestling tournament. She was also active with USA Wrestling in its age-group women’s programs, and won Cadet World bronze medals in 1998 and 1999.


After high school, Erin wrestled at Lock Haven University as a member of the varsity men’s team for the 2001-2002 season. Other top women wrestlers were on that team, including eventual Olympic silver medalist Sara McMann, World medalist Jenny Wong and World team member Jenna Pavlik. At that time, Lock Haven was a true women’s wrestling training hotbed.


In 2002, she moved to Colorado Springs and trained at the U.S Olympic Training Center. Erin was a member of the 2001 and 2006 U.S. World Teams. She won the 2008 U.S. Open and was a four-time U.S. Open runner-up. She also won medals in international events in Belarus, Sweden, Canada, Ukraine. She boasts gold medals from the Dave Schultz Memorial International and the New York AC International, top events hosted in the USA.


Erin earned B.S. degree in History at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. She would eventually like to pursue a teaching career with elementary children but is extremely happy to be in the position that she is currently, leading the top U.S. women wrestlers of today and helping build the stars of the future.


Wrestling has taken Erin to places that she never would have been. From Grove City, Pa. to the world!


When she started wrestling, women’s wrestling wasn’t an Olympic sport, and now she has been an Olympic Team coach.


Watch Erin’s Video at http://donate.usawrestling.org/5weeks

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