Delaware’s Natalie Radecki Named National Winner of Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame on Tuesday announced that Natalie Radecki of Newark, Delaware is the 2026 national winner of the Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award (TSHSEA). 

The Hall of Fame’s High School Excellence Awards are proudly sponsored by the Hyman Family, whose generous support and passion for the sport help ensure the continued recognition and development of wrestling’s next generation. 

“It is a tremendous honor to receive the Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame,” said Radecki. “It feels amazing to finally be recognized and I am grateful for those who have supported me. I am looking forward to attending and wrestling for Lehigh University next year, and like Tricia Saunders did, I hope to have a lasting impact on women’s wrestling.”

First presented in 2014, the award is named for Tricia Saunders, a four-time World Champion and women’s wrestling pioneer. Saunders was the first woman to be inducted as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2006 and was inducted into the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2011. 

The award recognizes and celebrates the nation’s most outstanding high school senior female wrestlers for their excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, citizenship, and community service. 

The national winner of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award will be announced on Wednesday. The DSHSEA recognizes and celebrates the nation’s most outstanding high school senior male wrestlers for their excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, citizenship, and community service. 

The TSHSEA and DSHSEA national winners will be honored during the 49th Honors Weekend at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum on June 5 and 6 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. For more information, visit https://nwhof.org/news/2026-honors-weekend-information. 

“As the newest national winner of our Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award, Natalie Radecki joins an inspiring group of young women who exemplify the values this award represents,” said Hall of Fame Executive Director Lee Roy Smith. “Her willingness to compete on the boys team reflects a true desire to wrestle while her accomplishments, qualifying for the boys state tournament four times and becoming the first girl in state history to place twice, speak to her remarkable commitment and dedication. 

“Being named team captain is a testament to the respect she has earned from her teammates, while her advocacy efforts with Wrestle Like A Girl and her work to help secure a girls division at the Beast of the East tournament demonstrate her passion for growing opportunities in women’s wrestling,” he added. “Natalie’s achievements extend beyond the mat as well, as she has excelled academically, performed as a cello player, and given her time to serve others through volunteer work. She truly represents the best of what this award is meant to honor.” 

The daughter of Anthony and Caron Radecki, Natalie will continue her wrestling career at Lehigh University. 

She qualified for the Delaware boys state wrestling tournament four times and finished sixth in 2025 and 2026 to become the first girl in state history to place in the boys tournament twice. She was a team captain and finished her high school career with a 101-45 overall record, including 28-0 against girls and 73-45 against boys. 

Radecki won the U17 Pan American Championships and received the Golden Boot presented to the outstanding wrestler in 2025. She was a Junior Nationals champion in 2025 and a 16U Nationals runner-up in 2024 while placing second, third and sixth at the USA Wrestling Trials. She was a Beast of the East girls champion in 2023 and a runner-up in 2024. 

She lettered three years in cross country and earned all-county and all-state honors every year. She was a four-time member of the Founders Honor Roll and was named Outstanding Scholar Athlete of the junior class and student of the month in 2024. 

Radecki was treasurer of the Student Government Association three times while also being a member of the Race Amity Club. She was a member of the Senior Tri-M Music Honor Society and played the cello in the wind ensemble, the Caravel Cabaret, and the symphonic band. 

She worked with Wrestle Like A Girl to petition the state of Delaware to sanction girls wrestling and also advocated to get a girls division at the Beast of the East tournament. Radecki volunteered four years at White Clay Creek State Park, Lums Pond State Park and with Special Olympics while also volunteering at the One Journey event in 2023. She builds cat kennels for the Humane Society while also being a member of Amnesty International. 

Radecki becomes the first national winner from Delaware. California and Tennessee are tied for the most national winners with two each while Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma and Washington have each had one winner.

Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest growing high school sports with participation growing by more 447 percent from 16,562 in 2018 to 74,064 in 2025. 

Forty-eight state high school athletic associations have voted to approve girls wrestling as an official sport, and 48 held official girls high school state wrestling championships in 2025-26. Hawaii was the first state to host a girls state championship in 1998 and Texas began its girls’ tournament in 1999. The number grew to six states by 2015. 

In 2025, the NCAA added women’s wrestling as its 91st championship sport. Women's wrestling advanced from the NCAA Emerging Sports for Women program to become a national collegiate championship, featuring female athletes from all three divisions competing against one another. The NCAA held its first women's wrestling championship in March. The NAIA recognizes women’s wrestling as an official varsity sport and held their first official championship in 2023. 

There are over 200 intercollegiate women’s wrestling teams competing at the NCAA, NAIA, junior college and community college level.

The Hall of Fame accepts nominations for its high school excellence awards from state chapters and coaches. The nominations are reviewed by a committee, which selects state and regional winners. The committee then determines the national winners from the regional winners.