WESTERVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) — Otterbein University is home to the only women’s college wrestling program in central Ohio and the nation’s top-ranked grappler is paving the way for her teammates.

The Cardinals are in their inaugural season and finally got to host a dual meet for the first time on Jan. 28 when they hosted John Carroll. On that historic night, Olivia Shore took the mat as the No. 1 wrestler in the 103 pound weight class in the country.

The only problem was that there wasn’t anyone to wrestle against in her division. Shore ended up winning by forfeit. But the senior did get to wrestle later in the night in an exhibition, not wasting any opportunity to get in the circle.

“Wrestling is just awesome. It’s brought me so many awesome people and I’m just super grateful,” Shore said.

Shore, a Miami East graduate, is leading the way for the young program.

“She is a great leader. She holds the girls accountable but she’s also there to lead by that experience that she has too,” head coach Chris Cline said. “It’s like having a second coach in the room.”

Shore’s path to the mat began when she was her brother’s training partner, quickly falling in love with the sport herself.

“I just loved the grit. It’s more than a sport. It’s life. You get thrown on your back, you got to choose what to do,” Shore said. “Just at a young age, learning what to do is fight off your back or drown.”

Choosing to fight, Shore quickly became accustomed to making history in Ohio, which is why after wrestling for two other schools, she decided to return to the Buckeye state. It’s where she won her first collegiate national championship, made the podium at the boys’ state meet and became a two-time girls’ state champion.

“I’ve had a lot of good luck in Ohio,” Shore said. “It just called me home and it felt right.”

But being the best in women’s wrestling didn’t come without a price. She wrestled boys in high school and that wasn’t by choice.

“It was degrading,” Shore said. “You wake up every day and go into a boys room and get the crap beat out of you for two hours by boys. Just to go out and wrestle boys. Basically fight for your life. But girls deserve their own league. I’d go through what I did again just for them to have that.”

Girls wrestling is already the fastest-growing high school sport in the country. In January, the NCAA approved women’s collegiate wrestling as a championship sport in 2026.

“I just love seeing the little girls not having to go through what I did and being able to have their own league and wrestle girls,” Shore said. “The sport is growing. It’s just amazing. And I’m glad that I could help.”