May 16, 2023,
Numerous professional women’s wrestling productions have come and gone over the years in the San Francisco Bay Area.
That doesn’t mean there is a dearth of fully competitive women’s wrestling in the San Francisco region.
In fact, there is a women’s wrestling program that has been competing and entertaining for over ten years with some of their stars going on to compete in the Olympics.
Meet Menlo University’s women’s wrestling program.
Great leadership starts at the top and the current Head Coach of the women’s wrestling program has to keep the team physically and mentally tough.
At menloathletics.com they share, “Michael Ayala joined the Menlo College Women’s Wrestling Coaching staff for the 2020-21 season following a stint as the Head Coach at Eastern Oregon University. Prior to his time as a coach of the EOU women’s team, Ayala served as an assistant coach of the men’s team at his alma mater, University of Providence.
Ayala obtained his Bachelor's degree in Psychology from University of Great Falls (now named University of Providence), and has a Master's degree in Clinical Counseling. He is a USA Wrestling Bronze certified coach and has years of experience coaching both free and folk style.”
Very impressive.
The Menlo team was even more impressive as FCI had a chance to meet some of them at a large tournament in Rocklin, California.
The women compete in the NAIA.
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America.
Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its student athletes.
For the 2021–22 season, it had 252 member institutions, of which two are in British Columbia, one in the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the rest in the continental United States, with over 77,000 student-athletes participating.
Large numbers. Very formidable.
The NAIA, whose headquarters is in Kansas City, Missouri, sponsors 27 national championships.
The CBS Sports Network serves as the national media outlet for the NAIA.
In 2014, ESPNU began carrying the NAIA Football National Championship.
Innovators ahead of their time, the NAIA began sponsoring intercollegiate championships for women in 1980, the second coed national athletics association to do so, offering collegiate athletics championships to women in basketball, cross country, gymnastics, indoor and outdoor track and field, softball, swimming and diving, tennis and volleyball.
Launched in 2000 by the NAIA, the Champions of Character program promotes character and sportsmanship through athletics. The Champions of Character conducts clinics and has developed an online training course to educate athletes, coaches, and athletic administrators with the skills necessary to promote character development in the context of sport.
The closer we look at the NAIA, the more we love what we see.
No wonder Menlo College desired to be a part of their team.
Let’s visit the college.
fciwomenswrestling.com femcompetitor.com, fcielitecompetitor.com fciwomenswrestling2.com grapplingstars.com Charlotte-May-pexels.com_
At menlo.edu they educate, “Menlo College’s vision is to redefine undergraduate business education to be dynamically adaptive, innovative, and relevant so that students can recognize opportunities and apply 21st century skills to make a positive impact on the world.
At Menlo College, we ignite potential and educate students to make meaningful contributions in the innovation economy.
Our students thrive in an environment that values: small class sizes, experiential learning, engaged and student-centered faculty, holistic advising, exceptional student success resources, robust athletics programs and student leadership activities, and opportunities to engage in the Silicon Valley environment.
Our graduates are able to learn throughout their lives and to think analytically, creatively, and responsibly in order to drive positive change in organizations and communities. Our faculty members mentor students by identifying potential, cultivating students’ individual talents, and helping them build a roadmap to support their success. We support our faculty in producing research that informs teaching, theory development, and professional practice.”
Sounds very comprehensive and impacting.
Menlo College is a private college specializing in business and is located in Atherton, California.
Menlo College is situated on 45-acre campus, 25 miles southeast of San Francisco and 20 miles northwest of San Jose, California.
Perfect location. Completely beautiful campus.
Atherton is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California.
Its population was 7,188 as of 2020.
Atherton is known for its wealth; in 1990 and 2019, Atherton was ranked as having the highest per capita income among U.S. towns that have with a population between 2,500 and 9,999, and the area covered by its zip code is regularly ranked as having the highest cost of living in the United States.
Atherton is the wealthiest city in the United States.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "the town’s ascendance stems largely from its single-family zoning, 1-acre-minimum lot sizes, flat land, streamlined permits and changing buyer demographics, which have translated into soaring house sizes and skyrocketing prices."
Let the next statistic register with you.
There is no commercial zoning in the town, thus there are no restaurants, shops or grocery stores. There are no sidewalks in Atherton, only road lanes.
We have never heard of that before, have you?
The Menlo athletic teams are called the Oaks.
The women’s wrestling team made huge news.
2019 was a great year.
The Menlo women's wrestling team became the first team to win a national championship for Menlo College in 2019, as well as earn its second title. On February 9, 2019, the team was crowned WCWA Women's Wrestling National Champion.
Then, on March 6, 2019, the team claimed the NAIA Women's Wrestling National Invitational title.
Very impressive.
We have written about and followed their program since 2012 and they have come a long way. Truly. Winning two National Championships is an incredible accomplishment in a tough competitive industry where many schools have never won one.
The women’s wrestling program is becoming a national power.
Well, that was the tour.
Even if you live in the glorious San Francisco Bay Area, sometimes it’s good to take a drive and experience something different, right in your own back yard.
Come have a visit to the campus and watch some great women’s freestyle wrestle.
Women’s wrestling, at least at the collegiate level, is thriving in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The women’s program at Menlo College is a perfect example of that.
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OPENING PHOTO fciwomenswrestling.com femcompetitor.com, fcielitecompetitor.com fciwomenswrestling2.com grapplingstars.com pixabay.com-photo-free-use.
https://menloathletics.com/sports/womens-wrestling/roster/coaches/michael-ayala/580
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Association_of_Intercollegiate_Athletics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menlo_College
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atherton,_California
https://www.fciwomenswrestling2.com
