Texas Woman’s wrestling team hosted its first tri-dual match at Kitty Magee Arena on Saturday evening, taking on athletes from Schreiner University and Colorado Mesa University.
The crowd cheered as the Texas Woman’s University wrestling team faced Schreiner University and Colorado Mesa on Saturday evening in the Pioneers’ first tri-dual meet at Kitty Magee Arena, led by a coach who says she wanted to be part of the program’s inaugural season to help female wrestlers in a sport dominated by coaches who are men.
In TWU’s inaugural wrestling season, student-athletes and coaches are aiming to be pioneers in the sport.
Randi Miller, an Arlington native, was hired in August 2021 as head coach. Miller was the first Black woman and Texan to win an Olympic bronze medal in women’s wrestling, in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Miller brings her experience from the mat and has coached other college teams. Most recently, she was the assistant coach on the 2021 Team USA Cadet World Team in Budapest, Hungary, as the team captured its first-ever freestyle team title.
Miller said she understands how it can be difficult for women wrestlers to be coached by men since she has had experience at the professional level. She has seen the negativity of male coaches demanding women wrestlers try to meet certain weights for competitions.
“It’s a male-dominated sport, most of our leadership are men, and they don’t really take into consideration, aren’t taking the education, to know what it’s like for us [women] to lose weight,” Miller said. “They think we can do it the same way the boys can.”
Miller said male coaches often don’t understand how hormonal changes can affect a woman’s weight.
She said many young women are pushed away from the sport because men coaches want them to lose an immense amount of weight quickly, and even boys are pressured to cut weight.
Miller wants to coach and respect her student-athletes at TWU.
Texas Woman’s wrestling team hosted its first tri-dual match at Kitty Magee Arena on Saturday evening, taking on athletes from Schreiner University and Colorado Mesa University.
Juan Betancourt/DRC
She started recruiting last year during tournaments and said many of the recruits she looked at decided to attend TWU.
“I think a lot of the women who choose to work with me, we just kind of relate them that way, and there’s a lot [who don’t] choose to work with me ... because we don’t see eye-to-eye on things,” Miller said.
Freshman wrestler Aubrey Yauger said she likes how Miller includes mental health and nutrition in her coaching.
“I really like how she coaches, and she focuses on mental health and better eating habits, and that’s exactly what I needed,” Yauger said.
Another freshman, Jaycee Portee, said she chose TWU since Miller was the exact coach she needed since her high school coach wasn’t the best.
Freshman Shean’Areial “Nari” Miller met with TWU’s coach last year at a tournament. As a high school student, she already knew who Randi Miller was because of her accomplishments, and they connected immediately.
“I remember she was funny,” Nari Miller said. “Like, [I said], ‘Oh my gosh, we have the same last name.’ And she was like, ‘Really, what’s your last name?”’
Nari Miller said the coach gave her much advice during that tournament and stayed in contact.
Making history
TWU opened its inaugural season away against Colorado Mesa University on Nov. 4 in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Pioneers competed at the Maverick Open the next day, which featured 116 wrestlers from several schools.
The student-athletes said it was exciting but also nerve-wracking because it was their first college match and tournament.
Randi Miller said Yauger made history as she defeated Colorado Mesa’s Jayleen Sekona, the preseason’s No. 1-ranked wrestler in the nation, not once but twice.
Yauger defeated Sekona during TWU’s match against Colorado Mesa and then again in the Maverick Open tournament.
Yauger remembers the home crowd went against her and could hear the crowd saying she wasn’t going to win. Her teammates and coach gave her the support she needed during the matches.
“It didn’t feel real,” Yauger said. “… After I won my finals match, I looked at Coach for a second, and I was like, ‘Did I just do that?”’
TWU wrestlers stand up to to get introduced before their match Sunday.
Juan Betancourt/DRC
TWU freshman Zanya Walker said being part of the inaugural season is special: When she graduates and looks back, she’ll be able to say she was part of the program’s foundation.
“I wanted to be a part of something that great,” Walker said. “It just means a lot, and I want to get more girls out here to be a part of that.”
The team’s first home match was on Nov. 10. Team members said the crowd was loud, especially when Nari Miller won her match against Leilani Hernandez of Texas Wesleyan University and threw up the TWU hand sign to the crowd.
Yauger said that being part of the TWU team is a sisterhood because all the teammates treat and support each other.
“I will look to the side by coach Randi, and the team standing right there are, like, cheering me on,” Yauger said.
Portee said she remembers how in high school, she and another member of her team made it to state, but she felt their success was ignored because the program focused on the boys team.
Everything changed when she got to TWU. She and her teammates enjoy the support of the athletes and coaches.
“Coming here, I’m literally an actual pioneer, like the first [wrestling] pioneer,” Portee said. “… It’s like, we are starting a program. Like, we’re literally pioneers.”
Walker said she has learned a lot from Miller, who’s always open to speaking to her and other athletes outside of wrestling.
“It’s easier for me to learn from her and just be around her,” Walker said. “It’s a nice experience because I get to wrestle with somebody who looks like me, and I’m not really used to that.”
Morgan Lair, TWU’s assistant athletic director for communications, said Randi Miller’s resume speaks for itself. While Miller has had success, Lair said the coach’s biggest goal at TWU is to be a role model to the student-athletes.
“Randi saw some negativity in the way that [wrestling] was approached, especially in her experience,” Lair said. “And so, one of her big goals is to kind of eliminate those negative connotations around wrestling and to really make it an empowering sport for the women.”
Lair said that Miller’s success inspires athletes to achieve the Olympic dream and gives them a coach who will help them grow.
“A lot of them have big dreams,” Lair said. “And one of the big draws was because Randi has been there and knows how to get there. And so, they liked that as well. And then just back to the positivity around wrestling — Randi is very inclusive in recruiting diverse athletes and also celebrating their diversity.”
Miller said she’ll do everything she can to help athletes grow, expand the program and help graduates continue to wrestle.
“I’m willing to help anybody find where they should be going for their next steps because my primary goal and all is I want them to grow wrestling,” Miller said. “I want them to continue to wrestle. I want women to continue to wrestle for as long as possible, even if it’s not with me. I’m more than willing to help you [women] find where you should go so you stay in the sport.”
TWU defeated Schreiner 25-23 and lost to Colorado Mesa 36-8 on Saturday evening. Yauger defeated Sekona for the third time this season.
