Stuck between the sweat-stained mat and her male opponent for almost all of the Prince George’s County wrestling tournament semifinal match, Olivia Crosby, 17, refused to yield.
After a speeding escape forced Amari Points into a technical violation, Crosby looked up from the mat laughing. It was then that her coaches knew she could make history–not long before winning the championship match against another male opponent, Daemon Powell.
On Feb. 26, Crosby, a Laurel High School junior, became Prince George’s County’s first female wrestling champion; competing and winning against boys in the 106 lbs weight class. The win also made her the first African American girl to win a county championship in the state facing a male opponent. After sweeping the girls 4A-3A West Regional title in Laurel’s gym the same week, Crosby placed third in the state competition.
“One thing about wrestling, okay, wrestling loves an underdog,” said Crosby who failed to place in the previous season. “I wanted it more and I fought for it the hardest so that’s why I got it…it also came along with who played the smarter game…”
Crosby skipped the inaugural Prince George’s County girls wrestling tournament this year, instead choosing to compete against boys. Crosby was favored to win the girls championship but opted to compete in the 106-pound boys weight class believing it to be more of a challenge and preparation for regional finals.
Devon Daniel, Laurel High wrestling head coach, said they expected Crosby to place high in the coed county tournament against boys but didn’t expect her to win.
“She’s probably the first person to maybe take me out of my composure in the chair,” said Daniel. “[In the semifinal] she flipped the switch, she was dialed in.”
Still, Crosby’s championship win was not without criticism. She relied on strategy rather than brute strength–her opponent was maneuvered into technical fouls instead of a dominating pin.
“All the 106 [weight class] boys from that [tournament], they’re coming up to me and they’re like, ‘bruh, it’s a fluke’ and ‘you shouldn’t have won,’” Crosby said.
Daniel said Crosby’s win was decisive, in part fueled by because no one believed that a girl could win.
“She proved, ‘hey, I’m here,’” said Daniel. “She woke everybody up.”
And Crosby is at the forefront of a trend with girls finding success in the sport. Girls wrestling is one of the fastest growing high school sports in the nation, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
“[Crosby] is going to take both the dog she got from wrestling boys and her female perspective and help grow the sport,” said Alexandra Ford, Crosby’s former wrestling captain and Laurel High School’s first female wrestling state champion, winning twice against girls. Ford now wrestles at Emmanuel University in Georgia.
Though Ford recruited Crosby for the Laurel High team, Crosby began wrestling around the age of 5 in elementary school. Crosby said her brother Kenneth Crosby, 23, a collegiate wrestler at Northern Michigan University and national titlist, inspired her to play for Laurel.
“Who doesn’t want to be like their big brother,” she said.
For now, Crosby said she’s focused on improving herself and her team. As a captain of Laurel High School’s girls wrestling team next season, Crosby hopes to keep things fun and nurture her teammates’ love for the sport.
“Wrestling has brought me life,” Crosby said. “I want to let everybody know this is what we love to do, wrestling because we love it, not because our dads are forcing us.”
By placing in state finals, Crosby qualified for the Maryland State Wrestling Association’s women’s national team and plans to compete in tournaments with them this spring. After her success this season, Crosby is looking at collegiate wrestling but knows she will be involved with the sport no matter what.
“Wrestling doesn’t only persevere you in the sport, you persevere in life,” Crosby said. “I think that’s what all the girls are searching for.”