IOWA CITY, Iowa — In high school, Ella Schmit was a breakout star for the Bettendorf Bulldogs Wrestling Team. Now in college, she's found her place competing for the number one team in the country.
When she began her wrestling journey, Schmit often found herself wrestling against boys. At many tournaments, she would be the only woman competing.
It was a career of shattering records and glass ceilings. As a senior, she went 16-0 with 13 pins. Throughout high school, she held a career record of 70-18 against both boys and girls.
Schmit also became a three-time state champion in girls wrestling. She previously won two state titles at 106 pounds in Class 3A, where she also qualified for the Iowa boys state tournament, becoming one of four girls in Iowa wrestling history to qualify.
Now she finds herself on the University of Iowa's inaugural women's wrestling program.
In fact, when Schmit announced her decision to wrestle for Iowa, she became the first in-state commit for the new program.
The Hawkeyes are currently ranked number one in the country with a perfect 7-0 record. Two of its members are gearing up for the Olympic trials. And, perhaps most importantly, the momentum around the team and the sport is growing throughout Iowa.
Schmit joined The Current on News 8 to discuss her success at Iowa. She talked about going from the only girl on a team to being surrounded by other women, as well as growing up watching wrestling at Carver-Hawkeye Arena to now being down on the mat herself.
You can watch her full interview in the above video.
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