EHHS freshman, Maddie Cooper, won the 2023 New England Youth Wrestling Championship for the 14 year old category and 135 weight class.

Maddie Cooper just concluded her second wrestling season with a great championship win in Massachusetts. This is Maddie’s first year on a High School wrestling team, and she has already begun to show great improvement throughout the 2022-2023 season. When asked if she expected this win, Maddie said, “Not at all, last year I lost in states [during the] second round, and then I got to the third round this year, so winning this year at New England made me feel really proud of myself.” Preparing for such a big event is a lot of work, so to be ready Maddie went over everything she has learned from her coaches and experiences throughout the season. She stated, “I went off of everything I already knew and used my past experiences to figure out what I was best at.” This knowledge helped her fight her way through the championship to ultimately create a big moment for herself as a wrestler and as a young woman.

Many districts did not previously have girls wrestling teams available as a sports option, and only recently girls divisions were created. In a primarily male dominated sport, Maddie expressed that having her fellow female teammates by her side and having the opportunity to compete against other girls is very empowering. The girls on both her EHHS team, as well as her club team, cheered her on throughout the rounds of the tournament. Maddie stated, “I didn’t wrestle for East Haven, I wrestled for my club team. There was a couple girls there, but all the girls on my East Haven team were texting me good luck and congratulated me afterwards [ . . . ] Everyone on the team was so proud of me. All the girls were calling me after they found out [saying] ‘Oh my god, congratulations.’” Along with her teammates, her coaches at East Haven congratulated her on such a big win. Something she specifically prided herself on was the feeling of being able to win with her coaches there to see her.

Maddie plans to continue to wrestle throughout her high school career, saying, “Next year I want to win states.”