Greeneview grad captains college women’s wrestling team

JAMESTOWN — Anyone who thinks 19-year-old Emma Randall is a lightweight, just another wholesome Greene County farm girl, would be sadly mistaken.

Especially after she steps inside the wrestling circle.

Then, she wants only one thing: She wants to win.

Her first college year completed, Randall, a 2008 graduate from Greeneview High School, has pinned down numerous honors. As a freshman at Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania, she was picked as captain of the women’s wrestling team and has traveled to Colorado, Texas, New York City and Canada for matches.

“I’m definitely still the youngest on the team,” she said, adding most other members are in their early 20s.

She already has completed half the requirements to graduate with honors. She interns for the wrestling program, books team travel, assists with recruiting and works on the teams’ Web site. Her grueling daily schedule starts at 5:30 a.m. and includes about five hours of practice and drills, about six hours of class, and two-three hours for homework. She calls her mother twice a day, and turns in about midnight.

Now, she has a chance to visit the U.S. Olympic Training Camp in Colorado to work out with the junior and senior Women’s Freestyle World Teams. She and her parents, Jim and Monette Randall, are sending out fundraising letters in coming weeks to help cover her expenses. She must pay for her travel and lodging, they said, and invitations for other trips may be extended. Emma hopes one day to earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic team.

“That’s been my dream since third grade,” she said. “That’s all I want.”

The Randalls are well-known at Greeneview schools, regularly cheering for their three children in sports. Emma, the only female on the wrestling team, wrestled both boys and girls through her sophomore year. As a junior and senior, she wrestled females only.

Her parents also owned Carousel Feed in Xenia, now known as Southwest Landmark. Both are still employed there, and while home on visits, Emma has helped out in the drive-thru. One of the hardest parts of her first year away, including her first college match in Canada, was not having her parents cheering in the stands, Randall said.

“The coach realized how hard it was,” Monette said.

“Family is a big part of our team,” Emma added.

Technology has helped somewhat, and Emma is allowed to send text messages home as soon as she finishes talking with her coach, she said.

“When I know it’s time for her to wrestle, I want to know exactly when she comes off the mat,” Jim Randall said. “We had to buy Emma unlimited texting.”

Donations to help with Randall’s Colorado trip can be sent to Jamestown Youth Wrestling Club, Attn: Mike Sizemore, 2580 Big Woods Trail, Beavercreek, OH 45431.