Claire O'Donnell '26 Recruiting Profile

My goal is to continue my athletic career through college. Being a student athlete is a important factor in my life. Since two years old I've competed in gymnastics, jiujitsu, volleyball, aerial silks, and more... I can't think of a day that I haven't been athletically driven. 

I'm a very hands-on learner, and I am  very coachable. I do exactly what I'm instructed to do and more. I'm always eager to learn and improve. Like I always say winning is good but losing is learning.

Freshman year, I was the only girl on the wrestling team and I earned a spot on boy's varsity where I successfully held the 145 weight class. All season I wrestled boys with minimal time wrestling girls. My first female tournament I placed 2nd. I went on to place 2nd in districts, 4th in regionals, and then became a state qualifier. I have won by both pins and points. I participated in the AAU Scholastic Duals the past summer and became an All-American placer. I have competed on the off season with Club CLAW.

This season I was one of four girls on the team. This high school season I had several goals. My biggest was to pin a boy, and I did that! My record this year against boys was 6-3. I had hopes of getting back to states, unfortunately I did not achieve that goal. I made it to regionals. Not obtaining that goal lit a fire in me and I've been training harder in the off-season.

This off-season is an important time for me because I'm trying to find out what kind of wrestler I am and what kind of coaching I need to achieve all of of my goals. There is no doubt in my mind that I am an aggressive wrestler but there needs to be more than just aggression to my wrestling style. I need to find a way to be more independent on the mat. I am also spending the off-season on technique. I now realize that there are other ways to win than pinning and I plan to spend this off-season going to camps and tournaments without a coach in my corner to learn to manage time and technique. My coach reminds me that the off-season is for losses (learning) so that during the season I experience more wins.

I was fortunate enough to join Headhunters/RPA team for the AAU Scholastic Duals in Ft Lauderdale. Our team went undefeated and won the National Championship in the All-Stars division. I finished 2 and 4. The last match, the coaches moved me up a weight class, and instructed me to not get pinned or teched. I did just that. Although I didn't win that match, the coaches and my teammates were cheering for me. That feeling and experience of being on a team is something I hope to have again when I get the opportunity to wrestle at the collegiate level. 

After high school, I would like to major in either sports medicine/physical therapy or athletic training, so I can continue working with athletes after college. I think staying in an athlete-based field is very important to me so I have the opportunity to be a coach. Everything I do is based on helping others and coaching would be a great outlet for me to do that.

Thank you to every coach who has taken the time to look at my profile, follow me, invite me to camps or is thinking of taking a chance on this Florida girl for their collegiate team. 

I cannot wait to see my goals achieved and exceeded in the next 2 years of high school.