History in the Making

When Ay’Seante Ross ’29 decided to join Norwich University’s brand-new women’s wrestling program, she wasn’t just looking for an opportunity to compete at the collegiate level. She wanted to leave a mark.

Fourteen months after the program was announced, Ross has done exactly that by embodying the “I Will Try” ethos. The freshman secured her place in the record books in February, becoming the first NCAA qualifier in the history of Norwich women’s wrestling. Her achievement sends the Cadets’ inaugural program to the national stage and places Ross among the first athletes to compete in the NCAA’s newly established women’s wrestling championship.

“Becoming the first NCAA qualifier in Norwich University women’s wrestling history means more to me than I can fully put into words,” says Ross. “When I made the decision to come here and join a brand-new program, I didn’t just want to compete at a collegiate level — I wanted to make history.”

Her attitude and natural fit in the Norwich lifestyle helped Ross qualify with a third-place finish in the 180-pound division at the NCAA Northeast Region I Championships, held Feb. 21–22 at Elmira College in Elmira, New York. Her performance capped a breakthrough weekend for Norwich’s first varsity women’s wrestling team and secured her place at the inaugural 2026 National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championship, scheduled for March 6–7 at Xtream Arena in Coralville, Iowa.

For Ross, the milestone represents the fulfillment of a goal she carried with her long before stepping onto the mat at regionals. “My high school coach, my mom, and my family always told me to make an impact wherever I go,” says Ross. “Every day in the wrestling room, I’d look at the national qualifier names on the wall and think, ‘I have to be up there.’ Not just want to — have to.”

“Personally, it means I fulfilled a promise,” she adds. “A promise to myself and to the people who believed in me.”
Ross was one of 18 wrestlers in her weight class to qualify for the national championship field. The 2026 event marks the first National Collegiate championship for women’s wrestling after the sport was added as the NCAA’s 91st official championship sport in January 2025, bringing Division I, II, and III institutions together in a single bracket.

On the mat in Elmira, Ross delivered Norwich’s top performance of the weekend.

She went 4–1 overall, earning four victories by fall. Ross opened the tournament with back-to-back pins against opponents from Centenary University and Wilkes University, advancing to the semifinals before suffering a quick defeat.

The loss forced her into the consolation bracket with her national qualification on the line. The moment was emotional, and Ross admits she initially let herself feel the disappointment — but the response came quickly.
“After I shook her hand and walked off the mat, I just had a mental flip,” says Ross. “I remember laughing almost out of disbelief and in that moment, I realized: There’s no time to mope and cry cause I’m quite literally still in this and I still have matches to wrestle.”

From there, Ross wrestled with renewed urgency. “I made a decision — I was going to respond,” she says. “I felt more determined going into those next matches. I wasn’t wrestling scared anymore.”

Ross secured her national berth with two straight falls in the consolation bracket, including a 1:33 pin in the third-place match. “I wanted it more than I’ve ever wanted to win,” says Ross. “When I stepped back on that mat, I had no intention of losing.”

Her performance marked a defining moment for a program still in its very first season.

The Norwich women’s wrestling program made history in December 2024 when it became the first varsity women’s wrestling program at a senior military college or federal service academy. Just over a year later, Ross’s qualification adds another milestone to the team’s early foundation.

Head Coach Connor Keating ’09 says the accomplishment reflects both Ross’s ability and the culture the team has built in its inaugural year. “It’s incredibly meaningful for us to have an NCAA qualifier in our first season,” says Keating. “We’ve had a great first year and we have an awesome group of tight-knit, supportive athletes.”

“The feeling on the team all season has been that we’re building something special,” he says. “Having a qualifier in our first year is a great way to show that to everyone else.”

Keating believes Ross’s rapid rise comes down to a rare combination of athleticism, work ethic and coachability. “Ay’Seante is a great all-around athlete,” says Keating. “She’s fast, she’s strong, and she’s extremely coachable. Often, she only needs a single correction on a technique and then she does it perfectly the next time.”

“She’s also a very hard worker and she’s gutsy,” he continues. “She’s not afraid to go for big moves or try new things.”

Ross is no veteran, something that has made her improvement curve especially striking. “Ay’Seante is also relatively new to the sport, so her growth as a competitor has been incredibly fast and noticeable,” says Keating. “Two weeks ago, I couldn’t believe how much better she had gotten.”

“Last week I was blown away by how much she had improved since then,” he says. “Even today I noticed how much she had improved since yesterday.”

The path to that growth was far from smooth. Ross’s season began with a string of setbacks that limited her mat time early in the year. “My season started with me leaving my first tournament in an ambulance,” says Ross. “Injured out of practice and I missed our first TRI meet.”

Later, while competing at a tournament in North Carolina, she suffered a concussion that forced her to miss additional competition. “I missed our first home dual,” she says. “It felt like every time I tried to start my season, something pulled me back.”

As a result, Ross felt her season did not truly begin until mid-January. “When Regionals came around, I was terrified,” she says. “I felt like time was ticking. I questioned if I had enough mat time, if I was ready, if I’d done enough.” Ross lost her wrestle-off at 160 pounds and moved up to compete at 180. Yet in hindsight, she sees those challenges as essential to her eventual breakthrough.

“Looking back, I wouldn’t change a single thing,” says Ross. “Every setback forced me to keep going and made me even stronger.” The resilience she describes mirrors the tone of Norwich’s first women’s wrestling team as a whole. 
The Cadets completed their inaugural dual schedule with a 7-5 record. The team earned its first victory in program history in the season opener at Western New England University on Nov. 9, defeating the University of Bridgeport 29-14.

Later in the season, Norwich hosted the first women’s wrestling meet in school history inside Plumley Armory, sweeping a tri-meet against Springfield Technical Community College and Kean University.

For Ross, the defining feature of the program’s first roster goes beyond wins and losses. “When people look back at this first team years from now, I hope they say we built the foundation the right way,” she says. “I hope they say we were relentless. That we competed hard, but loved harder,” she adds. “That we supported each other regardless of wins or losses.”

“We have incredibly talented and fearless wrestlers,” continues Ross, “but even more than that, we have genuine, kindhearted people.”

Keating sees Ross’s qualification as a moment that could resonate beyond the program itself. “We’re opening doors,” he says. “Our sport is growing fast, and well-established teams across the country are showing just how tough women’s wrestling really is.”

“For us to punch our ticket to nationals in our first year shows our current wrestlers what’s possible,” says Keating. “It also demonstrates to prospective student-athletes that we are a serious and up-and-coming program.”

Ross will now carry Norwich’s name onto the national stage at the inaugural NCAA championship. Her tournament begins with a play-in match against Journey Land of University of Mount Olive, with the winner advancing to face seventh-seeded Isabella Phillips of Gannon University.

For Ross, the opportunity represents more than just another competition. “It honestly means everything to represent Norwich University at the inaugural NCAA Women’s Wrestling Championship,” she says. “This isn’t just another tournament, it’s history. Norwich builds leaders — stepping onto that mat, I’m not just representing a team, I’m representing a culture of grit, discipline, and resilience.”

She also knows the moment carries weight for the teammates and community that helped build the program from the ground up. “I’m wrestling with the support from my teammates, my coaches, my family, my cadre, even my rook siblings — everyone who poured into me.”

“Wearing Norwich across my chest is something I wear with confidence,” says Ross. “It’s bigger than medals. It’s about proving we belong here and setting the standard for the wrestlers who will come after us.”

Keating says success in Iowa will not be measured solely by the scoreboard. “Outside of results, success for Ay’Seante will be going out and showcasing her skills and her wrestling,” he says. “It will look like her using the mental tools we’ve worked on to manage her nerves so she can wrestle open and free.”

“Most of all,” Keating adds, “success will look like Ay’Seante stepping off the mat feeling proud of her effort and feeling like she wrestled well.”

For a first-year program, Ross’s qualification marks more than a single milestone. It represents the first tangible step in a program still writing its opening chapter.

Ross understands the significance of the moment, but her focus remains on the opportunity ahead. “It’s proof that this program belongs,” she says. “And that this is only the beginning.”

Title photo courtesy of EC Sports Information.