BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The National Wrestling Hall of Fame recently announced that senior Kira Pipkins of Bloomfield High School is the 2023 national winner of the Tricia Saunders High School Excellence Award (TSHSEA).
“I would like to thank the National Wrestling Hall of Fame for this award, and to Tricia Saunders for being a true trailblazer for women’s wrestling,” said Pipkins in a press release submitted by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. “It means a lot to be recognized for this award. When I watched a few of Saunders’ matches during my freshman year of high school, I was immediately inspired by her grit and focus on the mat.
“These are traits I continuously strive for in my own wrestling,” she added. “I also hope to continue to inspire women and girls to join women’s wrestling.”
First presented in 2014, the TSHSEA is named for Tricia Saunders, a four-time World Champion and women’s wrestling pioneer. Saunders was the first woman to be inducted as a Distinguished Member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2006 and was inducted into the United World Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2011.
The award recognizes and celebrates the nation’s most outstanding high school senior female wrestlers for their excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, citizenship, and community service.
The national winner of the Dave Schultz High School Excellence Award was also set to be announced. The DSHSEA recognizes and celebrates the nation’s most outstanding high school senior male wrestlers for their excellence in wrestling, scholastic achievement, citizenship, and community service.
The TSHSEA and DSHSEA national winners will be honored during the 46th Honors Weekend at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame & Museum on June 2 and 3 in Stillwater, Okla.
“Clearly a young woman on a mission, Kira has a driving desire and passion to excel in the sport of wrestling while also impacting her community and the world in a positive way,” said Executive Director Lee Roy Smith. “She is constantly holding herself to a higher standard of effort, responsibility and respect for others.”
BHS head wrestling coach Ryan Smircich said he is excited to attend the ceremony where he will hand the award to Pipkins, calling it a once-in-lifetime experience for him.
The daughter of Robert and Shantale Pipkins, Kira will continue her wrestling career at Columbia University.
Pipkins became the first female wrestler, and the fifth wrestler overall, to be a four-time New Jersey state champion while also becoming the first female wrestler in New Jersey history to reach 100 career wins (106-9). She was named the NJ.com Girls Wrestler of the Year and the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Most Outstanding Wrestler.
Pipkins was team captain of both the BHS boys team and the girls team from 2021-23, and received both the BHS Most Valuable Wrestler award and BHS Wrestling Scholar-Athlete award four years in a row.
Pipkins gave motivational speeches to youth groups, painted murals in BHS hallways, participated in park cleanups, and produced art for senior citizens through the BHS on the Corona Homefront. She also volunteered at Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair and the Montclair Emergency Services for Hope while spending time with senior citizens at nursing homes and collecting and donating to canned food drives and food pantries.
An entrepreneur, she owns and operates art, personal training and babysitting businesses.
Pipkins is a member of the National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta Math National Honor Society, Science National Honor Society, and the World Language Honor Society. She received the College Board African-American Recognition Award in 2022 and is a multiple recipient of the Bengal Pride High Honor Roll Award.
Thirty-eight state high school athletic associations have approved girls wrestling as an official sport and 38 held official girls high school state wrestling championships in 2022-23. Hawaii was the first state to host a girls state championship in 1998 while Texas began its girls tournament in 1999. The number grew to six states by 2015 and has exploded in recent years to 38 states.
States that hosted state-sanctioned girls wrestling championships in 2022-23 are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
To date there are 153 intercollegiate women’s wrestling teams. The NCAA has approved “Emerging Sport Status” for women’s wrestling at the Division I, Division II and Division III levels while the NAIA recognizes women’s wrestling as an official varsity sport and held their first official championship in 2023.
Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest growing high school sports with participation growing by more than 71 percent from 16,562 in 2018 to 28,447 in 2020. Growth has continued through the pandemic and more than 52,400 female high school wrestlers competed in 2022-23.
TSHSEA winners are evaluated and selected on the basis of three criteria: success and standout performances and sportsmanship in wrestling; review of GPA and class rank, academic honors and distinctions; and participation in activities that demonstrate commitment to character and community.
The Hall of Fame accepts nominations for its high school excellence awards from state chapters and coaches. The nominations are reviewed by a committee, which selects state and regional winners. The committee then determines the national winners from the regional winners.
Photo Courtesy of Bloomfield High School Wrestling
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