From first stepping onto the mat at age seven to competing at the collegiate level, Kenya Sloan said she understands wrestling more than anything else in the world.
At the start of their 2024-2025 season, Sacred Heart University (SHU) women’s wrestling head coach Paulina Beiga announced that Sloan will be joining the program as her new assistant coach.
“This sport and what it has to offer is hard to walk away from,” said Sloan. “My college wrestling experience was the most formative, challenging and rewarding part of my life. The opportunity to be a part of that for other young ladies is a special gift that felt right to take on in this season of my life.”
Last year the women were solely led by Beiga and completed the season with an impressive record of 17-3, first place at the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling (NCWW) regional championships, and sixth at the NCWW nationals. Even with an exceptional season, Beiga was lacking that secondary support and additional set of eyes to see the team in a different perspective.
“I knew how much it took me to grow this team to the level we are at now, and I would not sacrifice it by adding just someone who may not be a good fit,” said Beiga. “Once I found out [Sloan] might be interested, I reached out immediately to her.”
Although still young in her coaching career, Sloan is looking forward to what she can bring to the table for the team. She described how important it is to her to help the women on and off the mats.
“It’s our job to help them become successful people, not just successful wrestlers,” said Sloan. “Another personality for them to confide in when college life gets hard. And I plan to be another voice of encouragement and correction when they need it.”
Sloan’s addition to the team is an immense step for the women’s wrestling program at SHU. Senior Madison Sandquist recalled four years ago when the team was simply nine athletes compared to now, a family of 30.
“I’ve had the amazing opportunity to be a part of the initial group who started the team, and now I get to see what it has become knowing I had a part in growing it, which makes me so proud,” said Sandquist.
Women’s wrestling as a whole, not only at SHU, has significantly grown over the years. According to AP News, women’s wrestling is the fastest growing female sport in the country. More programs on the highschool and college level are forming, as well as more opportunities for young women to get involved.
“Lots of great changes have happened with the support coming through different angles but still a lot to be done, considering that some states do not even have women’s wrestling sanctioned,” said Beiga
Junior Nohea Moniz grew up in the first state to sanction women’s wrestling, Hawai’i. Here, she said, it is not uncommon to be a female wrestler. She grew up wrestling and now helps start many young girls on their journey in the sport.
“If they see that some local girl from Hawai’i can have a chance at making her dreams come true, I want to encourage and support them into believing that they too can do the same,” said Moniz.
Coming off the island and to college, Moniz has witnessed the sport take off. However, she worries many female wrestling programs don’t have the right intentions.
“I think it’s really important for the sport to grow, but it can’t be at the expense of the student-athletes,” said Moniz. “If people are just adding programs to their schools without the resources to give those girls a true shot, then I don’t really see that as contributing to the growth, that is simply putting a checkmark in a box.”
Fortunately, SHU’s program is providing their women with an environment where they can develop as athletes and add to the growth of women’s wrestling across the country. Adding Sloan to assist in Beiga’s already-successful team is promoting this step forward.
“It is very important to me to see it continue to grow, especially for women,” said Sloan. “I hope that I am making an impact in the world of women’s wrestling just one conversation at a time by sharing my experience. One athlete at a time, one parent at a time, one coach at a time.”
