Women's Wrestling | 7/10/2024 12:50:00 PM

Hackettstown, NJ: Coach John Garriques, has officially been named the Women's Wrestling Head Coach as he looks to carry over his long history of success as the Centenary University Men's Wrestling Coach.

The 2024-2025 Season will mark Coach Garriques' nineteenth season as a Cyclone, where he will add another accolade to his name as he will lead the Centenary Women's Wrestling Team in their inaugural season. In Coach Garriques' first eighteen seasons, he has experienced a lot of success, consistently finishing among one of the best teams in the country each season. The former Metropolitan Conference Coach of the Year is eager to begin this new journey.

Women's wrestling, an Olympic sport for nearly twenty years, has seen remarkable growth. According to the National Wrestling Coaches Association, the number of high school female wrestlers surged from just 804 in 1994 to over 50,000 in 2024. Recognized as an emerging NCAA sport across all divisions since 2020, women's wrestling is now sanctioned for high school competition in 44 states, including New Jersey. After announcing the start of the Centenary University Women's Wrestling Team just a few years ago, the Cyclones will officially have their first season as a club team under a well renowned coach in the country. 

Centenary has completed the recruiting of its inaugural roster, set to debut in the 2024-2025 academic year. Rose Haller, Associate Athletic Director, expressed confidence that the University's established success in men's wrestling—having produced numerous national qualifiers and All-Americans—will serve as a strong foundation for the new women's program under Coach Garriques. The women's team will share training facilities, and will practice alongside the men's team, leveraging Centenary's esteemed reputation in wrestling to foster similar achievements for female athletes.