Pivoting towards her opponent, Chloe Ayres ’21 stretches her arms away from her body. Staying light on her toes, she contemplates which technique to use to score the next critical point. Filled with anticipation, she awaits the whistle. Although she may be nervous, Ayres knows that she’s wrestling for much more than herself. She is fighting for all of women’s wrestling.

Despite beginning to wrestle at a late age, Ayres’ experience with wrestling goes back to when she was a little girl. Her father, Chris Ayres, is the head wrestling coach at Princeton University. Watching matches and videos of elite college wrestlers and seeing them succeed firsthand from a young age, Ayres learned what it took to succeed as an elite wrestler. Not only does her father help her refine her wrestling skills, but he also takes on the job of helping her balance her wrestling life and school activities. Through their relationship, Ayres learned the values of self-accountability and leadership.

Ayres has taken the values she learned from wrestling professionals and applied them to her own high school team. Taking on the role of captain this year, she has made sure to guide her team so that they can improve as a group.

“I think that there's a lot of extra responsibility that goes into being a captain, and I try to lead by example. … But I'm really proud of my team this year; they’ve done a lot of great things. We’ve grown a lot together,” Ayres said. 

Although trying to be inclusive in her role as captain, Ayres herself was initially nervous about fitting in in such a male-dominated sport. Women’s wrestling has trailed behind men’s wrestling ever since its founding. Even now, there are few options on a middle school or high school level for women to get involved with the sport. Despite this, women’s wrestling has gained popularity in the past few years, and because of wrestlers like Ayres, women wrestlers are able to show what they are capable of. For Ayres specifically, credit must be given to Princeton High School Head Wrestling Coach Jess Monzo, who has been instrumental in supporting her journey as a female in wrestling. 

“We try to keep it fun in practice. [I] let them know that it’s a safe place for them to talk. If something’s bothering them, they come to me with what it is because at the end of the day, we'll figure it out. And we’ll get to put it behind us and move forward,” Monzo said. 

Not only does he take the time to check in on wrestlers, Ayres believes Monzo also creates a protective community for wrestlers to share any struggles. Creating a safe environment is something unique to Princeton High School wrestling that Ayres believes is not easily achieved anywhere else. 

“I think that as a woman in a male dominated sport, at times, it can be hard to feel accepted into a room... He’s done a great job at creating a line of communication with me to make sure that all my needs are met. And I think that that is something that I’m really grateful for,” Ayres said.

Despite previous years of success, this year has been especially challenging for Ayres. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the wrestling season has been shortened, and announcements of continuation were made surprisingly late. 

“Usually, I have about a two-month transition period… but with COVID, I wasn't sure if we were having a season. … By the time that they announced that we would be wrestling, I only had two weeks to transition. So that was definitely difficult,” Ayres said. 

Facing numerous pressures outside of wrestling, Ayres has learned to be strong both on and off the mat. Sometimes this even meant compromising academic, social, and leisure time for training. Although some may see this as too much of a sacrifice, her willingness to put wrestling first only displays her commitment for the sport she loves. 

“When you love something you make time for it and it's something that I enjoy. So it's not really a chore. It’s something that I look forward to each day. But [by] just giving a positive attitude to the sport and embracing the fact that I'm doing it because I love to wrestle has helped me mentally devote more time to it,” Ayres said.

More than loving the sport, Ayres’ hard work has earned her numerous accomplishments in the world of women’s wrestling. Going back to 2018, some of Ayres’ accomplishments include winning the NJSIAA Girls State Championship three years consecutively, becoming an All-American at Fargo (National Freestyle Tournament), triumphing at the Super 32 tournament, and placing in many more out of school tournaments. 

Planning on wrestling for Princeton University in the fall, Ayres is filled with immense appreciation for the sport that she has admired for so long. Remembering her initial apprehension to try out women’s wrestling, she encourages others to see the beauty of the sport and the wrestling community.

“Wrestling has a lot to offer, whether you’re new to the sport or you’ve been around it before. It’s a very positive community of people that are going to be there to lift you up and help you grow to your full potential. It’s definitely worth a try,” Ayres said. 

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