Averi Colella Lockport’s first girls wrestler to win 100 matches

Thanks to a fortunate turn of events three years ago, Lockport wrestler Averi Colella joined the initial girls wrestling team at the school. Three years later, she became the first in program history to record 100 career wins.

Colella, who stands barely 5 feet tall and competes at 110 pounds, doesn’t look like a wrestler, but to her, that is the beauty of the sport.

“One day I found a link on the school website’s flash page,” Colella said. “I clicked it, and it was for a meeting for girls interested in wrestling. It turned out that the meeting was the next day, so I went and I have been a part of the program ever since.

“I had played sports like basketball and volleyball when I was younger, but I stopped growing, and everyone else continued to grow. I was looking for some way to compete in something, and the way wrestling is set up with weight classes, everyone has a shot.”

Colella notched her 100th win last weekend and picked up another Wednesday during a dual meet against Joliet Central. She advanced to the state tournament last season, where she lost her first match, won her second and lost her third, finishing with a record of 40-9. Improving on that is one of her main goals this season.

“I made it to state last year,” she said. “I didn’t place, though. That’s something I really want to do this year.”

Colella’s coach, Nate Roth, is more than happy that Colella clicked that link.

“Averi is not only a great wrestler, she is an outstanding person,” Roth said. “She works hard every day, she is a great leader in the room, and she has a 3.9 GPA. I can’t ask for anything more out of her.”

For Colella, the thrill of wrestling is about more than just wins or losses.

“What I like best about wrestling is that it’s addictive,” she said. “You get such an adrenaline rush when you go out on the mat. It’s a great feeling that, win or lose, you took your shot.

“And there is always something to build on. You are always looking to get better and you can find ways every day in practice or in a match to do that.”

Colella also has tried to spread the gospel of girls wrestling around campus.

“Yeah, I try to get other girls to come out,” she said. “When I meet new people in school and they ask what I do, I tell them about girls wrestling and that they should come check it out. There have been a few that have. A couple of nights ago at school, we had eighth graders come in and look at the school and all that it offers. The girls wrestling program had a table there, and I was at the table talking about it.

“It has been really fun to watch the sport grow over these last few years. The year I started, we didn’t have enough people to field a full team. Now we have more than enough to fill every weight class. And it’s not just at our school. The sport is getting big everywhere, and that’s great to see.”

Colella isn’t certain if she will wrestle in college. For now, she is concentrating on her studies and plans to major in aeronautical engineering when she decides on a school. That’s right. She wants to be a rocket scientist.

Until then, however, she will continue to work hard on the mat.

“I am looking at a few colleges,” she said. “Not all of them have girls wrestling as a varsity sport, but they do have it as a club sport. If it works out, I would wrestle in the club, I think.

“I am also really excited about the thought of coming back from college on my breaks and coming in and working with the team. I don’t think I’ll be a full-time teacher and coach, but I would like to help out when I can.”