Making her mark in Hotchkiss athletics history, Simone Straus ’21 has become the first girl in the history of the school’s wrestling program to earn an All-American title.

All-American status is achieved when a wrestler finishes in the top eight places of their weight class at a national tournament. On February 21, Straus earned this recognition in the under-130 lb. weight class at the National Prep Tournament.

Straus is the school’s first female wrestler to attend the National Prep Tournament, which welcomes wrestlers enrolled in independent schools from across the country. The tournament, held at Lehigh University this year, drew schools from states as far as North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas to celebrate its 85th year.

After wrestling in the first-ever girls’ division of the competition, Straus achieved a spot on the podium by placing fourth. Straus said, “What’s more important to me than my personal benefit is that my performance will hopefully inspire the rest of the team and let the other girls know that they can do anything.”

Only six other wrestlers since the school’s program was founded in 1968 have ever earned All-American status, all of them male. The most recent was Nick Carola ’16, who became an All-American in 2016.

This year, Straus joins their ranks with a trophy-earning finish. Teammate Hongquan Chen ’22 said, “Simone always works hard in her matches and puts it all out there. By doing that, she not only shows a lot of spirit, but also continues to improve along the way.”