Washington High School senior Eden Campbell made one of the biggest decisions thus far in her life on Thursday afternoon, as she signed her letter of intent to continue her wrestling career at Hiram College. Campbell was surrounded by friends and family during this celebratory affair.

Campbell spoke about her decision to choose Hiram College.

“It really came down to when I took a tour there. They seemed really supportive of academics and helping students with specific things. They showed a lot of support overall.

She is undecided on what she plans to study, but said she is currently narrowing her choices down.

Campbell shared her favorite high school wrestling memory.

” It was probably going to the Athena nationals during the preseason this past year. I got third and it just really gave me the motivation for the rest of the year. Getting state ranked too was awesome.

She said that her favorite teacher is Mr Dresbach, who teaches Biology and Anatomy.

“His classes are always fun and it’s just easy for me to learn.

Campbell gave thanks to those who helped her reach this point in her athletic career.

“I really want to thank my parents for supporting me. They couldn’t come to a lot of meets, but when they were there, it really meant a lot to me. I also want to thank my coaches especially for pushing me to work hard, coach Wes Gibbs and Craig Snyder.”

Washington Lady Lion head wrestling coach Wes Gibbs spoke about Campbell.

“She actually started wrestling last fall. She was part of our first girls team back when we were considered a club team. In our first meeting, I told all of the girls that it was a really good way to be a college athlete, to be to be a female wrestler. She took us up on it and now she is gonna wrestle for Hiram College. From what I’ve read, they have a decent program so she’ll be able to grow and flourish. She was 35-24 in her wrestling career, with 19 pins. She beat a number of ranked girls this year and was one match away from qualifying to state.”

He spoke about how the opportunity came about for Campbell.

“She went to a camp over the fall right before the season and started talking then. It was kind of her little secret because we didn’t talk about college much. During the season, she was in contact with them a little bit. They would text her to find out how her weekend went when we would be at tournaments. She did most of the exploring on her own, and I think she was sold after attending that camp.”

He finished by discussing how he feels this signing will impact the program moving forward.

“I’m hoping that the female athletes are seeing that we can mold out of almost anything. Eden came to us and I don’t even know if she was really interested at first. A friend of hers was doing it and she came as a friend to check it out. She bought in late in the season last year, and she was at all of the preseason workouts really trying to get to the next level. I’m hoping that they see that you can start late and still get to compete at the college level in women’s wrestling. It’s growing rapidly.”