by Heather Williams
Tuesday, January 17th 2023
https://wcyb.com/sports/content/king-womens-wrestling-building-an-dynasty-in-east-tennessee
The King University women’s wrestling program has become the queens of the mat in a short time.
The school recently won its sixth national championship in just 12 seasons of existence.
So how did this small school in Bristol become such a wrestling powerhouse? They will tell you the formula is pretty simple.
It’s no great secret that the best women’s wrestlers in the country flock to King University.
“I knew that they were a tough program, I knew that they had won many titles,” said King sophomore Viktorya Torres. “Once I came out on a visit, I loved it.”
“I went on other visits,” said fellow sophomore Cheyanne Bowman. “Nothing really compared to the family aspect here and how hard they pushed.”
The bar is set pretty high for these ladies with six national champions and multiple Olympians who have come through the program.
“I want to go to the best school because I want to train with the best girls,” said senior Ana Luciano. “In my head, even if I’m not a starter right away, I know training with the best girls with get me to the top.”
“They do push each other and make each other better,” said head coach Jason Moorman. “But they make me better too and I think that’s one of the great things we have about our program.
And the secret to their success is really no secret at all.
“From the beginning, it wasn’t really about how good of a wrestler they were, we just bring in people with phenomenal character,” said Moorman. “That’s what makes up our culture and we just keep making sure we continue to bring in people like that.”
“I really like having the family aspect and here we are really big on family and sticking together with one another,” said Bowman.
And the result, on the mat, is a winning culture.
“It feels pretty good to win back National Dual Champions,” said Luciano. “Being with my team, cheering my teammates on seeing them win. To see them go out there and perform because we grind so hard. To see the results happen is just an incredible feeling.”
The King women now have their sights set on the NCWWC national championships in March.
