College Wrestling: Mentors Inspire All-American Crosdale
by Derek Levendusky, AWW Staff
She’d never thought about it. Wrestling? A female friend at Harry S. Truman High School in Bronx, NY asked if she would ever consider joining the wrestling team. “I said yes without even thinking of it,” says WCWA All-American Nia Crosdale. But, in her mind, maybe later.
Things moved fast, however, for the high school freshman. Faster than she’d planned. “The next day she dragged me into the wrestling coach's classroom,” explained Crosdale. “He gave me some consent forms and even though, looking back, I wasn't required to do this at all, my exact thought was, ‘They know my face now and I can't hide! I have to wrestle now!’”
Though the first practice was “horrible,” over the next four years, Crosdale would be a Fargo All-American four times, one year making double All-American by placing in both Cadet and Junior divisions. Along the way, she was also a 3x NYC Finalist, a Body Bar All-American, a Super 32 All-American, and won the girls’ NY state title at the inaugural PSAL state championship as a senior.
MENTORS
Early on, Coach Ted Cook would play a major role in her life and career. “Wrestling under Coach Cook was amazing,” tells Crosdale. “He's one of the best people I have ever met. He would give any kid that went through his program the clothes off his back if they needed it. He would push me to do things I never thought I was capable of and that allowed me to grow in ways I couldn’t imagine.”
“Nia wasn't exactly what you would call a natural athlete,” remembers Cook. “But she was one of the hardest workers in the room. From the first day she entered the room her freshman year, she was determined to improve every day. And sure enough, little by little she saw improvement.”
Though the girls would sometimes wrestle in the boys’ folkstyle season, Cook would coach the girls’ freestyle team during the PSAL (Public Schools Athletic League) female season, a team that has won three city championships as a program. The Truman program had high standards, and Cook did not go easy on Crosdale. “At times I definitely felt like he was picking on me or really just being a jerk,” says Crosdale. “Now I’ve come to understand that he genuinely saw something in me that I had no clue was there and he knew how to bring that out. I consider him a father figure because he gives all of his time and energy to the team. He's helped me and multiple other people with anything we were going through in life and in school. For that I will always have the most respect and gratitude for Coach Cook.”
Soon after starting at Truman, Crosdale would meet another mentor, this time in the Beat the Streets program—women’s director, Coach Jacque Davis. “Jacque is an amazing human being and coach,” reflected Crosdale. “Without her I would never even have the idea in my head that I could wrestle in college or place at national tournaments. She gave me the courage to have big dreams for myself and pushed me to work for those dreams during practice.”
“Teddy Cook was the first person who really introduced me to Nia Crosdale,” says Davis, now at Boston Youth Wrestling. “When I first met her, she was…young, sheepish, and a little uncoordinated, but oh my gosh, was she fearless in attempting tasks and relentless in her goals. Because of these attributes she inspired her teammates, her coaches, and honestly…me.”
Davis’ enthusiasm, vision, and encouragement would also inspire Crosdale. She dotes, “Jacque is definitely someone I look up to and respect when it comes to women's wrestling in general. She is keen on growing this sport and just learning more about the sport. That's something that I truly admire about her.”
After her freshman season, Crosdale continued to improve, training at both Truman and Beat the Streets. Cook remembers her first signature moment. “During her sophomore year,” he says in his dead giveaway Bronx accent, “while wrestling on the stage in Times Square, she made her first big statement. She tech-pinned her opponent during the PSAL Dual Meet Finals. That was her first big win.”
Beat the Streets gave many opportunities to Crosdale and opened the door to go to Fargo. “Beat the Streets plays a huge role not only in my wrestling career, but in my life as well. Without the organization I would never have access to a great coach like Jacque. I wouldn't have had opportunities to wrestle outside of New York and see what that next level of wrestling looks like. I wouldn't have been able to afford trips like Fargo. Even now Beat the Streets is still helping me…by giving me opportunities to coach [and] give back to other kids like me.”
Her first trip to Fargo opened her eyes. “My first year at Fargo was an eye opener and a learning experience,” says the King University sophomore. “There were over twenty mats and people everywhere! I turned and in the middle of all of it all was a giant stage where, if you were good enough and worked hard enough, you could get there and claim a national title. That was definitely overwhelming for me because I had never been there and didn’t know what to expect.”
That first experience was an important one. “Being at Fargo that year made me realize that I had no reason to be afraid of the girls from other states and it gave me a goal I wanted to achieve.” Over her three years competing at Fargo, she climbed the podium one spot every year in the Junior national tournament, placing 8th as a sophomore, 7th as a junior, and 6th as a senior. She also met one of her future coaches, an assistant coach on the NY staff at Fargo, Julia Salata.
KING U
“My decision to go to King wasn't extremely hard at all,” explains Crosdale. “I was lucky enough to be able to go on a visit thanks to both Jacque and Coach Cook. I went out there, saw the campus, slept in the dorms, and just tried to experience life there. When it came to academics I just had to ensure that the school had a business program, which it does.”
The wrestling program impressed her. “What definitely sold me was, on the tour, when Julia said that our facilities may not be the best, ‘…but there is history here. I realized that the coaches here knew how to make national champions.”
She came in with a large freshman class. “As a freshman in the room, it wasn't very intimidating because there was an even number of freshmen and upperclassmen. It was actually a great feeling because as freshmen we all wanted to be national champions and we all wanted to just scrap and really show the world who we were. I think that [head coach] Jason Moorman and Julia might have sensed that as well, because they pushed us all past our limits.”
She loved the intensity of college matches. “College competition has a whole different feel to it than high school. In high school you can come across girls that don't really care as much about wrestling, so they aren't as good because they don't put any real effort into it. In college, there isn't a girl that you’re going to wrestle that will just give up. These girls want to win just as much as you do.”
King took their young squad to the NCWA National Duals last January. That’s where Crosdale ran into eventual national champion and one of her Fargo coaches, Destane Garrick, in the 191 match of the finals—with a national title on the line. “I'd wrestled with her multiple times during Fargo camp and on other occasions, but I don't think I’ve gotten more than two points, if any, in a practice,” remembers Crosdale. “So as the dual went on I knew I would be wrestling Destane, and not just that, but I was put into a position that if I pinned her, my whole team could win [a national title]. In my mind, beating Destane is something I hadn't done even in practice, so I wanted this match and I wanted to win it. To beat her for my whole team sounded like the perfect time for me. I went out there and probably wrestled as hard as I had all tournament.”
She lost 6-2 in a position battle.
“I just wanted to [win] so badly and do it for my team but it didn't turn out like that. It was really heartbreaking…but that match put a spotlight on multiple places where I needed to improve and grow.”
Then came WCWA Nationals in February. Though the King program had won national titles four years straight from 2014-2017, their line-up was full of freshmen, including Crosdale. But Nia was ready. She entered a tough 170-pound class and faced the gauntlet. “The first day of WCWAs was actually my 19th birthday and I was determined not to have a bad birthday. I followed my normal routine where I don't look at my bracket at all. I just ask a teammate to tell me what my bout number is, and that's something I am extremely adamant about. Doing that really allows me to focus just on myself and not how many matches I have to win or anything else. It forces my mind to take it one match at a time.”
She battled through a back and forth match in the first round, eventually coming away with a 9-4 win over #3 seed Mariah Harris of Campbellsville. “I came off the mat and Julia and JM told me that the girl I had just beaten was a hair away from winning a national title the year before. It definitely was a confidence booster and I carried that into my next match.”
Crosdale would eventually take 8th and claim a coveted spot on the podium as an All-American. “When I realized I was an All-American, I was just overjoyed!” says Crosdale. “It was definitely my best birthday ever and I don’t think I will forget it.”
Looking forward, her goal is simple. “My goal for this season is to be a national champion.” She also doesn’t forget where she comes from. “To all the girls in the entire New York community, I am extremely proud of them all. For me to see them grow all across the state is amazing and the drive they all have makes me want to work 30 times harder…I can’t wait to see everyone compete next season.”
King begins their competition schedule in late October. Who knew that the uncoordinated freshman at Truman would still be in the sport five years later, thriving at the highest levels of women’s college wrestling? Coach Cook knew. Jacque Davis knew.
“I would like to say,” says Davis, “that in the time I was fortunate enough to work with Nia, I got to watch a young girl become a young woman, and now that I get to watch her in college, I get to see that same young woman become a full-on hero.”
This is the story of the power of words. The power of encouragement and making someone believe. Cook and Davis—those voices put the wind in Crosdale’s sail, sending her on a journey that still has no end in sight. Coach Cook smiles when he thinks of it. “Not bad for a girl that just happened to wander into the wrestling room."
Watch her journey unfold this year at American Women’s Wrestling and other wrestling media outlets.