Otterbein women’s wrestler Olivia Shore is ranked No. 1 nationally

Posted Jan 27, 2025

Otterbein women’s wrestler Olivia Shore is ranked No. 1 nationally as the Cardinals prepare for the first home meet of their inaugural season on Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m., facing John Carroll in the Rike Center, 170 Center St., Westerville.  

Otterbein boasts the only collegiate women’s wrestling team in central Ohio. The team started competition in fall 2024, ahead of the NCAA’s Jan. 17, 2025, announcement that it is adding women’s wrestling as its 91st college championship sport beginning in 2026, with Divisions I, II, and III approving the addition. Girls’ wrestling is the fastest-growing high school sport.  

Leading Otterbein’s team is senior transfer Olivia Shore, who ranked No. 1 nationally in the 103-pound weight class in the latest rankings from The Open Mat, which were released on Tuesday. 

In the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association regional rankings, which were released Dec. 20, Shore is No. 1 at 103 pounds in Region 4. Also in Region 4, Rylee Touhalisky is No. 4 at 110 pounds, Hailey Hatfield is No. 4 at 117 pounds, Emmy Caton is No. 4 at 124 pounds and Grace Murphy is No. 5 at 207 pounds. 

Shore is a two-time World Team Member for Team USA. She made history in high school as the first female to place at the boys’ Ohio High School Athletic Association state wrestling tournament, finishing sixth in 2021. Sanctioned girls wrestling did not exist at that time. She is also a two-time Ohio girls’ state high school champion.  

As a freshman at Tiffin University, Shore won the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championship at 101 pounds, becoming Tiffin’s first women’s wrestling national champion.