West Orange High wrestler Caroline Schmitt makes history

When Caroline Schmitt sat by herself at the table in front of her friends and teammates, all she could think about was how happy she was that this moment was finally here.

It was Tuesday, Feb. 18, and in the library at West Orange High School, she was the lone signee who was being celebrated during a National Signing Day event.

For an athlete, signing with a college is a big step for all of the obvious reasons. Although, if you ask Schmitt, she is just glad the recruiting process is over.

“It was definitely a relief to find a school that was the right fit, and the coach is the right fit, and it felt like a relief that I had a college set up for me — somewhere to go after this,” Schmitt said. “I knew I didn’t want to end my wrestling journey — I wanted to continue wrestling.”

The act of signing — while significant in its own right — is made even bigger when you step back and look at what Schmitt had actually accomplished. With the swift stroke of a pen, Schmitt became the first female wrestler in school history to make it to the collegiate level.

Outside of Schmitt’s own parents, no one was more excited for her than Kristen Iannuzzi — the wrestling team’s head coach.

“It’s exciting for me, having been a female wrestler back when it wasn’t as popular,” Iannuzzi said. “There were only a few programs when I wrestled. There is no one more deserving — honestly — than Caroline is, and it’s just exciting for the whole program.”

ONE OF THE GUYS

When Schmitt arrived at WOHS, there was one thing she was certain of — she wanted to play a sport.

She thought about trying out for softball but decided that she’d be cut pretty quickly. Then, she found fliers for a new girls wrestling team, which was to hold its practices at the ninth-grade campus.

“We were a small group of girls — I want to say there were eight of us — and we started out with this other coach, and we didn’t even really know what we were doing,” Schmitt said. “We were in a multipurpose room with a small mat. Then, eventually, we moved over to the boys practices, and that’s where it got more intense.”

During her freshman year, Schmitt didn’t win a single match, but she remembers how — despite being new to the sport — she never was nervous, because there were no expectations.

Things changed dramatically going into her sophomore year; every girl from the previous year either graduated or transferred over to Windermere High School. She was left as the lone girl participating alongside the boys. Luckily for Schmitt, a few girls joined the program toward the end of her high school career.

“It was definitely a relief to find a school that was the right fit, and the coach is the right fit, and it felt like a relief that I had a college set up for me — somewhere to go after this. I knew I didn’t want to end my wrestling journey — I wanted to continue wrestling.”

— Caroline Schmitt 

In that second year, Schmitt made drastic improvements in her performance. But with those improvements came expectations. And with those came, of course, the nerves.

Schmitt won on and off throughout the season before ending her year by placing at Metros. There, she realized wrestling could offer her a future. 

“That kind of fueled me to want to play at other tournaments, too,” Schmitt said. “I was like, ‘I can do this now, and I want that medal.’ That kind of drove me throughout the rest of junior year, and I started going to more summer training camps and training on my own, too.”

After finishing last season by placing fifth at the state meet, Schmitt traveled in July 2019 to South Carolina to attend a 10-day recruiting camp at Limestone. She refined her skills and learned about the first-year program and the coach. 

“I told her midway through the camp that I liked her and that I really wanted to wrestle for her,” Schmitt said. “She was just honored that I told her that.”

Schmitt signing isn’t only a big deal for herself but also a tremendous opportunity for a new program such as Limestone to have a wrestler of her caliber, Iannuzzi said.

“She’s the ideal wrestler, and any coach would be grateful for the opportunity to have a team full of athletes like her,” Iannuzzi said. “Limestone is very fortunate to have her.”