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Sacred Heart hires first coach for new women’s wrestling program

Paulina Biega is the new head coach for the Sacred Heart women’s wrestling team that will hit the mat this fall. (Photo courtesy Sacred Heart University athletics)

Paulina Biega, a former Polish national team wrestler and an assistant coach for two national championship teams at Campbellsville University, has been named as the first head coach of the Sacred Heart women’s wrestling team.

The school announced her hiring on Thursday. She will be the first woman in the country to be a head coach in wrestling at the NCAA Division I level.

Sacred Heart will begin competing this fall in women’s wrestling and will be just the second Division I school to field to put a women’s wrestling on the mat. Presbyterian College in Clinton, South Carolina will begin their third season this fall.

“I feel very blessed and honored to be named the first head women’s wrestling coach at Sacred Heart University,” Biega said. “It has been a dream come true to be a part of an institution like this one and I will do my best to meet and exceed expectations.”

Biega spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Campbellsville University in Kentucky where she helped the Tigers win back-to-back Women’s Collegiate Wrestling Association national championships in 2019 and 2020.

Thirteen Campbellsville wrestlers earned All-American honors in 2020 and three won national championships.

Sacred Heart will begin competition this fall as a member of the WCWA as one of two Division I teams. With the addition of women’s wrestling, the Pioneers will have 34 varsity teams, including 21 for women.

“Paulina Biega is a champion in every sense of the word and is the epitome of a great leader,” said John Clark, the head coach of Sacred Heart men’s wrestling program and the Director of Operations for both programs. “Coach Biega is going to do amazing things here at Sacred Heart University and I can’t wait to see what the women’s team is going to accomplish in the coming years.”

“I plan to build this new team from the ground up and make it competitive and successful yet exciting to be a part of,” Biega said. “I wish for my future athletes to make long-lasting friends here and feel like this is their second home. I have had the privilege to be a part of a national championship program and I intend to bring this team to the highest level with the support of the SHU family.”

Prior to joining the staff at Campbellsville, Biega served as a student assistant at her alma mater, Missouri Valley College. She assisted with all facets of the program and was also a coach at the Takedown Inc. Wrestling Academy. In addition, Biega is a personal trainer and boot camp instructor.

Biega was a two-time University National All-American wrestler at Missouri Valley College, where she attended from 2013 to 2016. She graduated from MVC in December 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Business/Sports Management.

On the mat, Biega was a member of Poland’s national team, a three-time Polish national champion and a two-time International Polish Champion. She finished third at the Cadet European Wrestling Championship in 2008.

Gerry deSimas, Jr., is the editor and founder of Connecticut Wrestling Online. He is an award-winning writer and has been covering sports in Connecticut and New England for more than 40 years. He was inducted into the New England High School Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2018.

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