Sacred Heart coach Paulina Biega was named 2023 NWCA Coach of the Year by her peers at the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships. The Pioneers finished seventh with five All-Americans in just the second year of competition. 

Here are five takeaways from Biega's interview with Andy Hamilton at the recent National Wrestling Coaches Association Convention.

Fresh Start

Sacred Heart had a successful second season, but year three starts at zero according to Biega. Last year’s results won’t affect next year’s outcomes. 

“It’s a new year,” Biega said. “Clean slate. Nothing is written. We are proud of how far we have come but the grind starts as soon as the girls come back. I'm really excited but what’s gone is gone. It shows we do get better and we start again.”

Young At (Sacred) Heart

Youth is still the operative word as Sacred Heart builds toward the next season. The Pioneers get their first crop of juniors, but the majority of the team are underclassmen. 

“I like who we are,” Biega said. “We value each other as people and we are still building the relationship because we are a young team. The majority of my team are freshmen and sophomores and now I’m going to have juniors. We are young but we are working on being very close. We have a common goal for the team and I think that’s what makes us special.”

More D1 Programs, Please!

Sacred Heart is one of four Division I women’s wrestling programs. How do we get more? Biega said it starts with schools taking a chance on the sport. 

“We need to promote this among our girls so they eventually become coaches,” Biega said. “We just need some big schools to take a chance on us.”

She also mentioned the excitement that the Iowa women’s program has added and that high-level competition is a key piece of growing the sport.

Iowa, Lindenwood, Presbyterian, and Sacred Heart are the D1 schools that offer women's wrestling.

Who Will Be First?

Winning an individual national championship is a program goal, but who will be the first? 

“I think we’re going to get there,” Biega said. “That’s the ultimate goal but it’s just going to take time.”

Last year’s national placers were Aaliyah Payne-Parris (8th at 101), Alexandra Fitzgerald (7th at 130), Maddie Sandquist (8th at 155), Cara Broadus (4th at 170), and Jacklyn Smith (7th at 191).

10 or 15?

Each team can qualify up to 15 wrestlers for the National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Championships but only 10 score team points. That will change for the 2025 season when each team can only qualify one wrestler per weight. 

“I like 15,” Biega said. “We are still in the process of growing the sport and we should let the girls wrestle. I think that’s where we should stay for now.”