A Historic Team
Luther marked an athletic milestone this academic year: the addition of wrestling as its 11th varsity sport for women. The Norse had been building up to this historic team since hosting the first Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union regional wrestling tournament in northeast Iowa in February 2023, then hosting Train Like A Norse summer wrestling camps for girls in 2024 and 2025.
The inaugural women's wrestling team includes Avani Williams ’29, coach Ryan Timmerman, Lexi Timmerman ’28, Grace Rinehart ’29, Nina Yankey ’28, Kelsey Knief ’29, and Lucy Miller ’29.
Luther has a distinguished history of trailblazing in women’s sports, as it was among the first colleges to establish varsity teams for women beginning in 1964, before Title IX legislation. This year was an opportune time to build a women’s wrestling program, with meaningful investments in wrestling facilities during the Gerdin Fieldhouse for Athletics and Wellness renovation. In addition, the NCAA began officially sponsoring women’s wrestling in February.
Coach Ryan Timmerman was selected to lead the team after a 12-year career at St. Peter (Minn.) High School. He helped grow that program, adding a girls team in 2022, and leading the St. Peter Saints to eight consecutive winning seasons. His daughter, Lexi Timmerman ’28, was part of the St. Peter team and now wrestles for the Norse.
Most members of the Luther team come from a wrestling background. Kelsey Knief ’29 wrestled at Bellevue (Iowa) High School. Grace Rinehart ’29 wrestled at Waukee (Iowa) Northwest High School. Both were eager to be part of an inaugural team at Luther. Kylie Miller ’29 wrestled at St. Croix Falls (Wis.) High School, Nina Yankey ’28 at Iowa City (Iowa) High School, and Lucy Miller ’29 at Solon (Iowa) High School. Avani Williams ’29 didn’t wrestle at Chicago Bulls College Prep in Chicago, but she played rugby. She was drawn to wrestling, she says, because of how physical it is.
The team, in its first year, is small but mighty. Lucy sees this as a plus: “Everyone cheers each other on, and it’s definitely easier to keep track of each person’s individual growth on the mat or in the weight room on a smaller team. The small team also makes us that much more tight-knit and invested in each other.”
The team has made remarkable strides both on and off the mat. Kylie became its first all-conference member, and Kelsey, Lucy, and Grace became its first CSC Academic All-Americans. This well-rounded success is part of what Coach Timmerman works toward. “I want them to be able to take any challenge they meet head-on,” he says. “I want them to have the skills and the confidence in themselves to be able to handle any battle.”
In the state of Iowa, women’s wrestling is represented in every division of collegiate sports and is likely the largest program in the country, which can make recruiting a challenge since there’s so much competition. Still, Coach Timmerman is on track to more than double his program in its second year, saying, “I’m looking for athletes who want to learn, want to get better, and want to be great students, great athletes, and most importantly, great people.”