After achieving multiple firsts for the Moffat County girls wrestling program, Makaela Simpson will be the first from MCHS to compete in the sport at the collegiate level.

Simpson signed her letter of intent this week to join the Iowa Western Community College women’s wrestling team this fall. IWCC is centered in Council Bluffs, Iowa in the heart of wrestling country, alongside programs such as the Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State Cyclones.

“Girls wrestling is growing rapidly,” Simpson said. “It’s been around for awhile as a junior college, and a lot of people either go there or Iowa State.”

She noted that she was not initially planning to go on to college sports, but recruiters’ persistence intrigued her.

“I honestly ignored their phone call for months but then answered it and went from there,” Simpson said. “Their facility and campus are super nice. They offered me a pretty good scholarship.”

Simpson is a two-year state competitor in wrestling, first competing with Soroco as a junior and placing fifth in the 170-pound class.

The following year, she helped form the first girls team in Craig, and as the only senior, she led the Bulldogs by example while winning multiple events throughout the winter, including the Tournament of Champions in Vernal, Utah.

Simpson won a Region 4 championship in February to return to state at Denver’s Ball Arena. After being the first MoCo girl to place at state, she went on to be the first to make it to the finals with three straight wins in the early bouts. The last match of her high school career went three rounds with a 13-5 loss to Platte Valley’s Nevaeh Garcia, making Simpson state runner-up with in the 170-pound weight class with a 35-4 senior record.

In addition to being a big hitter for Bulldog volleyball since her sophomore year, Simpson said she also nearly chose to compete in swimming before picking wrestling. The physicality of it has played into her career plans. At college, she hopes to study business administration to complement the personal training certification she plans to finish by August.

“I want to own a gym one day and own my business and run it,” Simpson said. “My personality has a lot to do with the gym because I’m always there. I’ve always wanted to put my health before anything.”

Simpson joined Trapper Fitness’s 500 Club along with teammate Kenleigh Pubanz this spring with a combined bench, squat and deadlift of 640 pounds under the guidance of coach Ashleigh Seely, who headed the girls wrestling team in its first season.

“She’s a hard worker and sets high expectations for herself,” Seely said. “I have no doubt she’ll be very successful both in the wrestling room and professionally. She has high goals for what she wants, and she’s already doing it.”

The only concern about going to Iowa is that college women’s teams use a different format than the folkstyle used for high school and college men.

“I’ve never freestyle wrestled before, and I’ve only been doing it for two years, and now I’ll be with a nationally ranked team,” Simpson said. “There’s a lot of stuff I need to do this summer to get ready. They have a really nice $15 million lifting facility. I’m very excited about how far I’ve come and had a lot of help from my coaches and my families.”

Simpson was joined for her signing by coaches Seely and Brandi Hixson and her older sister Ashlyn and 7-month old niece Breklyn, as well as her mother, Sammi Simpson.

“We try to encourage her and not to push her, but she’s definitely my most competitive kid, so to see her go to a new level and challenge herself and her character is the best thing I could ask for because I know it will help her growth,” Sammi said.