SPARTA, N.J. — Watch out New Jersey high school wrestlers, Paige Weiss is on the way!

Currently an 8th grade student at Sparta Middle School, 14-year-old Paige wrestles for both the Sparta Wrestling Club and the Iron Horse Wrestling Club. During this year’s regular K-8 season, she had 8 wins with only 3 losses and earned 5 of her wins through pins. She also finished fourth out of 18 competitors in her 102-pound weight class in the Northern New Jersey Youth Wrestling League end-of-the-year tournament in which she was the only female competitor.

“My biggest achievement in wrestling so far has been winning the New Jersey Girls State Championship four years in a row,” Paige states. “Also, when I was 10, I won a freestyle national title, and every year during our rec season I’ve had a winning record and placed in the top six in the end-of-the-year tournament.”

Paige credits her stepfather, Craig Hannigan, with her passion for wrestling.

“He, coach Glen Garafano and Chris Diepitri have made me the wrestler that I am today and are the reasons that I love it so much,” says Paige. “They always made it fun. This year was my first year wrestling for Sparta and I really took to coach Bob Shearer. He always had me going into my matches with a game plan and would talk to me after my matches about what I did right and what I could improve on. I also love all my coaches at Iron Horse Wrestling Club.”

Paige faced her toughest wrestling challenge this year: “I’ve reached an age and weight where the boys are really starting to mature and the strength difference has made it tougher to be as competitive as when I was younger. To overcome this, I make sure to train five days a week and put extra focus into my technique, and I’ve also added a day of strength-training into my routine.”

When faced with wrestling challenges, she also bears in mind a quote from Mark Twain that her stepfather would often repeat to her: “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.”

“That was really meaningful to me this year, knowing I was going to be matched against bigger, stronger boys,” Paige continues. “I never quit. I always gave it 100%, which helped me win matches people didn’t think I’d be able to win.”

Although she enjoys the preparation and competition aspects of wrestling, what Paige loves most about the sport is the friendships she’s made.

“My three best friends are all girls who I’ve met through wrestling. Even though we all live almost an hour away from one another we share the closest friendship. We get to travel to tournaments and different states and we always create the best memories.”

Outside of wrestling, Paige enjoys snowboarding and hanging out with her friends. She also holds an orange belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

“My mom and stepdad own a Jiu-Jitsu gym. I’ve been training in that even longer than wrestling!”

As far as her wrestling future goes, Paige shares, “I’m super-excited to wrestle for Sparta High School next year and see where it takes me. My personal wrestling goals and dreams are to win a girls high school state championship and to have the opportunity to wrestle in college. Hopefully with a scholarship!”

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