Thompson tabbed as new Women's Wrestling head coach
Rio Grande Sports Information
RIO GRANDE, Ohio - The new face of the University of Rio Grande's women's wrestling program is one that many folks in southeastern Ohio may find familiar.
The school recently announced that Jackson High School graduate Kendra Thompson is the RedStorm's new head coach.
Thompson replaces Alexia Wagner, who guided the Rio program in each of its first two years of existence before resigning at the close of the 2025-26 season to accept a head coaching position at NCAA Division I Mercyhurst University.
"It's an opportunity that I didn't even know I'd run into," said Thompson. "I'd moved back here after spending the last seven or eight years in Kentucky and another coaching friend of mine had heard the position was open. He asked me if I was going to apply and I told him I would and, as things turned out, I got the job. I'm excited to see what we can do here and see what kind of success we can create."
Thompson, a 2019 graduate of Jackson High, wrestled in high school although her opponents were primarily boys since girls wrestling would not become a sanctioned sport by the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) until 2023.
Thompson then took her talents to Campbellsville (Ky.) University where, over the course of five seasons on the mat, she was a four-time All-American and a member of two national invitational championship teams for the Tigers.
Her highest national finish came in 2021, when she placed third in the 155-pound division.
Thompson finished her collegiate career with 58 victories, including 21 in the post-season.
She began her coaching career in 2024 as an assistant at Taylor County (Ky.) High School, with the Cardinals winning a state championship. Last season, she served as a volunteer assistant at her alma mater.
Rio Grande athletic director Brandon Bias said he thinks Thompson is the perfect pick to assume control of the program.
"It's exciting to have the opportunity to hire a former local athlete and give her the chance to return to the area and make an impact in the community," he said. "Coach Thompson is someone we believe can take our women's wrestling program to the next level. She understands the importance of building a strong culture, developing relationships and creating connections with local teams and athletes. We're excited about the energy, leadership and vision she'll bring to the program."
Thompson inherits a program which produced its first NAIA national tournament qualifier last season in freshman Alexandria Evans, but that struggled to field a full squad for events as the season wore on as a result of injury and attrition.
Her answer toward fixing those issues?
"I think the most important thing is to recruit good people to begin with. I want kids who want to work hard and who are willing to help others," Thompson said. "They don't have to be 10 out of 10 wrestlers to begin with but, obviously, I want them to improve as they go and you start doing that with people who work hard. At the same time, wrestling is hard on the body so, in addition to the hard work, you have days where you rest or do rehab. You can't beat everybody up every day. There has to be a balance."
The return of Evans is a major boost toward the upcoming 2026-27 campaign, but the timing of Thompson's hiring hasn't made the recruiting process easy.
"I would wholeheartedly agree with that," Thompson admitted. "Obviously, it would've helped to have had an earlier start because by the time we got started, a lot of kids had already signed. We're just trying to figure it out and create reachable goals for ourselves at this point. I don't expect a roster of 20-30 this year but, absolutely, in the coming years that's what we want."
Thompson, who will be assisted by former Jackson High head coach Brandon Oliver, has already been busy trying to get word out about Rio women's wrestling by conducting clinics in a number of neighboring areas.
"Community involvement in the program is something that I think helps a lot," she said. "We run the clinics just like we'd run a practice at Rio. I think it's important that people know how you coach. If kids like the way you do things, it's easier to get them to come and visit campus."
"We'll take what we have this year and build a culture. Once we do that, we'll add to it. The ultimate goal is to produce All-Americans," Thompson added.