MOUNT PLEASANT, Ia. - Spc. Adaugo Nwachukwu, currently serving in the 224 Brigade Engineer Battalion (BEB) , 2/34 Infantry Brigade Combat Team (IBCT), won her wrestling match Sunday, April 14, 2024 advancing her to United World Wrestling U23 Pan- American Championships 2024. Nwachukwu will wrestle on Team U.S.A. in Columbia, South America, in June 2024.
Born in Nigeria, Nwachukwu came to the United States during her sophomore year of high school. In high school, she met Coach Frank Ortiz, who became her biggest mentor and support pushing her in wrestling as she worked on the basics.
In high school recruiters would come in and talk to her and other students and she thought the military experience would be fun. She enlisted as a 92S (Laundry and Shower Specialist) and it was shared with her that the Army had a wrestling team. She made being on that team her goal.
Currently in college and attending William Penn University, she made the U. S. Army Wrestling Team and now trains with them in Colorado Springs, CO. Nwachukwu shared the Iowa National Guard has been very supportive of her training and college education. She is one of several National Guard Soldiers on the team.
“At only 20 years old,” Coach Bruce Robinson, her current coach, stated, “she is the best the female wrestler, to ever be actively serving!” Nwachukwu stated she loves the competition and doesn’t think about winning or being the best, though she has never lost a college match.
Her mindset is simple, “I just get out there and wrestle and follow the basics.“ Training two times daily she shared has made ready for Olympic trials.