Steffey presented the 2023 Olivia Neal Award
Angelica Steffey with her Olivia Neal Award (center) with Croatan Coach David Perry (right) and her mother Alicia Strffey (left)
State Champion Angelica Steffey of Croatan High School was presented the 2nd Annual Olivia Neal Award as the 2023 Most Outstanding Female scholastic wrestler in eastern North Carolina. The presentation was made during the Croatan H.S. athletic awards night by TakeDown Report editor Martin Fleming and Coach David Perry.
Angelica won all 28 of her matches this year against girls and her 2nd consecutive state title. She is the 2nd two-time state champion in Croatan High School history. The first was Ryan Blackwell who was recently awarded the Medal of Courage Award by the National Wrestling Hall of Fame, State Chapter of North Carolina. Blackwell went on to wrestle at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke before enlisting in the U.S. Navy.
Angelica plans to wrestle next year at the University of Mount Olive. She will join the 2022 Award winner, Isabel Rodriguez of Dixon on the team. The award is for most inspirational and successful female wrestler in eastern North Carolina each year.
Prior to this season, Angelica was a three-year starter for the Croatan boy’s team. She led all wrestlers on the Croatan team this year with 24 pins. She also was a ‘TDR Top 12 Girls’ wrestler’ with her name engraved on a wooden plaque for the second year.
Girls’ wrestling is rapidly growing with over 35 states having sanctioned girls state wrestling championships. North Carolina will sponsor a sanctioned state championship tournament next season. This increases the opportunities for student development.
In 2008 Olivia Neal became the first female wrestler in North Carolina to qualify for the varsity state tournament. She wrestled for Rosewood High School for four years. Her participation generated publicity for the sport, and she pinned her first state tournament opponent. This inspired a growing number of girls in eastern N.C. to try out for wrestling.
The TakeDown Report sponsors the Award and promotes wrestling in eastern North Carolina by reporting results and encouraging media coverage. Contact the TDR at martinkfleming@gmail.com or check https://takedownreport.wordpress.com/.
TDR blog
After 20 seasons of publicizing wrestling The TakeDown Report’s (TDR) focus has changed to the collecting of college coaching records from North America since 1903. We will continue to recognize and reward successful wrestlers in eastern North Carolina (east of Raleigh & Fayetteville), assist with schools in starting or re-starting a team and this blog. Join us on our FaceBook Page – “The TakeDown Report” for photos and news. Please send results, stories, links and news to pass along. E-mail us at takedownreport@gmail.com
Martin Fleming, Editor
Takedown Report
Takedown Report 