CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (ESPN CLARKSVILLE) – Northwest High School’s Athletic Department has announced that senior wrestler, Catherine Palmieri, has committed to wrestle at Life University, located in Marietta, Georgia.
Catherine signed her commitment paperwork in a signing ceremony held on December 13, 2018 at Northwest High School.
Catherine is a three-year member of the Lady Vikings Wrestling Team. As a wrestler, Catherine has already been a two-time state medalist and four-time All American. She was a member of the 2017 TSSAA State Championship team and a member of Team Tennessee.
In addition to excelling on the mat, Catherine has maintained excellent grades and has enrolled in multiple Advanced Placement Courses.
Life University’s Head Coach for Women’s Wrestling, Ashley Sword, attended the signing to celebrate adding Catherine to the wrestling program.
“When we first met Catherine, we were super impressed by her focus on academics even before she stepped on the mat. For us that is key because we can’t have them become national champs and not be able to get a job after graduation. We are excited to be able to build upon her physicality, size and strength on the mat and push her to the next level. She has a great drive, but also balances that with a sense of playfulness. When things go wrong, she can bounce back easily because of her personality. To have someone like that on the team is going to be important for our program,” Sword said.
Lady Vikings Wrestling Coach, Kayla Sharp-Estep, said she is excited for Catherine to attend Life University.
“I know the work and successes she has had in the last three years will be invaluable to her success as a collegiate wrestler. I’m excited for her to get to go to a program that I know will work her hard, care about her, and help her to be the hard working and successful young woman that we all see here at Northwest. I could not be more proud of her academics and success on the mat, as well as who she is as a human. I am excited to see how far she can go,” Sharp-Estep said.
Catherine shared that he was most excited to attend Life University because it’s the school she really wanted to go to. “I connected with the team and the coaches,” she said.
Northwest Athletic Director, Jessica Peppard, stated, “Northwest is incredibly proud of Catherine and her hard work both in the classroom and on the mat. She represents what we strive for every day in developing our athletes. She has maintained excellent academics all while excelling athletically. I have no doubt she will do the same at the collegiate level and look forward to seeing what she accomplishes at Life University.”