Maria Ignatova '24 Recruiting Profile

    Hello, my name is Maria Ignatova. I started wrestling my freshman year. However, I have been training Brazilian Jiujitsu for almost 8 years now. I have actively competed true the years and hold multiple national titles. I not only train and compete Brazilian Jiujitsu but I am also a certified coach. I currently work as an assistant coach at Gracie Barra O’Fallon and Chesterfield and teach kids and teenage classes. I have done sports for as long as I remember and always push myself to do my best, not only on the mat but off as well. I keep good grades in school, take college credit and honors classes. I am in the student council, and a member of National Honor Society. I strive to keep a GPA above 3.5 and got a 23 on my most recent ACT. I plan to take the ACT again this spring and summer.  I love helping my teammates in any way I can and always listen to my coach's advice. This year I helped coaching some of our younger teammates at some JV tournament. For a future I see myself working with athletes, looking to obtain bachelor's degree in Exercise Science and be a Chiropractor one day. 

I had a rough start my freshman year and a very limited opportunities to wrestle due to Covid. Things got better sophomore year. Finished the season 26-9 and qualified for state. This past year, my Junior year, I had a 36-10 record, and placed 6th in the MO state tournament. I was voted a Team Captain and awarded MVP for the 22-23 season. I beat the school record for most pins in a season (29) as well as most wins in a single season (36). Looking forward continuing my success this coming season. In preparation for my senior year, I have signed up for a few wrestling camps this summer and attend weekly workouts and training sessions. Recently, I have been competing in some freestyle and Greco tournaments. In the Adidas Freestyle and Folkstlye Nationals tournament, I placed 7th in Freestyle and 3rd in Folkstyle. I competed in MO Freestyle and Greco State placing 4th in both styles. I always try to help everyone on my team to improve and hope to inspire them to keep wrestle, so we can grow women's wrestling, because I am very passionate about this sport. When I’m not playing sports, I enjoy hanging out with my friends, helping out at my family’s store, and reading.