A Historic Milestone: Girls’ Wrestling Program Competes as a Team for its Inaugural Season

The 2025-26 winter sports season marked a historic milestone for CCDS athletics as the girls' wrestling program competed as a team for the first time and began establishing the future of the program. Dominque Makasiar '29 and Erica Peterson '26 will always be remembered as founding leaders of the program, along with Head Coach Theresa "Hirsch" Hirschauer. 

Hirsch, current head of middle school and former athletic director, has over 30 years of coaching experience at Country Day. She has been a cornerstone of CCDS girls' athletics. When the opportunity to field a girls' wrestling team to increase the athletics options available for female students at Country Day presented itself, Hirsch jumped on it immediately. 

"The girls' wrestling program is an incredible opportunity for students to participate in a sport and join a team. The chance to coach Erica [Peterson] and Dominque [Makasiar] was one of my favorite coaching experiences in my career," says Hirschauer. "Wrestling is a sport that teaches resiliency and grit. A six-minute match is one of the toughest challenges in athletics."  

Prior to the formation of the team, Nicole McNeal '25 was the first female wrestler to compete for the school and the first to earn a varsity wrestling letter, paving the way for future girls' wrestlers.  

Girls' wrestling is growing at a rapid rate; it is one of the fastest-growing high school sports in the country. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), the 2024-25 season held 40 girls' state wrestling championships with 8,100 schools offering the sport, and 74,000 female wrestlers.  

When Nicole was wrestling, participation from the women's side was not nearly as large as it is now. The entry point for the OHSAA tournament was districts, as there were not enough wrestlers to hold sectionals. 

While Country Day had just two wrestlers this year, the team is looking to expand with several student-athletes from the middle school team moving up to the upper school level. And there are a few upper school students willing to give a new sport a chance.  

Erica Peterson, a senior, wanted to be a part of something new and joined the team with no prior wrestling experience. She had a memorable season learning the sport and spending several hours in the gym with Dominique and Coach Hirsch. On the other hand, Dominique Makasiar is a strong and experienced wrestler who has wrestled for Country Day since middle school. She went 6-13 in the season and battled some of the toughest wrestlers across Southwest Ohio as a freshman. 

"The season was very fun, and I learned a lot of new information. Due to the small size of the team, practices became very personalized, and Erica and I were able to hone our individual skills and work on our weaknesses," says Dominique. "Being part of the program's first team was exciting, but also the cause of some mild apprehension as I had nobody to ask about their prior experiences on the team. I ended the season very proud to have been a part of the team, knowing that I was able to contribute to the growth of a women's sport both here at Country Day and nationally."