Apollo’s own Lydia Gardner is set to become the first female wrestler from the Owensboro area to wrestle at the collegiate level after she signed with Lindsey Wilson College. Gardner recently finished her final season with the Eagles where she placed in the regional tournament and qualified for the state tournament.
Wrestling at the collegiate level means the world to Garder, she said.
“It means the world to me. I’m so excited to be continuing my wrestling journey at Lindsey Wilson! They have amazing coaches and I’m thrilled to be able to work with them and be on their team!”
Gardner was drawn to Lindsey Wilson by assistant coach Devane Dodgens. Gardner said that Dodgens cares for every individual on the team and focuses on providing wrestlers with the best possible experience.
“I chose Lindsey Wilson because of the coach,” he said. “He genuinely cares about his wrestlers and wants to give them the best experience he can. He cares about your grades and makes you feel like you’re not just a number.”
Lindsey Wilson College lies about 2 hours away from Owensboro in Columbia. The relatively close distance to home is comforting to Gardner as she knows she will miss her friends and family.
“I’m very much a homebody and I know I’m going to miss my family and friends,” she said. “Being only a few hours away will definitely help with the home sickness.”
While at the college Gardner plans to study nursing. Her college days are still months away from beginning, but she will take with her memories of her time with her Apollo coaches and teammates. She will miss head coach Courtney Johns most of all, she said.
“I’ll miss my old teammates and coaches for sure,” she said. “I love them all very much, but most of all I’ll miss coach Johns. I’m definitely going to miss when we pick on each other.”
