Despite only discovering wrestling two years ago, Cotton has forged her path in the wrestling community. Cotton was awarded the J. Richard Lux Award for Most Improved Wrestler in the 2022-2023 season, after being crowned Champion at the Girls Division of the New England Championship. Also last season, Cotton placed third at the 2023 National Prep Wrestling Championships.
After joining Andover Wrestling in her Lower year, Cotton discovered a community within the sport that fueled her self-confidence.
“When starting, one of the things I loved about the sport was just the confidence it gave in myself, my body, and my mental toughness. That Lower year when we all came together for the first time after Covid[-19] and just building from that is why I have no regrets trying out the sport,” said Cotton.
Cotton noted the importance of resilience and camaraderie when persisting through challenges within the sport. She recalled moments of doubt that she overcame with the support of her team and her drive.
“Those hardships of just starting out and losing matches and resulting in questions like, ‘What did I do wrong?’ or ‘I’m not going to get better.’ However, I got through those because of the team I started out with. Their support made me grow stronger, and I realized you are not going to improve if you keep thinking that… It’s really important to work harder and use the anger and determination from hardships to actually work on improving, and fix things instead of sitting in despair,” said Cotton.
Through consistency and dedication, Cotton has become an exemplary teammate, according to Tasha Bohorad ’26.
Bohorad said, “She’s a great teammate. You see her working in practice. She starts early and leaves late, which really demonstrates her commitment to the sport. She is always working hard on her shots and trying to improve. She knows what she’s doing and it sets the standard for the rest of the team.”
Cotton prioritizes showing up for her teammates, especially after a challenging match. She highlighted the importance of both demonstrating immediate support, and also being considerate.
“Being invested in everyone’s matches and giving fist bumps or cheering people on is big. That helped remind me that we are all working towards progress. Everyone is going to be disappointed in themself after a loss, so I’ve learned how valuable it is to give some of my teammates space because they are going to be in their heads. But afterwards, I like to let them know that I’m there for them and always watching and supporting,” said Cotton.
Bella Shmuylovich ’26 noted Cotton’s habit of providing support and individualized feedback after every match and practice.
“At the end where we do our debrief of practice, she will talk about hard work and what we will do to be better as a team. Especially after a game, she will talk about both the things we did well and what we need to improve on,” said Shmuylovich.
Bohorad shared similar sentiments to Shmuylovich, emphasizing Cotton’s feedback.
“She’s fairly concise. Not that she doesn’t say a lot, but everything she says really matters. Before meets, she gives individualized advice. For me, she will give things I should work on and words of encouragement. She is very calm and humble and she does a good job of helping others,” said Bohorad.
Cotton works to ensure that each wrestler is committed to themselves and their teammates.
“Me and George [Ryckman ’24], my Co-Captain, we try to share with the team our values. It’s all about putting in the effort for yourself and for each other because people think Wrestling is an individual sport but if you aren’t given 100 percent in practice, then someone else, your partner, is not getting 100 percent. That affects a team as a whole, so I think a lot of my leadership is just encouraging people to give their all and think of themselves not as one person, but [as] part of a system,” said Cotton.
Beyond Andover, Cotton has extended her wrestling experience to programs in Cambridge and Boston. Cotton joined the Beat the Streets wrestling program and Redline Fight Sports last August, where she wrestled in the adult classes.
