Leilah Castro has been hired to take over as the new head coach for Waynesburg University’s women’s wrestling team. Prior to Waynesburg, Castro attended Campbellsville University in Kentucky, where she won multiple championships. After Campbellsville, she was an assistant coach for two years at Otterbein University in Ohio.  

“It’s going to be a big learning experience all together for everybody. For a lot of them, it’s their first time away from home, being independent adults,” Castro said. “So, I think even when it comes to wrestling season, I hope that means they’re hungry. Being young, hungry and excited.” 

Castro has nine wrestlers listed on the roster. Two of which are two-sport athletes who might step away from the team, so that would leave Castro with seven. Out of the seven, two are returning sophomores and the rest are incoming freshmen.  

Addison Soost is one of the two returning sophomores on the team. Soost had an overall record of 2-13 and a dual record of 2-4 in the 2025-2026 season. 

Soost has more experience now than she did last season. She is also more confident in her ability to score points and win matches. 

“Last year I didn’t do so well, it was my first year of wrestling. But now as a second-year athlete, I think the season is going to be a lot better,” Soost said. “Just getting up and doing it every day. I love it, and it’s what I’m passionate about.”

Castros’ goal this year as a team is just to grow. 

“I would like to, to grow as a team. Really develop that team culture that I’m looking to build here,” Castro said. “That goes as a coach too. My duty and job is to make sure girls come to the university to wrestle.”

With preseason starting on Sept. 8, Castro has six weeks of preseason for her players. 

“It’s going to be a mix of strength, training and conditioning.  I know it’s a young group; I’m really going to have to work on fundamentals when it comes to strength training,” Castro said. “Then as for running, all the running that we’ll do isn’t going to be directly correlated to wrestling. It’s a different type of being in shape. I think doing different circuit training stems from CrossFit kind of training. Throwing that in the mix with some different types of circuits throughout the week.”

The Yellow Jackets are looking to improve on a 1-10 record.