When members of the Wilkes University community gathered in the Marts Center as Scott Musa, athletics director, announced the addition of women’s wrestling, the moment bridged the rich history of wrestling on campus and the growing potential of the sport for women.
Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country and has been designated as an emerging sport by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Wilkes women’s wrestling team will begin competing for the 2025-26 season, with the first NCAA women’s wrestling championship planned for 2026. The Colonels are already looking to make a name for themselves at that event. “Today we start the process of building that championship,” says Musa.
University buildings show the signs of those who have already made their mark on the mat and on campus. A lab in the Mark Engineering Center is named for Cromwell Thomas, former professor of physics and the team’s first coach. Clayton Karambelas ’49, whose name graces the Karambelas Media and Communications Center and the Karambelas Gateway, helped set the standard as the first member of the first wrestling team.
Ron Simms ’60, of the Ron and Rhea Simms Center on Main, wrestled for the Colonels. The Cardell Financial Center is named for Dan Cardell ’79, former wrestler and a current member of the University’s Board of Trustees.
John Reese, whose name is synonymous with Wilkes wrestling, coached the team for 42 years, from 1953 through 1995. Under Reese, Colonels wrestling garnered 40 winning seasons, topped 500 wins and captured the first Division III national championship in 1974. Coach Reese also created the Wilkes Open and was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
“We wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the work John put into the program,” says Musa.
While Reese laid the foundation for the excellence of the Wilkes wrestling program, others have carried on the tradition. Jon Laudenslager ’99, a former standout wrestler for the Colonels, served as head coach for 22 years, leading the men’s wrestling program to almost 300 dual wins. He has been promoted to director of wrestling, overseeing both men’s and women’s wrestling programs. Pankil Chander ’17, who had his own successful wrestling career as a Colonel with a record of 91-50, returns to campus as the associate head men’s wrestling coach. Wilkes will search for a full-time associate head coach for women’s wrestling to round out the staff roster.
Allie Gundlah ’23 visited campus to celebrate the women’s wrestling news. While earning her PharmD at Wilkes, Gundlah was on the roster for the men’s wrestling team. “She put in the work,” says Laudenslager. “The problem was, we didn’t have the opportunity.” Gundlah, a New Jersey native who now works as a clinical pharmacist at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital, is thrilled that women wrestlers will soon have a chance to compete at Wilkes. “I think it’s a great opportunity because the sport of women’s wrestling is growing,” says Gundlah. “If I could just inspire one girl to step up, towards the end of my career, that’s what it was about.”
With high school women’s wrestling programs exploding in popularity, the addition of women’s wrestling gives Wilkes the opportunity to recruit even more talented students who succeed in the classroom, in competition and beyond. “Our student-athletes maintain a higher GPA, retain and graduate at higher rates,” says Andy Miller, professor of political science, who serves as the faculty athletics representative and the faculty team mentor for wrestling. “It’s a really great opportunity,” says Miller. “In the tradition of the wrestling program, women’s wrestling is a natural fit.”
