Wrestlers · Career complete
Asia DeWeese
1989 World silver medalist on the first U.S. women's World Team; 2x World Team member; first coach of Umpqua's women's program
OR · Sutherlin HS · University of Oregon
By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 24, 2026
Asia DeWeese was born and raised in Oregon. She first tried wrestling in an eighth-grade physical education class. In 1986 she joined the Sutherlin High School team as its first girl, and she graduated in 1989. Some boys forfeited rather than wrestle her.
In 1987 she lost a lawsuit, filed for her by the American Civil Liberties Union, over a short-hair rule that kept her from wrestling. After a two-day hearing, Douglas County Circuit Judge Joan Seitz let the rule stand. She cut her hair short and kept wrestling.
She competed in the first U.S. women's wrestling tournament. USA Wrestling sent its first women's World Team to the 1989 World Championships in Martigny, Switzerland, and she won silver at 50 kg, about 110 pounds. Afsoon Roshanzamir took bronze at 47 kg and Leia Kawaii silver at 70 kg. Those were the three U.S. medals at the first Women's World Championships the country entered. In 1990 she moved up two classes and placed fifth at the World Championships in Lulea, Sweden.
She walked on to the University of Oregon wrestling program and was the only woman on the team.
She began coaching collegiate and freestyle wrestling with the Roseburg Mat Club in 2011. She also coached with the Oregon Women's Wrestling Program's Fargo team. In March 2017 Umpqua Community College hired her to lead its new women's program. Her first team had six freshmen, and 18 women from six states filled the roster a year later. In 2019 athletic director Craig Jackson took over as head coach, and she stayed on as his assistant.
On April 3, 2023, the Oregon School Activities Association officially sanctioned girls wrestling. OPB profiled her that May as one of the girls and women who pioneered the acceptance of women in wrestling in the United States. She is a two-time U.S. World Team member, and girls wrestling in Oregon high schools is now officially sanctioned.
Results
| Season | Level | Event | Weight | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Senior | World Championships, Martigny, Switzerland | 50 kg | 2nd | The first Women's World Championships the U.S. entered, with three U.S. medals. USA Wrestling's World Team history lists the class as 110 pounds. No cited page gives her opponents or scores. |
| 1990 | Senior | World Championships, Lulea, Sweden | 125.5 lb | 5th | Her second U.S. World Team. USA Wrestling's World Team history lists the class in pounds only. |
What we could not confirm
Anything not on this page, a high school record, a final score, a season, was left out because no primary source stated it when this was written. If you have a bracket, a program, or a clipping, send it to the operator, Joe Spisak, at joe@spisak.co and the page gets the number.
Sources
- https://www.themat.com/team-usa/world-team-history · USA Wrestling's World Team history. The 1989 women's team in Martigny with her second place at 110 pounds, and the 1990 women's team in Lulea, Sweden, with her fifth place at 125.5 pounds.
- https://nwhof.org/news/50-u-s-women-s-wrestling-milestones-to-celebrate-50th-anniversary-of-title-ix · National Wrestling Hall of Fame, 50 milestones of U.S. women's wrestling. USA Wrestling sent its first women's World Team to Martigny in 1989, where the U.S. won three medals, including her silver at 50 kg.
- https://nwhof.org/national-wrestling-hall-of-fame/women-s-wrestling-experience · National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Women's Wrestling Experience timeline. Her 1989 silver medal at 50 kg, at the first Women's World Championships Team USA entered.
- https://nwhof.org/news/usa-wrestling-sets-senior-level-record-with-12-medals · USA Wrestling on the National Wrestling Hall of Fame site, October 2018. The 10 U.S. World medals of 1989 across all three styles, including her silver at 50 kg.
- https://nwhof.org/news/national-wrestling-hall-of-fame-unveils-new-exhibit-women-in-wrestling-a-legacy-inspiring-generations · National Wrestling Hall of Fame, on its Women in Wrestling exhibit. The 1989 World Championships as the first Women's Worlds the U.S. entered, with silver medals for her and Leia Kawaii.
- https://www.uccriverhawks.com/sports/wwrest/asiadeweese · Umpqua Community College coach biography. She competed in the first U.S. women's wrestling tournament, won silver at the 1989 World Championships and was the only woman on the University of Oregon's collegiate wrestling program.
- https://www.nrtoday.com/sports/colleges/ucc/umpqua-hires-deweese-as-womens-wrestling-coach/article_7fa6c2f2-63f2-5be2-822b-cf58b4aea168.html · The News-Review of Roseburg, March 2017. Umpqua Community College hired her to lead its new women's program. She wrestled at Sutherlin High School and had worked with the Roseburg Mat Club since 2011.
- https://www.nrtoday.com/sports/womens-college-wrestling-ucc-start-up-program-hosts-first-meet/article_5a0a090e-e974-5dce-b1c6-aa482b34e949.html · The News-Review, October 2017. Her inaugural Umpqua team of six freshmen hosted its first meet. She is a 1989 Sutherlin High School graduate and was then a professor at the college.
- https://www.nrtoday.com/sports/colleges/ucc/womens-wrestling-warms-up-for-seasons-start/article_ff4360a1-19ba-5212-93d2-200fcb4a723d.html · The News-Review, October 2018. Her second Umpqua team had 18 women from six states on the roster.
- https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-06-21-sp-8824-story.html · Los Angeles Times, June 1987. The American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of the Sutherlin High School junior, and Douglas County Circuit Court Judge Joan Seitz ruled the short-hair rule may stand.
- https://www.nrtoday.com/sports/preps/prep_wrestling/sanctioning-of-girls-wrestling-by-osaa-helps-sport-local-teams-grow/article_114daa1b-dec4-5d70-8e55-97eec5ae0a85.html · The News-Review, January 2019. She joined Sutherlin's team in 1986, lost a 1987 lawsuit over a short-hair rule and walked on at the University of Oregon as the only woman on the team.
- https://www.nrtoday.com/sports/colleges/ucc/ucc_wrestling/ucc-womens-wrestling-program-honored-by-roseburg-zonta-club/article_d723fa97-97e9-5795-bdb1-22821bb61394.html · The News-Review, March 2019. She was the first female wrestler at Sutherlin High School in 1986 and competed at the 1989 Women's World Championships.
- https://www.nrtoday.com/sports/colleges/ucc/ucc_wrestling/ucc-womens-wrestling-preview/article_5e9b3887-aefe-5a20-8cce-8f2a114837b5.html · The News-Review, November 2019. Athletic director Craig Jackson took over as Umpqua's head coach, and she remained with the program as his assistant.
- https://www.opb.org/article/2023/05/20/oregon-sanctions-girls-wrestling-pioneer-asia-deweese-video/ · OPB, May 2023. Born and raised in Oregon, she joined the girls and women who pioneered the acceptance of women in wrestling in the United States as a high schooler in 1986. Oregon officially sanctioned girls wrestling at the high school level on April 3, 2023.
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