Wrestlers · Career complete
Danielle Coughlin
First girl to win a Massachusetts high school state wrestling title, 106 pounds for North Andover in 2013; 2nd at Junior Nationals, Fargo
North Andover, MA · North Andover HS
By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 23, 2026
Danielle Coughlin is from North Andover, Massachusetts, and started wrestling in fifth grade. Her older brother, Larry, won a state title for North Andover High School in 2006 and later coached her.
As a freshman in 2009-10 she was the first girl on North Andover's varsity team, at 103 pounds, and the Knights won the Division 2 state title. In March 2010 she placed second at the New England girls tournament in Nashua, New Hampshire. Shannon Constantine of Whittier Tech beat her in the final.
As a sophomore she placed third at the Division 2 North sectional and fourth in the state. As a junior at 106 pounds she won the Wayland Tournament in December 2011. She reached the Division 2 state final in February 2012, where Jon Ryan of Dracut beat her 12-1.
On February 20, 2013, at Marshfield High School, the senior co-captain beat Jordan Darby of Winchester 5-3 in the Division 2 final at 106 pounds. She became the first girl to win a Massachusetts high school state wrestling title. North Andover won its fourth straight Division 2 team title that night. The United States Girls Wrestling Association said she was the fourth girl in the country to win a state title in an all-boys division. She placed sixth at the All-State tournament and became the first girl to win a match at the New England tournament.
That July at Junior Nationals, Fargo, she won six straight matches in women's freestyle at 117 pounds. Steffanie Hampton of Michigan beat her 12-9 in the final. She was headed to Endicott College that fall and did not plan to keep wrestling.
In December 2025 the Boston Globe wrote of her 2013 Division 2 title, "To this day, she is the only one to do it."
She does not want girls today to have to be the first or the only to be taken seriously. "I want it to be expected, not surprising," she told the Boston Globe.
Results
| Season | Level | Event | Weight | Place | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-10 | High school | New England girls tournament, Nashua, N.H. | 103 lb | 2nd | 2-1. As a freshman. She lost the final to Shannon Constantine (Whittier Tech). |
| 2010-11 | High school | MIAA Division 2 North sectional | 103 lb | 3rd | As a sophomore. She wrestled at 103 pounds in her first two seasons. |
| 2010-11 | High school | State tournament | 103 lb | 4th | North Andover also won the Division 2 team title that season. |
| 2011-12 | High school | Wayland Tournament | 106 lb | 1st | 3-0. Her first tournament title. She pinned all three opponents. |
| 2011-12 | High school | MIAA Division 2 state tournament, Reading | 106 lb | 2nd | Jon Ryan (Dracut) beat her 12-1 in the final. |
| 2012-13 | High school | MIAA Division 2 state tournament, Marshfield | 106 lb | 1st | She beat Jordan Darby (Winchester) 5-3 in the final on February 20, 2013, the first girl to win a Massachusetts state wrestling title. |
| 2012-13 | High school | MIAA All-State tournament | 106 lb | 6th | A top-six finish sent her on to the New England tournament. |
| 2012-13 | High school | New England Championships | She became the first girl to win a match at the New England tournament. | ||
| 2013 | Age group | Junior Nationals, Fargo | 117 lb | 2nd | 6-1. Women's freestyle. She won six straight matches, then lost 12-9 to Steffanie Hampton (Michigan) in the final. |
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.boston.com/sports/untagged/2013/02/20/danielle-coughlin-is-first-female-to-win-wrestling-title/ · Boston.com, February 2013. Senior Danielle Coughlin beat Jordan Darby of Winchester 5-3 in the Division 2 final at 106 pounds, the first girl to win a Massachusetts state wrestling championship.
- https://www.boston.com/sports/untagged/2013/02/21/danielle-coughlin-overwhelmed-by-historic-wrestling-win/ · Boston.com, February 2013. Her win helped North Andover to a fourth straight state team title. Her brother Larry won a state title in 2006.
- https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/north-andover-wrestler-is-first-girl-to-win-high-school-state-championship/ · CBS Boston, February 2013. For the first time in Massachusetts high school wrestling, a girl won an individual state championship, at the Division 2 tournament in Marshfield.
- https://abcnews.com/US/girl-wrestler-pins-massachusetts-state-championship-title/story?id=18568975 · ABC News, 2013. The United States Girls Wrestling Association named her the fourth girl in the country to win a state title in an all-boys division. Her brother Larry was an assistant coach on the team.
- https://www.wickedlocal.com/story/thepress/2010/03/19/coughlin-makes-history-as-first/38878206007/ · The North Andover Citizen, March 2010. As a freshman she was the first girl on North Andover's varsity team and placed second at 103 pounds at the New England girls tournament in Nashua.
- https://www.bostonherald.com/2012/01/05/junior-wrestler-a-woman-among-boys/ · Boston Herald, January 2012. As a sophomore she placed third at the Division 2 North sectional and fourth in the state, and as a junior she won the Wayland Tournament.
- https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2012/02/12/north-andover-and-dracut-get-crowns/bX8RGBtuMuJzKk5zqEnFUP/story.html · The Boston Globe, February 2012. Jon Ryan of Dracut beat her 12-1 in the Division 2 final at 106 pounds.
- https://www.wickedlocal.com/story/thepress/2013/03/01/catching-up-with-north-andover/38827367007/ · The North Andover Citizen, March 2013. Her sixth place at the All-State tournament and her weight classes of 103 and 106 pounds across four seasons.
- https://www.eagletribune.com/sports/sports-in-a-minute/article_a0ce6d32-9348-5a96-88be-840d7c6911d1.html · The Eagle-Tribune, March 2013. She was the first girl to win a match at the New England tournament and was featured in Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd.
- https://www.themat.com/news/2013/july/18/leathers--porter--pfau--team-c-26747 · USA Wrestling, July 2013. Steffanie Hampton of Michigan beat her 12-9 in the 117-pound final of the Junior Women's Freestyle Nationals in Fargo.
- https://www.eagletribune.com/sports/coughlin-finishes-second-at-nationals/article_772c39b7-71ac-57f8-9a0f-325ab77e3025.html · The Eagle-Tribune, July 2013. She won six straight matches in Fargo before the final, and she was headed to Endicott College that fall.
- https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/12/20/sports/history-of-girls-wrestling-massachusetts/ · The Boston Globe, December 2025. Of her 2013 Division 2 106-pound title match, "To this day, she is the only one to do it," and she spoke about the girls who have followed her.
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