Wrestlers · Career complete

Sally Roberts

2x World bronze medalist at 59 kg; 2003 U.S. Nationals champion; Army veteran who co-founded Wrestle Like A Girl

Federal Way, WA · Federal Way HS · Pacific University

By Joe Spisak, Pennsylvania state champion and 4x NCAA qualifier at Virginia · Published September 23, 2026

Sally Roberts grew up in Federal Way, Washington. She found wrestling after being cut from every girls' team she tried out for. She wrestled on the boys' team at Federal Way High School and won one match. She graduated in 1999, the first in her family to finish high school.

She wrestled in college at UM-Morris and Pacific University and trained as a resident athlete at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. In 2003 she won the Dave Schultz Memorial and then the U.S. Nationals at 59 kg, about 130 pounds. She beat Erin Tomeo of the Sunkist Kids 6-3 in the final and was named Outstanding Wrestler. She also won the University Nationals at 63 kg and the World Cup that year.

She placed third at 63 kg at the World Team Trials, then won a special wrestle-off for the 59 kg spot. At Madison Square Garden in September 2003, in her first World Championships, she beat Marianna Sastin of Hungary for the bronze medal.

She won a second World bronze at 59 kg in Budapest in 2005. She lost a semifinal to Sastin 7-4, 7-6, then beat Anna Zwirydowska of Poland 7-0, 6-2 for the medal.

At the 2008 Olympic Trials in Las Vegas she won the challenge bracket at 55 kg. Marcie Van Dusen of the Sunkist Kids beat her twice in the best-of-three final.

Roberts joined the Army in 2009. She volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan with the Army Reserve's 320th Psychological Operations Company from September 2012 to April 2013. She returned to the mat in 2014 and finished her Army service in the World Class Athlete Program.

USA Wrestling named her its 2018 Woman of the Year, and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Washington chapter named her an Outstanding American in 2026.

She leads Wrestle Like A Girl as its CEO and works as a State Department sports diplomat.

Results

Season	Level	Event	Weight	Place	Note
2003	Senior	Dave Schultz Memorial International	59 kg	1st	USA Wrestling's 2003 Trials preview records her gold medal at the Dave Schultz Memorial at 59 kg.
2003	Senior	U.S. Nationals, Las Vegas	59 kg	1st	Her first U.S. Nationals title. She beat Erin Tomeo (Sunkist Kids) 6-3 in the final and was named Outstanding Wrestler in the women's division.
2003	Age group	University Nationals	63 kg	1st	USA Wrestling records the title at 63 kg, up a class from her 59 kg division. She had placed second at the 2002 University Nationals.
2003	Senior	World Cup		1st	USA Wrestling called the 2003 World Cup gold her top international achievement.
2003	Senior	World Team Trials	63 kg	3rd	Her third place at 63 kg made her eligible for a special wrestle-off, which she won to make the 59 kg World team.
2003	Senior	World Championships, New York	59 kg	3rd	Her first World Championships, at Madison Square Garden. She beat Marianna Sastin (Hungary) in the bronze-medal match. USA Wrestling reported it was the seventh medal for the U.S. women at the event and the first time a U.S. World team medaled at every weight.
2005	Senior	World Championships, Budapest	59 kg	3rd	3-1. She beat Dorj Narmandakh (Mongolia) 7-0, 7-0 and Diletta Gianpiccolo (Italy) 0-3, 7-0, 2-0, lost the semifinal to Marianna Sastin (Hungary) 7-4, 7-6, and beat Anna Zwirydowska (Poland) 7-0, 6-2 for bronze.
2008	Senior	U.S. Olympic Team Trials, Las Vegas	55 kg	2nd	She won the challenge bracket over Jessica Medina (New York AC), Cheylnne Pringle (MN Storm), Tina George (US Army) and Tatiana Padilla (Sunkist Kids). Top seed Marcie Van Dusen (Sunkist Kids) won the best-of-three final in two straight matches, 1-2, 1-0, 3-0 and 0-1, 1-0, 1-0.
2014	Senior	Dave Schultz Memorial International, Colorado Springs			The Army's caption for its photo from February 1, 2014 records the tournament as her return to the mat after a five-year break from the sport.

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://nwhof.org/national-wrestling-hall-of-fame/bio/16778 · National Wrestling Hall of Fame, Washington chapter Outstanding American, 2026. Raised in Federal Way, she graduated from Federal Way High School in 1999, the first in her family to earn a diploma, and won one match in high school. She trained eight years at the Olympic Training Center and became a three-time U.S. national champion, World Cup champion, two-time World bronze medalist and Olympic alternate. She served eight years in the Army, including a voluntary deployment to Afghanistan. She founded Wrestle Like A Girl in 2016 and was USA Wrestling's 2018 Woman of the Year.
https://www.vfw.org/media-and-events/latest-releases/archives/2020/3/army-vet-champions-wrestling-like-a-girl · VFW Magazine, March 2020. She found wrestling after being cut from the girls' sports she tried out for. She joined the Army in 2009 after placing second at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials. She deployed to Afghanistan with the Army Reserve's 320th Psychological Operations Company from September 2012 to April 2013, then joined the World Class Athlete Program.
https://wrestlelikeagirl.org/sally-roberts-bio-for-download · Wrestle Like A Girl's biography of its co-founder and CEO. It lists her years as a resident athlete at the Olympic Training Center, three national titles, a World Cup title and two World bronze medals. It also covers her deployment to Afghanistan and the World Class Athlete Program.
https://www.themat.com/news/2003/june/07/2003-women-s-world-team-trials-7782 · USA Wrestling, June 2003: 2003 U.S. Nationals champion at 59 kg over Erin Tomeo 6-3 and Outstanding Wrestler, Dave Schultz Memorial gold, University Nationals title at 63 kg, USOTC resident athlete
https://www.themat.com/news/2004/march/15/roberts-vs--sastin-is-the-new--9537 · USA Wrestling, March 2004, on the 2003 World bronze-medal match against Marianna Sastin of Hungary at Madison Square Garden. She made the team through a special wrestle-off after placing third at 63 kg at the Trials. It also records her 2003 World Cup gold, her college wrestling at UM-Morris and Pacific University, and the boys' team at Federal Way High School.
https://www.themat.com/news/2003/august/25/2003-world-championships-of-fr-8198 · USA Wrestling, August 2003: her first World Championships at Madison Square Garden, Sept. 12 to 14, after a special wrestle-off for the 59 kg spot
https://www.themat.com/news/2005/september/28/2005-world-championships---wom-13340 · USA Wrestling match summaries from the 2005 World Championships at 59 kg
https://usaw-public.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/media_guides/2022+Senior+Worlds+media+guide.pdf · USA Wrestling's 2022 Senior Worlds media guide lists Sally Roberts as a World bronze medalist at 130 pounds in 2003 and 2005
https://tech-fall.com/2008INT/08OTResults.html · Full bracket results from the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, women's freestyle 55 kg
https://www.reviewjournal.com/sports/underdog-wrestler-nabs-olympic-berth/ · Las Vegas Review-Journal, June 2008: top seed Marcie Van Dusen swept third-seeded Sally Roberts at 55 kg at the Thomas and Mack Center
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Returning_to_the_mat_(140201-A-DI144-007).jpg · U.S. Army photo by Capt. Saska Ball, February 1, 2014: Sgt. Sally Roberts at the Dave Schultz Memorial International at the Olympic Training Center, her return to the mat after five years away

Your turn

The college women's teams we have read, with the coach's email where the school publishes one, are in the college directory.

The newsletter

One email, sent when something is worth your time.

Get the free Girls' Wrestling College Recruiting Guide, plus athlete stories, results and the rules, all checked against the source. No filler, unsubscribe any time.