Lutheran West Women’s Wrestling Featured in Upcoming Documentary; Alumnus Ryan Kelly (Class of 1997) Developed, Directed, and Served as Showrunner

Lutheran West Women’s Wrestling program, at the time of its inception the first in the state of Ohio, is featured in an upcoming documentary entitled WrestleHer, to be released soon on streaming platform Documentary+.

The 11-part docuseries is a real look into an unprecedented journey undertaken by female high school wrestlers and their coaches as they competed both prior to girls’ wrestling becoming an officially sanctioned OHSAA high school sport, and during the very first season following sanctioning: when the girls could and did compete for their own state title rather than competing against male athletes.

Lutheran West alumnus Ryan J. Kelly ’97 developed and directed the docuseries, and also served as the showrunner. After several years of dedication to this project, he is excited to share the final product with the Lutheran West community, the women’s wrestling community, and far beyond.

He says, “This was such an important project to me, and because of my ties with Lutheran West I was so proud to showcase my alma mater and the hard work and dedication of its student-athletes. It was an honor to be on this journey alongside Lutheran West and the other Ohio schools we featured.”

Dave Ressler ’86 has been a champion of the sport of women’s wrestling at the high school level, initiating the girls’ program at Lutheran West in 2018 the first in the state, as well as encouraging the OHSAA to sanction the sport. Ressler, who has been heavily involved in Lutheran West Wrestling program since the 1980s, recognized the interest and potential of female wrestlers at Lutheran West, and was instrumental in ensuring that they had an equal opportunity to compete at the highest level in this sport traditionally dominated by male athletes.

Ressler reflects, “I am so excited for our girls’ wrestling team’s story to be shared. I am so proud of our program for being the first in the state and helping to lead the growth of the sport since 2018. This documentary will be a wonderful tribute to trailblazers of our sport. I am excited to bring our alumni back and to share this film with our current and future Longhorns. Lutheran West Women’s Wrestling is honored to have been a part of the making of ‘WrestleHer’ and we thank Ryan Kelly for this opportunity to share our story with the world.”

WrestleHer will premiere on September 10 on Documentary+.

Read more about the docuseries here.