Racheal Adolphe’s unshakeable confidence guides her on state title quest

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INDIANAPOLIS — Racheal Adolphe debated Tuesday’s incident with Steve Geer while sitting at the desk inside her coach’s office. The North Central star wrestler reversed Geer’s headlock during a defense drill and slammed him on his hips, ribs and shoulders in what Geer described as a “perfect textbook” mat return.

”I got the wind knocked out of me,” the Panthers coach admits as Adolphe lightly sways in his black chair, unresponsive. “But I was fine and got up and said, ‘Let’s do this again.’”

Geer's attempt to protect his manhood elicits a response from the reigning state champion.

“Nah, he was down for a couple of minutes,” the sophomore retorts as the two laugh at each other.

“Alright, I was down for a little. I'm not that young, but did I quit?” the 34-year-old rhetorically asks.

”Almost,” Adolphe says.

Adolphe overheard classmates talking about wrestling in sixth grade and, through a friend’s encouragement, decided to join the team at Augusta North Public Academy. Adolphe thought she signed up for sumo wrestling. When she arrived at the first practice, not only was the style of wrestling a surprise, but also the demographic.

Adolphe was the only girl. And so it was for the next three years.

“I was like, ‘Oh, this is no good,’” Adolphe said. “The guys were older and were tough, but I beat them. It gave me the mentality of, ‘I should be able to beat a girl,’ because guys have that mentality. Since I grew up wrestling guys, I get offended when I don’t beat my opponent.”

Adolphe’s experience wrestling boys instilled an unwavering confidence. A confidence that made the 15-year-old pin her coach with ease, become a national champion, win the IHSAA state title at the 235 weight class as a freshman and capture a second straight sectional title Friday.

The Ugandan native will rely on self-belief in her quest to repeat as state champion.

“I believe everyone is beatable. Even if they have accomplishments, so do I. I can go out there and beat them,” Adolphe said. “I believe I’m beatable too, but I just have confidence and faith in God and my abilities.”

Adolphe’s confidence allows for a poised approach to wrestling

Adolphe doesn’t work out. She describes herself as one with “genetic strength.” Neither does she watch films of her opponents. As Geer put it, she “just wrestles Racheal’s way.”

On the rare occasion her “way” fails and she loses, Adolphe remains calm. Adolphe’s lone defeat during her freshman year came against Attica’s Aubrey Bartkowiak in November 2024.

Adolphe rose off the mat, approached her coach, and said, “I know I can beat her.” Adolphe defeated Bartkowiak in the state semifinal less than two months later.

Seymour sophomore Dhamara Aguilar Tencle, the No. 2-ranked wrestler in the state at 235, handed Adolphe her only loss this year in late November. Adolphe’s message after the match was similar to that of last season.

“I know I can beat her.”

Just a few words, reflective of her introverted personality.

“Losing helps my confidence because it reminds me everyone is beatable,” Adolphe said. “It wakes me up, and it’s like a slap in the face. I take losing as something good.”

North Central’s Racheal Adolphe poses after winning the first IHSAA-sanctioned girls wrestling state title at 235 on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, at Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis.

Geer has coached wrestling for nine years and lauded Adolphe’s ability to maintain calm and not overthink, something he said is a struggle for most wrestlers. Geer believes Adolphe can win state again because of her tranquil demeanor and approach to wrestling.

“She makes me calm when she wrestles,” Geer said. “That’s the difference with Racheal. She goes out there and hits the moves she wants to hit and doesn’t let them dictate the match. She doesn’t care who her opponent is.”

Adolphe uses matches against new wrestlers to experiment with new moves. Adolphe diversified her skill set during the offseason and tends to attack more than last year.

Wrestling with her brother, Kalamo, also provides Adolphe the opportunity to test maneuvers. Kalamo, inspired by Adolphe, began wrestling at North Central after he transferred to the school as a sophomore in 2024.

Kalamo is the oldest of seven Adolphe siblings and he views his spars with Adolphe as an opportunity to prove he’s the strongest. The junior rarely compliments his younger sister’s wrestling prowess and won’t admit he's the inferior of the two, but the truth comes out quickly at North Central.

“He tells me I suck, but I do hear from his friends that he talks very nicely about me,” Adolphe said.

Kalamo, like most of Adolphe’s competition, rarely prevails against the 220-pound grappler. Adolphe hopes to continue her dominance in regionals on Jan. 9 and beyond.

En route to state, Adolphe will do what she usually does when she’s not on the mat: sit and observe opponents. That’s her film. Beneath her orange-dyed box braids is a brain at work, calculating every move a wrestler makes and how to use it against them.

Then her time comes. Adolphe takes a confident, but nonchalant strut to the mat. She has nothing to prove. Adolphe already knows who she is.

More: Girls wrestling: Top grapplers to watch per weight class

The national title plaque rests under Adolphe’s bed. She is still unsure if she will put another state medal there as well. It’s not that they don’t have value. But Adolphe is not consumed by the glory, revealing a humility to her confidence. One that allows Adolphe to recognize she’s simply a sophomore living out her call.

“I didn’t want to not be good at anything in life. I wanted to have a purpose,” Adolphe said. “I’m not the smartest and I’m not that good at making friends, so I needed something for myself and it was wrestling.”

More: Roncalli’s Claire May talks sectional title win, Jimmy John’s celebration

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA girls wrestling: North Central’s Racheal Adolphe wins sectional

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