Olympic gold medalist Maroulis to host wrestling clinic in Yorktown
· Yahoo Sports
Helen Maroulis has climbed the mountain of wrestling. She knocked off a 13-time world champion en route to a gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games. Maroulis took home gold again in 2020 in Tokyo and grabbed bronze in 2024.
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Now, the two-time gold medalist is trying to give back, as she also prepared for a trip to the 2028 Los Angeles Games. On June 20, Maroulis and Victoria Anthony – a four-time national champion – will host a clinic at Mildred E. Strang Middle School in Yorktown Heights.
“Overall, I’m looking forward to meeting everyone, sharing the mats and the love for this great sport and for getting to inspire the next generation of young men and women,” Maroulis said in a statement provided by event organizers.
The clinic is being organized by Jimmy Kaishian, who has coached Yorktown High School's boys wrestling team for the past five years. He hopes that the clinic will increase interest in a girls wrestling program. Last week, Kaishian’s proposal for a girls team at Yorktown was approved into the budget for the next academic year.
“I think [Maroulis] liked my offer, which was that I’m starting a girls wrestling program,” Kaishian said. “I’m not going to be the coach, but I’m starting the program and the thought was, ‘Let’s do this the right way.’”
Proceeds from Kaishian’s clinic will go to two places. First, they will help support Maroulis as she prepares for a return to the Olympic Games. Additionally, funds will be set aside for singlets for Yorktown’s newest varsity athletic team.
Kaishian is a Yorktown alum, and after spending time as a coach at Springfield College, he wanted to establish a culture at his high school alma mater.
“We just won our first section title, and in my senior year we had taken second,” Kaishian said. “It was kind of a full-circle moment. Now, we’re going to start a girls program, so we’re trying to change the culture of the town and turn it into a wrestling town.”
Putnam Valley senior Maddy Keeler, who won a Section 1 title at 138 pounds in 2025, plans to attend the clinic as she prepares for her first year wrestling at the NCAA Div. I level. Keeler is committed to continuing her athletic career at Presbyterian College.
“The two clinicians are two pioneers of women’s wrestling who have accolades on top of accolades and have done amazing things in the sport,” Keeler said. “Helen Maroulis is a big role model of mine, so the fact that I can meet her and learn from her is something that really attracted me to the clinic itself.”
Building a girls program
Kaishian’s goal is for the Maroulis and Anthony-led clinic to inspire more girls to get involved in wrestling.
“(Girls wrestling) is one of the fastest growing sports,” Kaishian said. “It was kind of a matter of time for me for Yorktown to have it. We have a few girls in the youth program, but I was waiting to capture some momentum. About four or five girls came up to me asking, and that was all I needed. I said, ‘We’re going to do this, but you guys got to get kids on the team.’”
Recently, Kaishian put out a form to gauge interest in the program. He received roughly 20 signatures.
“We’re hoping this event really piques the interest and snowballs the momentum into having one of the first standalone teams in the area,” Kaishian said.
Last year, Keeler was named an all-star by lohud/The Journal News in the 138-pound weight class.
“I was someone who started the program at Putnam Valley my freshman year,” Keeler said. “We were one of the first schools that popped up with a good handful of girls. Specifically, Section 1 is smaller as far as the number of women’s wrestlers compared to other sections in New York.”
For Maroulis, this is all part of her end goal.
“My hope is that by having more female-led camps, that kids, parents, coaches and the community will see that technique has no gender and how valuable it is for both men and women to be in this great sport.
“I hope more women are empowered through wrestling and beneficiaries of the lessons and opportunities it can bring.”
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About Helen Maroulis and Victoria Anthony
Maroulis: 2016 Olympic gold medalist, two-time Olympic bronze medalist, four-time world champion, 11-time Olympic and World medalist, three-time Pan-American champion
Anthony: Two time U.S. World team member, three-time Pan-American champion, two-time junior world champion, four-time national collegiate champion.
The Anthony-Maroulis Trophy is given to the top women's wrestler in college wrestling
About the clinic
What: Helen Maroulis-Victoria Anthony wrestling clinic
Where: Mildred E. Strang Middle School, Yorktown Heights
When: 10:30 a.m., June 20
Program: Check-in, 10 a.m.; Session I, 10:30 a.m; lunch break, 12:30 p.m.; Session II, 1:30 p.m.; Q&A, photos, signings, 3:30 p.m.
Registration: $125, if pre-registered and paid from May 8-31; $150, if pre-registered and paid from June 1-19; $175 if registered day of clinic.
Online registration is available at this link.
For more information: Contact Jimmy Kaishian at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Helen Maroulis, Victoria Anthony to host wrestling clinic in Yorktown