Demitras introduced as Big Red girls wrestling coach
Steubenville alum looks to continue success in the nation\'s fastest growing sport
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STEUBENVILLE -- Girls wrestling is the fastest growing high school sport in the United States. Alijah Demitras is excited to help it grow at his alma mater.
Big Red officially introduced Demitras, a Big Red alum who has coached wrestling and football as an assistant, as the girls wrestling programs' head coach on Thursday.
"I'm very excited," Demitras said. "It's a big opportunity for me. I've helped out with the boys for a few years and the girls the past couple years and now to be their head coach is really an honor and a privilege.
"I grew up in Steubenville, went to Big Red and it's been a part of my life for a long time. To get to be a head coach here now is really special. I can't thank the board and our administrators and everyone that supports me enough."
He takes over a program that is already among the most successful locally, led by three-time state champion Talea Guntrum and a host of returning athletes.
Demitras said the program currently has about 15 wrestlers in it, with a mix of returning wrestlers and some moving up from the junior high program, and is hoping to add more to the line up prior to the start of the season this winter.
"It's a program that is already very successful and it's an honor to be the one to get to build on it and continue that," Demitras said. "I hope to use the young potential, use the young athletes we have and harness the leadership we have in the room and have more success at the state level.
"I think we're going to have a good group of girls that are going to work very hard. We have some exciting returning seniors, Talea included, and some new girls coming in. I'm excited to hit the ground running with them."
Demitras assisted in coaching the girls program the past couple of seasons and has familiarity with the wrestlers in it, something he thinks will make the transition smooth.
He was formally introduced to and gave a brief address to his team on Thursday, stressing the potential he sees in them and laying out his vision for the program.
Mike Blackburn, a veteran coach who has been the boys and girls head coach in past seasons, will be a special assistant to Demitras this upcoming season.
Working with the experienced wrestling staff at Big Red is also something Demitras is looking forward to.
"(Boys coach) Lucas Huffman is a great coach, Mike Blackburn has been around a long time and is a great coach," Demitras said. "There's a lot of experience in the wrestling room here and I'm really excited to work with all of them and learn from them and hit the ground running."
Big Red added the girls program in the 2020-21 season, prior to the OHSAA starting to sanction the sport in 2022-23. The Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association held state tournaments starting in 2020 prior to the sport becoming fully sanctioned by the OHSAA. The girls championships have been part of the state tournament at Ohio State University's Schottenstein Center since 2023. Women's wrestling is also now sanctioned by the NCAA at the college level.
"Girls wrestling has not always been around, there were always some that wrestled with the boys, but the last few years its really taken off as a girls sport and I'm really happy to see it and get to be a part of it," Demitras said. “I’m excited to get to work.”