2024-25 Winter Sports Preview: University’s Libby Roberts eyes fourth state wrestling title, while growing the sport for future girls
When Libby Roberts was 8 years old, she sat in the stands at a wrestling tournament in Oregon to watch her older brother Drew compete.
But cheering on her brother wasn’t the only thing she was focused on that day. She also caught a glance of girls competing on the same mats and decided she wanted to join in.
“I was still coaching college at the time. I came home from a road trip and she told me that she was going to wrestle,” Kevin Roberts, Libby’s father and coach, said. “She told me she had seen girls wrestle the day before at the tournament and she wanted to try it out. It couldn’t have been more than two days later that she was on the mat and hasn’t looked back since.”
Since that day, all Libby has done is dominate nearly every mat she’s been on.
Madison McCord
Now entering her senior year at University High School, Libby has a trio of state titles under her belt and will be looking to make it 4-for-4 at next February’s Mat Classic in Tacoma – a feat only four other girls in state history have accomplished.
“It would mean a lot to me to join that list,” Libby said. “You look back not that long ago at these state champions and you see all boys names, but if I was able to add my name to that list of girls four-timers it would just mean so much to me.”
If Libby is able to climb to the top step of the podium in the Tacoma Dome three months from now, it would only not only put her in the history book, but it would cement an already impressive legacy as one of the great Titans wrestlers.
“She’s arguably one of the best of all time in this program,” Czar Quintanilla, a junior on the U-Hi wrestling team, said. “She’s inspired so many girls to come out and wrestle, especially this year, and so much of that is because of her talent and her ability to lead.”
It’s a legacy she started to build the moment she stepped on the mat.
First period
Libby still remembers her first day of wrestling practice as a third -grader.
“I was the only girl there from what I can remember, and they were playing this game to warm up and I wasn’t playing the game because the guys didn’t want to play with a girl,” Libby said. “So I was just sitting on the side but the coach eventually came over and he’s like, ‘You don’t have to take a backseat to these guys – you can compete with them.’ ”
She held tight to that belief all throughout a successful junior wrestling career where she competed in several local, regional and national tournaments. She then quickly got the chance to show what she could do at the high school level, taking over the 106-pound spot on the boys varsity team as a freshman.
“She was a freshman girl on the boys team and from the very start was outworking most of the other people,” University wrestling coach Ryan Montang said. “She was one of the only freshman in program history that we’ve named a captain and so I think that speaks to how impressive she is and what she means to this program.”
That first season at U-Hi, which included a third-place finish at the Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic in Missoula, was punctuated by a nearly flawless showing at Mat Classic 33 with three pins and a major decision in the 105-pound title tilt for her first state championship.
That first taste of gold turned winning into an obsession for Libby, something she credits to her upbringing.
“It all comes down to the way I was raised,” Libby said. “My brother growing up was really tough, and still is, and that means so much to me. It’s just the way we were raised. My dad taught me to be tough. To always compete no matter if you’re winning or losing – you still compete.”
Her sophomore campaign included another top-four finish at Jug Beck, but also a second-place finish at Tri-State – one of the tougher high school tournaments in the region. Her second Mat Classic title followed shortly thereafter and was done in an even more impressive fashion with four first-round pins again at 105 pounds.
Junior year started with a fourth-place finish in the USA Wrestling Women’s National Championships at the Podium, followed by victories at the Walsh Ironman in Ohio and the Hellgate Girls Invitational in Missoula – all leading up to her third straight Mat Classic title this February with once again four pins in four matches at 105.
“I put a picture of the Tacoma Dome above the door in the wrestling room and every day after practice I jump up and smack it to end the day,” Libby said. “Just to remember what I’m doing this for and what I want to achieve at the end of this road.”
If she is able to end her high school career as a four-time champion, Libby will join a rare and elite list of girls wrestlers in the state. Only Kiona-Benton’s Sheridan McDonald (2008-11), Grandview’s Desiree Zavala (13-16), Puyallup ‘s Jordyn Bartelson (13-16) and Davis’ Cameron Guerin (15-18) have won four state titles.
“She definitely wants to be a four -timer, but it’s not something that has really outwardly talked about with me or around the family,” Kevin Roberts said. “One thing I will say is she has an incredible drive to want to win – to want to be a champion. So I guess in that way we know her goal of winning four, but she knows this is a new year with new challenges and nothing will be given.”
Second period
Family is a word that Libby uses a lot when it comes to wrestling.
Not only does she consider her fellow wrestlers her family, but she carries a last name that has a lot of history behind it.
“Family has been huge for my whole wrestling career,” Libby said. “My dad, I mean he’s one of my biggest supporters – the biggest probably. He’s my dad, my coach; like, he believes in me more than I believe in myself sometimes and I’m so grateful for that. And then my mom and all my siblings are at every match. It doesn’t matter where or when – they’re always there.”
Kevin’s name can be found on the wall of the University wrestling room as a state champion, alongside several of Libby’s uncles and her older brother Drew – who won titles in three different states.
After his wrestling career completed – which included two All-American honors at the University of Oregon, Kevin took to being a collegiate coach with stops at North Idaho College, University of Wyoming, University of Minnesota and Oregon State University.
Now, he is back home in Spokane Valley playing the roles of both dad and coach for Libby.
“Obviously there are a ton of good memories, and it’s been so great getting to watch the effort and commitment that she’s put into this sport,” Kevin said. “She’s tremendously hard working and diligent, and it’s been so rewarding to ride shotgun beside her during this.
“And no matter what, it’s great to see your kids flourish at whatever they do.”
Montang also appreciates the insight Kevin adds to an already experienced staff at University, especially in regards to how he’s helped Libby grow on the mat.
“(Kevin) is a top, top-tier-level coach who can break something down to the finest detail and that’s what she does when you see her wrestle,” Montang said. “She’ll take something she’s done a million times and say ‘It’s not good enough’ and work to make it better.”
Quintanilla added that Kevin’s impact has been felt throughout the whole room and is a big reason why he, like Libby, has won state titles in both his freshman and sophomore seasons.
“Libby has such a good mindset going into any match and knows where to put herself. I have to give some credit to Kevin for that, because that’s something he’s taught me as well,” Quintanilla said. “A lot of his technical mindset and moves translate into Libby’s skill.”
But for all of his experience and knowledge, Kevin said that once he and Libby leave the wrestling room and cross the threshold of home – chalk talk is off limits.
“We don’t talk about wrestling at home,” Kevin said. “It’s not like a hard and fast rule, but at most we might just ask how practice was or she’ll tell me something funny that happened that day – but it’s never a technical or coaching thing.”
Third period
As much as Libby still has left to accomplish in her final season at University, her biggest impact on the program is already starting to show.
Last season the Titans had three girls in the wrestling room. This year there are 15 – a growth Montang gives Libby a lot of credit for.
“Going back to thinking of her as a freshman leader, a lot of it was by example with her hard work and grinding through the really tough practices,” Montang said. “And now she’s grown into such a well-rounded leader where she’s not afraid to say what needs to be said to anyone, or chase a kid down the halls and get them involved in the program – which is why we’ve gone from three or four girls to more than a dozen in a year.”
Libby said one of her goals for this season is to have an entire girls team at U-Hi, mirroring the growth in the sport that has been seen state and nationwide over the past decade. The growth in Washington has been so quick that in 2023 the WIAA split girls wrestling into large- and small-school divisions due to the amount of participants.
Reflecting on her career, Libby says the boom in girls wrestling at the school will be as important to her as any tournament win.
“For me, it’s just doing the sport that I love,” Libby said. “I see that through doing that, I can inspire other girls to want to try this sport and see what makes it great.”
Kevin added that seeing Libby become more of a vocal leader has meant a lot to him, especially as her father.
“Over the past couple years I’ve seen her grow a little more vocal in her leadership,” Kevin said. “Grabbing others and bringing them with her or recruiting other girls. She’s just become a little more outgoing, and that personality change has been so fun to watch.”
Libby Roberts is a far cry from the 8-year-old girl that sat on the sideline of her wrestling practice.
Instead she is just months away from possibly joining the most elite club in high school wrestling. She’s also starting to focus on life after high school, where she will wrestle collegiately and pursue a degree in health sciences – although she has yet to commit to where those ventures will be taking place.
But as she moves toward her final matches, she will be sure to reflect back on the people and the program that have helped her reach this point.
“What makes it so special to me is the community that surrounds me in these colors,” Libby said. “All of my coaches here are amazing. These guys put in so much time for us to help us get better and be the wrestlers that we are. And also it’s a family thing – my dad went here, my brother went here and they wore these colors too.
“They competed in the Tacoma Dome in these colors, so I’m kind of carrying on that tradition of winning state titles for this team.”