Sophia Voudouris was in seventh grade when she first tried out wrestling. At the time, she was living in Colorado and searching for where she fit. 

She had struggled in other sports, while her twin sister seemed to excel at everything. Once she hit the mat, though, something finally clicked. 

Fast forward a few years, and Voudouris is now living in Lexington County. Her seventh-grade decision followed her cross-country and became the foundation for one of the state’s most prolific programs. 

“I just found it. Wrestling is a really good outlet for me,” she said. “I enjoy that it’s an individual sport, but also a team sport. I just love it.”

Voudouris is from a military family. Her father served, and it had her moving around a lot. They’ve lived in California, Colorado, Georgia, Germany and now South Carolina. 

When she arrived at River Bluff, she was determined to continue wrestling. There was just one problem: the school did not have a girls program. 

So, Voudouris wrestled with the boys. The team welcomed her with open arms, found her matches and helped send her to state qualifiers. 

“I was so nervous at first because I had just moved here. It was new team, new school, new literally everything,” she said.

It was a challenging year, but the people around her made it a bit easier. She was determined to stick with it and decided to get others involved. 

Voudouris, her family and her coaches hatched a plan to establish a girls team at River Bluff. The adults were tasked with getting approval from the administration. She was tasked with the more difficult job: getting enough girls to show up. 

“ It definitely was kind of stressful at first being like, ‘Oh my gosh, nobody's gonna come,’” she said.  “But at the end, I think we ended with like 12 girls, if I'm not mistaken. We did have a lot show up, and that year was really special to me.”

It was a great year for the Gator girls. The team went from unranked at the start and climbed all the way up to No. 2 in the state in the following months. River Bluff sent six girls to the individual state championships, including Voudouris. 

She wrestled well at states, pinning her first two opponents and advancing to the title match. She faced Goose Creek’s Sydney Mitchem and put up a good fight before losing by major decision, 19-10.

“ It's definitely not how I wanted it to end, but I’m looking forward to this year, hoping to get back,” Voudouris said. 

She is on a great track to get back this year. Voudouris is currently the No. 2-ranked wrestler in her weight class and will go to state qualifiers this weekend. 

This season has been a special one for the junior. Not only has the River Bluff program continued to grow and succeed, but Voudouris herself earned her 100th career win. She became the first girl in River Bluff history to achieve that feat. 

“It was definitely really exciting,” she said. “It was really fun to see everyone just as excited as me.” 

Getting to 100 wins takes a lot of work, and Voudouris has 100% bought into that commitment. 

This leaves her with little free time to do other things kids her age do, but for her, it’s worth it. 

“Definitely a commitment, but I’m so happy to make it,” she said. 

When Voudouris has free time, she spends it with her loved ones.

With her family, she skis, bakes and plays different games. Her love for skiing blossomed during her time on the West Coast, and despite the South Carolina weather, she will always love the slopes. 

Baking is a hobby she shares with her mother. Their homemade holiday caramel is full of childhood nostalgia.

Outside her family, Voudouris pursues a variety of friendships with folks living different lives.

“I  find that it’s definitely interesting to get to know different people, get to know their different lives because I love my friends from wrestling, but I also like to get to see other parts of life,” she said. “One of my friends, she's a foreign exchange student, and that's really fun to hear about all her different experiences.” 

Balancing the wrestling and non-wrestling aspects of her life can be a challenge. But that is what it takes to be a top-tier student-athlete. 

After this season, Voudouris has one more year to wrestle at River Bluff. She is hoping that is not the end of her career. 

Voudouris wants to go to college somewhere scenic, with plenty of opportunities for outdoor activities. She isn’t committed to any one career path, but perhaps wrestling remains in her future. Otherwise, working as a special education teacher is one of her interests.

Before having to make any of those decisions, Voudouris is just going to sit back and enjoy her time with the Gator girls. 

“It's so fun just to see all the other girls succeed,” she said. “I just love being a part of the team here.”