Women's Wrestling
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Email:
- er3088@columbia.edu
Emma Randall was named the inaugural head coach of Columbia Women’s Wrestling in June 2026 and will lead the program into its first varsity season in 2027-28. A nationally respected coach, educator and advocate for the growth of women’s wrestling, Randall brings more than a decade of experience developing athletes at the collegiate, national and international levels.
Since 2021, she has served as head coach of the Columbia Women’s Wrestling Club while simultaneously leading the women’s freestyle program for the New York City Regional Training Center (NYCRTC). Under her guidance, Columbia’s club program grew from a startup operation into one of the nation’s premier collegiate women’s wrestling clubs. She helped more than 30 wrestlers gain admission to Columbia and oversaw all aspects of the program, including recruiting, athlete development, fundraising, scheduling and operations.
In addition to her work at Columbia, Randall has directed women’s freestyle programming throughout the New York region for the NYCRTC, managing elite-level training opportunities, domestic and international competition schedules, and partnerships with national teams and coaches. She has also played a key role in growing philanthropic support and career development opportunities for wrestlers while helping establish the foundation for Columbia’s transition to varsity status.
Before arriving in Morningside Heights, Randall served as High School Program Director and Girls Head Coach for Beat the Streets New York City from 2018-21. In that role, she led wrestling, academic enrichment and leadership programming for more than 3,000 student-athletes throughout New York City. She worked closely with schools, families and community partners to expand participation opportunities and create pathways to higher education through wrestling.
Randall previously spent six years with USA Wrestling, serving as Assistant to the Women’s National Program from 2012-14 before being promoted to Women’s Freestyle Wrestling Assistant National Coach from 2014-18. During her tenure, she helped build the developmental pipeline that propelled Team USA women’s wrestling to unprecedented success on the world stage. Randall coached Team USA athletes at Pan American Championships, World Championships and Olympic Games and was a member of the coaching staff at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro when Helen Maroulis became the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in wrestling.
A recognized leader within the sport, Randall is the first woman to earn USA Wrestling’s Gold-Level Coaching Certification and has served as a coach educator for United World Wrestling. She is a founding board member of Wrestle Like A Girl, serves on USA Wrestling’s Women’s Sport Committee, and has held advisory roles with several organizations dedicated to advancing opportunities for women and girls in sport.
Randall founded Evolve Leadership & Performance in 2016, a consulting organization that provides leadership, culture-building and performance development programming for athletes, coaches and organizations around the world. Through her work, she has delivered more than 100 camps, clinics and educational events across the United States and internationally.
Her coaching accomplishments include producing 29 All-Americans, three national champions, multiple national team members and an Olympic Trials qualifier. As a national team coach, she has helped guide athletes to one Olympic gold medal and more than 30 combined World Championship medals across senior, junior and cadet levels. In 2023, Randall was named National Women’s Developmental Coach of the Year.
As an athlete, Randall was a High School All-American, a three-time U.S. Open All-American and a three-time World Team Trials qualifier.
A native of Ohio, Randall earned a bachelor's degree in sport administration from Lock Haven University in 2012 before completing a master's degree in sport science in 2014.
