In 2021, when Tayleigh Robertson was a junior at Cyprus High School, she competed in her first ever wrestling match. The next day she medaled at a drill competition with the Spinnakers. She can now call her herself a wrestling national champion.

Robertson is now a member of the Utah Tech Trailblazers Womens’ Wrestling team. She has come a long way including winning a national championship in the 170-pound weight class.

“I was so excited,” Robertson said. At the conclusion of her championship match she jumped into the arms of her coach, celebrating the long road she has taken to get to that point.

In her first season at Cyprus girls wrestling had just become a UHSAA sanctioned sport. She thought she would try it out. She is now a competitive college wrestler. 

“I had danced most of my life. Wrestling is completely different. I had some friends doing it so I thought I would give it a try,” Robertson said after her first competitive match.

At Utah Tech she had a successful season. She finished with 24 wins and only nine losses. Most impressively she closed the year with one loss in her final 13 matches. It has been difficult to get to where she is now with the Trailblazers.

“It has been fun,” her father Kyle Robertson said. “One year with Cyprus, one with Copper Hills, one with Snow College, two shoulder surgeries in the offseason and now one season with Utah Tech. It has been quite a ride.”

The road to the national finals was not much easier. 

On March 2 she wrestled against Ebony Cortez from Ottawa University Arizona at the West Coast Conference finals. She had lost to Cortez by pin earlier in the season. This time Robertson turned the tables and won the match with a 5-2 decision. The win qualified her for the National Collegiate Wrestling Championships held in Shreveport, Louisiana March 15-17.

Robertson came into the tournament ranked sixth the 170-pound weight class. Not a long shot to win, but not the favorite.

At the NCWC Robertson advanced in the first round by forfeit and the second round she won a 5-1 decision over Cortez. Her semifinals opponent, Maile Ka-ahanui from Liberty University,  had finished fourth and third at the same championships the past two years. Robertson pinned her at the 4:21 mark of the match to advance to the finals. 

“I knew it was not going to be easy,” Robertson said.

Robertson finals match was against Petra Bernsten, a junior from Washington State. She pinned her within the first 42 seconds to become a national champion.

 In her wrestling career Robertson has been on teams that have had success. 

Her senior season at Copper Hills she placed second at state in the 170-pound weight class. Her Copper Hills teammate Anya Hatch placed first. 

“I have put in lots of hard work to get here,” Robertson said.

In 2020, the first year of sanctioned girls wresting in Utah, team numbers suffered because of the pandemic. The following years the sport has seen more growth than expected. In 2024, Cyprus finish 12th overall and Hunter 13th. Robertson was part of the Copper Hills team in 2022 that finished second at state. Copper Hills won the state title this year. λ