Lovett Star Wrestler Kaufmann Headed to West Point

Elle Kaufmann, Georgia’s first-ever four-time female wrestling state champion and one of the greatest athletes to ever grace Lovett High, is now eyeing her next exhilarating adventure: the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. The soon-to-be graduating senior from Lovett last week accepted a formal offer from the prestigious institution, which will likely secure her spot on the Army women’s club wrestling team.

Though Kaufmann had options for wrestling at the varsity level for multiple Division I programs (Army does not have a women’s varsity wrestling team), the opportunity to enroll at West Point as a pathway to serving her country one day was too enticing to pass up.

“My focus has always been West Point,” shared Kaufmann, who was also featured in the AJT last year after she secured her then-third straight state wrestling title. “I’ve always kind of been indoctrinated in the military life, especially growing up in a time when the U.S. was actively in a war. A lot of my coaches and a lot of my mentors are actually veterans. I’ve always idolized them because they’re the people who taught me how to be what I am today.”

At times, it may be difficult for Kaufmann, as one of the country’s most accomplished high school wrestlers, to not compete at the highest level possible. But despite her inimitable devotion to the mat in her Lovett career — as an upperclassman over the past couple winters she reeled off victories while battling a series of illnesses and injuries — the prospect of being a West Point cadet took precedence over everything else the moment she toured the school’s sprawling emerald Hudson Valley campus.

“The goal has never been for me to wrestle in college, although I would love to wrestle in college. The goal has always been to get the best education I can and see what comes afterwards,” said Kaufmann, who intends to study law at West Point. “Wrestling, unfortunately, can’t be my life forever.”

Military service is a popular destination for amateur wrestlers. The sport requires relentless sacrifice, tremendous willpower, and unswerving consistency — all requisites for a successful military career.

“I think combat sports in general have a lot of parallels to the military, because of just how that lifestyle is,” added Kaufmann, who by her estimation would spend 12 hours wrestling and studying every day during the season. “It’s not easy. The amount of discipline you have to have to be in the military — somewhat of the same amount is required for any given combat sport. Wrestling, especially I think, you get some of the most disciplined and hardest-working people. Which is why so many wrestlers go into the military life.

“Wrestling is one of these weird sports where it can be both an individual sport and a team sport. When you’re on the mat, you know that whatever happens, win or lose, it’s all on you. [In military life] you have to be on top of everything and you know that if something goes wrong, it’s on you as much as it is on everybody else. It’s frankly mostly on you.

“When you’re wrestling on the mat, you’re not just representing yourself. You’re representing your coaches. You’re representing everybody who’s pushed you to this moment so that you can succeed. For me, when I go out on the mat during the high school season, I’m representing the Lovett team. That’s why it’s a team sport.”

Looking ahead, the Army women’s club wrestling team will surely present imposing challenges. Kaufmann will practice and compete against other elite and seasoned wrestlers who are in out-of-this-world physical shape. And then, there’s the time commitment. No stranger to a jampacked day spent exclusively on the mat and in the classroom, Kaufmann is bracing for juggling a rigorous academic courseload with not just wrestling commitments but everything else the academy requires of its cadets. Meanwhile, there could be wrestling beyond her undergrad years at West Point: Should Kaufmann join the military after graduation, she could wrestle for the U.S. military in the World Class Athlete Program (WCAP), which allows soldier-athletes to perform on the global stage — some even advance to the Olympics — while concurrently serving their nation in the military.

When you’re wrestling on the mat, you’re not just representing yourself. You’re representing your coaches. You’re representing everybody who’s pushed you to this moment so that you can succeed. For me, when I go out on the mat during the high school season, I’m representing the Lovett team. That’s why it’s a team sport.

But wherever her wrestling journey takes her — for starters, in New York’s bucolic Hudson Valley and perhaps beyond — Kaufmann was truly a trailblazer for women’s wrestling throughout Georgia as her remarkable legacy promises to inspire generations of female athletes who want to push boundaries in the arena. And from a personal perspective, the past several winters will forever represent a formative influence on her life.

“Nothing will ever compare to that first state title, being a freshman coming on the scene with nobody really knowing who I was. It felt a lot different. Now it’s more melancholy, just thinking about all the seasons I’ve gone through, all the teammates that I’ve had, and all the previous seniors that I’ve looked up to for all these years. Now, I am one and it just kind of feels weird that it’s coming to an end.”

As for the next chapter of her life and wrestling career, one that will unfold at West Point, Kaufmann says simply but firmly, “I think I’ll love it there.”