{"id":154152,"date":"2025-11-07T08:25:57","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T13:25:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/?p=154152"},"modified":"2025-11-07T08:54:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T13:54:17","slug":"hbcu-womens-wrestlers-become-highway-heroes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hbcugameday.com\/2025\/11\/07\/hbcu-womens-wrestlers-become-highway-heroes\/","title":{"rendered":"HBCU Women\u2019s Wrestlers Become Highway Heroes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An interesting start to the HBCU wrestling season. The\u00a0Delaware State University women\u2019s wrestling team\u2019s\u00a0inaugural season<\/a> already has its most unforgettable moment. And it didn\u2019t happen on the mat. In the early morning hours of November 3, the Lady Hornets became real-life heroes when they stopped to rescue a woman stranded in a disabled vehicle on Interstate 95.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HBCU Athletes Answer the Call<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Returning from their first-ever competition at the East Stroudsburg University Open <\/a>in Pennsylvania around 2 a.m. Most of the 13 Delaware State wrestlers and Head Coach Kenya \u201cChris\u201d Sloan<\/a> were asleep in their 15-passenger van when Assistant Coach Brock Budesheim spotted a BMW stopped sideways across two lanes near the Del. 1 exit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While countless motorists passed by, Budesheim made the split-second decision to stop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were all asleep, and Brock could have gone past the disabled car like everyone else,\u201d Coach Sloan was quoted on the Delaware State University Website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delaware State Wrestlers Provide Critical Care<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The vehicle\u2019s front end and rear window were smashed after the driver apparently fell asleep at the wheel while driving home to Delaware from a New York City airport. Her car struck the median and spun across the highway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a0HBCU wrestling team\u00a0sprang into action immediately. Athletic Trainer Roger Pfister, who also serves as a volunteer firefighter, joined the coaches in assessing the situation while the Delaware State wrestlers provided comfort and care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Team Captain Sumayyah Kemp and Coach Sloan stayed with the woman, keeping her warm and calm until emergency services arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf someone had hit her car while she was in it, I don\u2019t think she would have survived,\u201d Coach Sloan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Divine Timing for Delaware State\u2019s HBCU Heroes<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The coaches believe providence played a role in their life-saving intervention. A 15-hour tournament and a failed food order forced a late-night Wawa stop. Putting them at that exact stretch of I-95 at the perfect time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Had dinner been delivered as planned, the\u00a0Delaware State HBCU team\u00a0would have already passed the crash site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause of that, a young woman got to go home,\u201d Coach Sloan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historic Season for Delaware State Women\u2019s Wrestling<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

The heroic rescue caps a historic moment for\u00a0HBCU athletics. Delaware State became the first historically Black college or university to launch a Division I women\u2019s wrestling program, supported by a $1.25 million gift from the HBCU Wrestling Initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lady Hornets are now competing in their inaugural 2024-25 season, making history both on and off the mat. Their performance at East Stroudsburg produced two medalists, but their most meaningful win came on a darkened stretch of I-95 where courage and compassion defined what it means to represent\u00a0Delaware State University.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Delaware State women\u2019s wrestling team made history off the mat\u2014saving a woman\u2019s life on I-95 after their first-ever tournament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":154154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_ml_titleColor":"#000000","_ml_titleFont":"Roboto","_ml_titleFontSize":1.136,"_ml_titleFontWeight":"400","_ml_titleLineHeight":1.3,"_ml_metaColor":"#708090","_ml_metaFont":"Montserrat","_ml_metaFontSize":0.6785,"_ml_metaFontWeight":"400","_ml_metaLineHeight":0.92,"_ml_bodyColor":"#a9a9a9","_ml_bodyFont":"Open Sans","_ml_bodyFontSize":0.85,"_ml_bodyFontWeight":"400","_ml_bodyLineHeight":1.2,"_ml_wooPriceColor":"#666","_ml_wooPriceFont":"Open 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