Haley Augello at a press conference before the Olympic Games (Photo/Tony Rotundo, WrestlersAreWarriors.com)BRISTOL, Tenn. -- King University women's wrestler Haley Augello had a memorable 2016, and she will add another award to her mantle this summer. The Olympian was selected as the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame's Amateur Female Athlete of the Year.
Augello and the three other honorees will be recognized at the 51st Induction Banquet on Saturday, June 3 at the Omni Nashville. The other honorees are Justin Gatlin, Professional Male Athlete of the Year, Christian Coleman, Amateur Male Athlete of the Year and the Rhodes College women's golf team as the Amateur Team of the Year.
Augello became the first King athlete to compete for the United States at any Olympic games when she competed in women's wrestling at the 2016 Olympics in Rio. At the event, Augello went 1-2, winning her first match 7-0 over 2015 World bronze medalist Jessica Blaszka of Netherlands before falling to eventual gold medalist and three-time World Champion Eri Tosaka of Japan. Augello then had a chance to comeback and wrestle for bronze, but fell to two-time World bronze medalist Zhuldyz Eshimova of Kazakhstan 3-2.
Following the Olympics, Augello returned to campus and went 9-1 on the season with six wins by technical fall. Her only loss came two weight classes higher than her regular 116-pound weight class. She helped King win their fourth straight National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Duals title and fourth straight Women's Collegiate Wrestling Association (WCWA) national championship. In the process, Augello won her third WCWA national title in three tries.
In conjunction with the honoree class, the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame will be inducting 10 members into the Hall of Fame.
The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame's goal is to enshrine successful teams and individuals who display sportsmanship, good character and success by creating a legacy for others to follow. The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame is housed inside the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville and is celebrating 50 years of Tennessee Sports history (1966-2016).
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