Family, Legacy, and the Mat: Amelia Fawcett’s Journey Forward

A girls All-American wrestler, Fawcett is driven towards greatness by the memories of motivational women who helped shape her life

Amelia Fawcett holds her first big stop sign in Des Moines Iowa after winning the 155-pound weight class at the Junior Folkstyle National Championships. / Amelia Fawcett

Three 8x10 photos were on display atop a table in Palmer, Alaska on Tuesday, April 15.

Behind the table, sitting on a chair was four-time All-American wrestler, Amelia Fawcett.

“(They) are three very strong women who passed away, and aren’t able to be with me physically, but they are here with me, and I felt (their presence)” she said.

Fawcett is an 18-year-old Alaska Native from Wasilla, Alaska.

About 30 of her friends, family, coaches, current and former teammates surrounded Fawcett at the Pioneer Grappling Academy, where Fawcett trained for so many years.

It was a ceremony, a potlatch of sorts. Fawcett was officially signing to wrestle at Life University in Marietta, Georgia.

One of the pictures on the signing table was of Fawcett with her Tlingit great-grandmother, Roberta Amelia Fawcett, who passed away in December 2020. Her great-grandmother was from the Eagle Wolf Clan or Kaagwaantaan. “The photo of me and my great grandma was us playing Rummy, which was our favorite thing to do together,” Fawcett said.

Roberta Amelia Fawcett, the namesake and great grandmother of Amelia Fawcett, plays Rummy with young Amelia. Her memory is a source of great motivation in her great granddaughter's wrestling career. / Amelia Fawcett

Fawcett got her name from her great-grandmother and playing Rummy was a tradition for the pair to play on Thanksgiving. Fawcett said it was during these moments her great-grandmother would carry on the Tlingit and Haida oral traditions for preserving history, knowledge, and cultural values.

Another picture was with her big sister and Auntie Carolyn in Seattle Washington. “It was the first time I went out of state,” Fawcett said. “Carolyn was my mom’s big sister. She passed away in August 2024.”

And then there’s the picture of her and Maria Cramer who died of breast cancer in February 2024. Cramer was one of Fawcett’s club coaches and the wife of Vince Cramer, head coach and owner of the Pioneer Grappling Academy. When Fawcett first started wrestling, she was the only girl in the club and Cramer would watch over Fawcett like a surrogate.

Cramer wanted the girls to have their own practice room. She had her husband build an extension at the Pioneer Grappling Academy. “It’s a one mat room and that’s what we call the Cave,” Fawcett said. “It's where we hold our women's practices, and it was, is really awesome having her do that for us. And, it also meant a lot to do it in there, not only because it is the women's wrestling room, but because Miss Maria Made it specifically for us.”

Amelia Fawcett with Maria Cramer after taking first place in the regional tournament in Alaska. / The Fawcett Family

It is in the Cave where Fawcett committed the next four years to Life University.

“She’s such an amazing person,” said Ashley Flavin, women’s head wrestling coach. “I think she’s going to be capable of such great things.”

Life University is home to the Running Eagles. But it’s not just a playful and amusing mascot, the name has indigenous roots. According to the school’s website and the U.S. National Park Service, Brown Weasel Woman – born into the Piegan Blackfeet Tribe – was known for her fierce devotion to family and community. She joined buffalo hunts, once saving her father’s life during an enemy raid. After he was killed and her mother fell ill, she became her family’s primary caretaker, later sharing the burden with a widow so she could return to hunting.

In one account, when a rival tribe stole the Blackfoot’s horses, Brown Weasel Woman insisted on joining the war party to retrieve them. Told to stay behind, she refused, declaring she’d go alone if needed. The group relented, and together they recovered the herd. That night, she stood guard and thwarted an attempt by Crow warriors to steal the horses again—reportedly killing one or both intruders and saving the herd.

Her courage and skill earned her the name Pi'tamaka, or “Running Eagle”—a title symbolizing someone who rises beyond ordinary limits.

“It’s a great backstory,” said Fawcett’s father and coach Andrew Fawcett. “And I was just like, wow, that’s almost meant to be. It’s a really good choice,” he said.

Making the decision to uproot and move more than 4,200 miles away wasn’t easy.

“There’s some anxiety,” Fawcett’s father said. “Sadly, my little girl’s moving away. That’s always going to be an unsteady feeling, but I know she’s chasing her dream. So that makes me happy,” he said.

Alaska Native culture places immense value on community and family, viewing them as interconnected and vital for individual and collective well-being.

But Flavin has built a community, centered on a diverse team. “It’s really important to us that we continue to get athletes from all different walks of life and backgrounds,” Flavin said. “I think it enriches the lives of everyone around us and helps us understand people better.”

The women’s wrestling team is coming off the heels of winning the NAIA National Championships for the first time. Flavin describes the team as a patchwork quilt. “When you look at all of the pieces just spread out,” she said, “if you look at all these different people, you think, how does that fit together? But when we put them together, it makes this beautiful quilt.”

The Fawcett family poses for photos after 18-year-old Amelia Fawcett signed her letter of intent to wrestle for Life University. / Kameamakamae Ostermiller

Fawcett received a partial scholarship. She plans to major in business.

“I feel relaxed now,” Fawcett said after the decision, “now that I know where I’m going.”

Fawcett decorated the Cave with green and black balloons – the school colors.

“The Cave is a special place at our club gym,” Fawcett’s father said. “It was built just for the girls. We joke around and say, it’s the room that Amelia built.”

After the signing, Fawcett was emotional after reflecting on Cramer’s impact and what she would say about it all. “Miss Maria would tell me how proud she is and how amazing I’ve done… and how much I’ve accomplished as a wrestler and as a person.”

Fawcett will travel to Las Vegas to compete in the U.S. Open Championships from April 23 – 27. Last month, Fawcett took first place at Folskstyle National Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

The win was also the first stage in the journey to the Triple Crown for Fawcett.

According to USA Wrestling, the Triple Crown is awarded to a wrestler who wins three USA Wrestling age-group national events in the same season.

Initially, it was for boys and has recently expanded to all of the age groups for girls as well. For boys, the events are the Folkstyle Nationals, the Freestyle Nationals and the Greco-Roman Nationals.

Girls do not have a national Greco-Roman event at the age-group level, so they use a slightly different criterion.

Fawcett placed fourth in the Under 20 Division and sixth place in the Under 23 Division at Women’s National Team Trials earlier this month. Although, she came up short, she still has a chance if she wins the Recruiting Showcase in Las Vegas and the third leg would be the Junior Nationals in Fargo in July.

“Amelia doesn’t really sweat these awards,” Fawcett’s father said. “She thinks they’re cool, but it’s why she excels. She doesn’t chase glory. She kind of wrestles for herself.”

Fawcett was unfazed by the attention after the signing. “Everyone there was a loved one, so it wasn’t awkward,” she said. “I’ve never been to a signing party. I think mine was pretty awesome.”

Everyone was included, Fawcett said. Everyone mattered in her community.

They cleaned up after taking pictures. She had practice, some last-minute details to polish. There will be more ceremonies in her future.