Why wrestler Evelyn Krauss is COHSSA Courage Award honoree for 2026

Whether she is competing on the wrestling mat or dealing with everyday challenges, Evelyn Krauss epitomizes courage and determination.

Diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in December 2021, Krauss became one of the top competitors for the Delaware Hayes girls wrestling team. The recent graduate closed her prep career in March at the state tournament, going 1-2 at 170 pounds to finish 42-8 for the season and 114-45 for her career.

Krauss, who received the annual Courage Award at the Central Ohio High School Sports Awards on June 22 at Upper Arlington High School, has been front and center in girls wrestling’s growth at Delaware and in the Columbus area.

“It is really exciting to me,” she said. “I’ve wrestled for a long time, more or less since first grade. I’m not a fan of big, crowded places with lots of noise, but when it comes from getting more crowded because there’s more people in the stands, because there’s more girls on the mat, it’s perfect. I might not like the sound and the crowd, but it’s so rewarding as an athlete being able to see that there’s hundreds of girls at a tournament.”

Krauss was introduced to wrestling in first grade with the Little Pacers Youth Wrestling Club, but she took a break from the sport in fourth grade. When the girls program was formed at Delaware in 2020, Krauss decided to resume wrestling while in seventh grade at Dempsey Middle School.

A three-time state qualifier who will wrestle at John Carroll, Krauss holds the Delaware program records for career wins and pins (101).

“It really means the world to me, especially as someone who is a founder of the program,” Krauss said of the program records. “I was one of the first girls to wrestle in the youth program, and I was in the founding class of the middle school girls program and one of the first girls to come all the way through the middle school and into the high school program.

“That was really exciting just to watch the sport grow. It’s really cool from the perspective of knowing these records are going to last a year or two. It’s so rewarding.”

The daughter of Daniel and Carissa Krauss, Evelyn displayed characteristics associated with autism spectrum disorder while growing up but was not diagnosed until late 2021. Those characteristics included having difficulty socializing with peers and emotional extremes, according to Carissa.

Sometimes, she needs to take breaks during wrestling tournaments for some time alone.

“It’s not the end of the world,” Krauss said. “I have resources. I have people who can help me and I have new strategies to helping myself. It’s a huge thing in my life, but in a good way.”

Her accomplishments have more than impressed Delaware wrestling co-coaches Josh Lamb and Kevin Rieman.

“Wrestling was a big benefit to her,” Lamb said. “She’s going to go to college and she sees enough value in it that she’s choosing to wrestle in college, because I think she knows that it helps keep her centered and it’s going to give her the best chance to be successful as she moved forward. It’s pretty great that this sport helped her and she helped the sport. Delaware is super proud of her.”

Said Rieman: “I knew [the potential] was there. I don’t want to say that I saw it coming, but I knew there was a chance. The wrestling accolades speak for themselves, but just the personal stuff is what makes us most proud.”

Krauss also is a founding member of Scouting America Troop 7844 in Lewis Center. She achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in October 2025.

High school sports reporter Frank DiRenna can be reached at fdirenna@dispatch.com and at @DispatchFrank on X.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Get to know Delaware’s Evelyn Krauss, 2026 Courage Award recipient