When coach Billy Landry arrived at Enterprise High School in Enterprise, Alabama, in the summer of 2021, he was there to primarily teach and coach football. He had played football and loved the sport, but he was also drawn to coaching another sport: girls wrestling.
Landry had moved to Alabama from New Jersey, where he also coached girls wrestling. Upon arriving at Enterprise, one of the first things he noticed was that wrestling was still catching on across the state.
“When I got here, wrestling in Alabama was not quite as popular as it was in Jersey,” Landry said. “But there was a wrestling club I had heard about, and I was told that there was an eighth-grade girl that wrestled with this group, and that she wrestled against only boys, and she was very good,” Landry said. “Even though I was only involved with coaching football at the time, I was intrigued to meet this girl that everyone was talking about.”
The eighth-grade female wrestler was Evelyn Holmes-Smith, who is currently a junior at Enterprise High School.
Landry was impressed with Holmes-Smith – and not just with her wrestling skills.
“Evelyn was a ball of sunshine, and her character was just incredible,” he said of his first time meeting her. Then he saw her wrestle.
“Having coached girls wrestling before, I knew she was special, even then as an eighth-grader,” Landry said.
Holmes-Smith said that she began wrestling as a sixth-grader after she saw a flier at school.
“When I was in the sixth grade, we had Wednesday folders that were filled with grades and news, and in this folder one day there was a flier for a wrestling club, and I told my mom that I wanted to try it,” she said.
She said she remembers the first wrestling move she tried and knew right away this was a sport for her.
“I went to the wrestling club with another girl, and I remember just tackling her, getting up, and looking over at my mom saying, ‘I love this!’” she said. “The rest is history.”
She began wrestling against just boys in the eighth grade in the 105-pound weight class. She finished her eighth-grade wrestling season with 29 wins and four losses. Those four losses were against boys, but Holmes-Smith still won the boys wrestling state championship in her weight class.
According to Landry, the next season – Holmes-Smith’s freshman year of high school – she again wrestled against boys and started off with an 11-0 record. But as the boys got bigger and the weight class she wrestled in grew to 116 pounds, things got a bit tougher.
“Evelyn would lose against a boy at the 116-pound class, and that caused her to lose her starting position and not make the sectional or state tournament with the boys that year,” Landry said.
But that would be the last time Holmes-Smith lost a wrestling match to date.
She rebounded and went on to wrestle against the girls, once again winning the state in her weight class.
Then, according to Landry, last season wrestlers had to declare whether they would wrestle in the boys or girls class, and Holmes-Smith chose to wrestle against girls.
She has dominated ever since.
Holmes-Smith finished 35-0 her sophomore season and then 36-0 her junior season, which she just wrapped up by winning her fourth straight wrestling state championship. She now has an overall record of 111 wins against just four losses, with those losses coming against boys.
Evelyn Holmes-Smith has never lost to a girl in the state of Alabama. Ever.
In addition to her stellar performance in her Alabama high school career, Holmes-Smith has enjoyed quite a bit of success at the national level too.
According to Landry, Holmes-Smith has achieved All-American status in several prestigious, national wrestling events.
“Evelyn is a two-time Fargo All-American and is a two-time NHSCA (National High School Coaches Association) All-American,” Landry said. “She is actually a three-time Girls Folkstyle National All-American as well.”
Holmes-Smith said the Fargo achievements rank among her greatest memories.
“Of all the great things that have happened in my wrestling career, my favorite achievements would have to be placing at Fargo, the high school nationals, and of course being a four-time state champion for high school,” Holmes-Smith said.
She just competed in the first annual Huntingdon College Red Lady Open Freestyle Tournament and, to no one’s surprise, took home the championship, wrestling in the 123-pound weight class.
In addition to her wrestling skills, Holmes-Smith also plays varsity soccer and trains in jiu-jitsu during the summer. According to Landry, Holmes-Smith wants to play flag football before she graduates, but Enterprise High School doesn’t yet have a team.
Holmes-Smith said she is blown away by her success.
“I wouldn’t believe I was capable of doing things when I first started out, but God’s plans for me were better for me than I could have ever imagined, and I am excited to see what my future holds,” she said.
Speaking of her future, Holmes-Smith said she just wants to enjoy high school and take her time in deciding which college will be right for what she wants to study, which for now is theology.
“Evelyn wants to major in theology and wants to become a pastor, so she wants to make sure that whichever college she attends will be one that has solid morals and ethics and has a solid theology program,” Landry said.
Landry’s first full season as the girls wrestling head coach at Enterprise ended on a high note. While Holmes-Smith won her fourth straight state title, the team overall took home third place in the state championships, with a total of four wrestlers winning a state title.
Holmes-Smith will now look to next season, her senior year, and attempt to finish out her high school wrestling career undefeated and as a five-time state champion.
