You know you’ve achieved elite status in sports when people recognize you simply by your first name.

In the world of local high school wrestling, toss out the name Annie and everyone immediately thinks of Annie Staulo.

Annie, the daughter of Newton North Hall of Fame wrestling coach John Staulo, has never wrestled or coached, but her legacy is felt statewide as an ambassador and representative of the sport. She wears many hats and loves being a part of the wrestling community.

“I really think Annie is a trailblazer in our sport,” said Melrose coach Larry Tremblay, who has spent more than four decades coaching. “She does so many things for wrestling, she runs committees, she helps out whenever it’s needed and she’s earned the utmost respect of all the coaches in the sport throughout New England.”

Annie got her indoctrination to the sport at the age of 2, tagging along with her father to practices and meets. She fell in love with wrestling for a variety of reasons.

“So many of the coaches and wrestlers became my role models early on,” Staulo said. “So many of the wrestlers at Newton North have their journey and I felt like I learned something different from each and every one of them.”

A two-sport athlete at Newton North, wrestling filled a void in the winter for Staulo. As she got older, she began picking up different duties, among them team manager and official scorekeeper.

“Annie really did a lot of things for us,” John Staulo said. “I remember when she became the official scorer, she was so good at it that she would only use pens to score the matches.”

When Staulo was ready to graduate from high school, one of her top college destinations was UMass-Dartmouth. One of the school’s requirements during the application process was a short essay. Annie wrote about wrestling and the significance it had on her life.

While she downplays the essay, her father is quick to beam with pride about it.

“Annie really wanted to get into the nursing program at UMass-Dartmouth,” Staulo said. “My wife (Dolly) talked to an administrator there about the essay and she said she knows nothing about the sport but Annie’s essay was one of the best ones she’s ever read.”

In recent years, Staulo has become more involved with committees such as the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. Her work has not gone unnoticed.

“Annie has been around for a long time and has done a lot of things for the sport,” said Burlington coach Paul Shvartsman, who serves on the MIAA Wrestling Committee. “She’s always willing to help to make wrestling a better sport.”

Annie Staulo chuckles when asked how many hours of her free time is dedicated to wrestling.

“Why wouldn’t I want to give back to a sport that has given me so much,” said Staulo, who was awarded the prestigious Assistant Coach of the Year award in 2016 primarily for her behind-the-scenes contributions. “Many of the coaches have truly been my role models and I’ve seen so much of what they’ve done for so many people.”

Another one of those roles is helping the old-school coaches use computer technology in wrestling. She’s received many calls from coaches asking her to take them through the process, one of them being her father.

“With all this computer stuff, if it wasn’t for Annie, I would have probably quit years ago,” John Staulo said with a laugh. “Annie has really had a great impact on the wrestling community and I’m very proud of her.”

Short takes

Spurred by the memory of a fallen teammate, the Saugus/Peabody wrestling team has turned in a storybook season. They won the Northeastern Conference as well as the Cape Ann League/Northeastern Conference title.

The team dedicated the season to Freddy Espinal who passed away in September after suffering what was described as a medical emergency at a club practice.

At the CAL/NEC meet, Saugus/Peabody scored 204.5 points, outdistancing runner-ups Beverly and Lynnfield/North Reading, both whom tallied 164 points. Max LoRusso (144 pounds) and Antonio Anzalone (285) won titles, while Jackson Deleidi (120) and Justin Bremberg (157) finished second.

Also at the CAL/NEC tournament, Triton’s Riley-Anne Tarmey placed second at 106 pounds, earning all-league honors in the process. According to Triton wrestling, she is the second female in history to earn CAL All-League honors.

It was a memorable tourney for Gloucester’s Joe Allen, who picked up his third CAL/NEC individual title.

Arlington wrapped its seventh straight Middlesex Liberty title with a 36-30 win over Woburn. … St. John’s (Shrewsbury) star Teddy Cardarelli picked up his 100th career win last week. Also cracking triple digits in career victories was Silver Lake’s Robby Lewis. … Elijah Prophete became the second Taunton wrestler to achieve both 100 wins and 100 pins.