Web Threads: Grace Wiggins
9/17/2026
By Bridgette Robles, Assistant Director of Athletics Public Relations
Web Threads are in-depth, behind-the-scenes stories from those at the heart of Richmond Athletics: student-athletes, staff members, loyal supporters, and more. Web Threads gives a glimpse into the ambitions, motivations, and sacrifices of the individuals who allow Richmond to excel at the highest levels of intercollegiate athletics and academics as well as the philanthropy that supports them every step of the way. Welcome to our web.
Heading into the summer prior to her junior season with the University of Richmond field hockey team, Grace Wiggins had a different type of workout plan in front of her when the team reported for preseason in early August.
Wiggins, after following a physical therapy plan to get back in action after some lingering injuries during her sophomore year, found herself in ROTC training at Fort Knox in Kentucky for four weeks, with just a handful of days to get ready to head back to field hockey practice at Crenshaw Field. While student-athletes across the country enjoyed their final days of summer at the beach, in the mountains, or lounging poolside, Wiggins spent her time in training with future members of the American military.
Like many Spiders, Wiggins is much more than a Division I athlete. At Richmond, her development has extended beyond athletics to academic scholarship, leadership, and preparation for life beyond college. This type of holistic growth is the ethos behind Spider Performance (SP4), Richmond Athletics’ comprehensive approach to student-athlete development.
For Wiggins, progress in one area has led to progress in another. Lessons learned through field hockey influence how she approaches ROTC, and leadership skills developed through ROTC show up at Crenshaw Field. Additionally, experiences through SP4 have given her opportunities to understand the type of leader she wants to become.
In multiple seasons as a midfielder for the field hockey program, Wiggins has started in 41 games. A quiet and calm presence that leads by example, the Milton, Delaware, native has helped the squad to a 24-17 record (.588 winning percentage), a regular season Atlantic title in 2025, and back-to-back A10 Championship appearances.
As a midfielder, Wiggins’ role is multifaceted, not unlike her evolution at Richmond. She’s a distributor, a scorer, and a disruptor, all while having the presence and field hockey IQ to know what she needs to do at any given second of the game.
Wiggins tallied her first collegiate points on two assists against William & Mary in 2024. She collected her first collegiate goals that season against Davidson – one to start the Spiders scoring, and the other a game-winner in overtime to give UR a win over a conference foe.
She’s also an integral part of the defensive penalty corner unit, often serving as the flyer, the individual wearing a protective face mask and gloves while running straight at the ball that is coming into the scoring circle hard and fast.
“In my first two seasons, I don’t think I could’ve asked for a better experience,” Wiggins said. “I didn’t know what to expect as a freshman and everyone was starting from page one with (head coach) Martu (Loncarica). I was going to have to give my all and see how it goes.”
“We had to overcome some challenges and it’s never ideal to lose to Saint Joseph’s [in the A10 tournament], but then last year we beat them [in the regular season],” she said. “It just goes to show all the effort that Martu is putting into the team. She gave us her all and we had to give her our all.”
In 2025, a whole different team showed up at the start of Wiggins’ sophomore year and Coach Loncarica’s second season.
“It was amazing to see how we came together,” Wiggins said. “We might’ve hit some goals early, but I think we are just reaching goals that we didn’t even know we could set for ourselves.”
Double-digit wins in back-to-back seasons (for the first time in a decade), 10-3 in Atlantic 10 play the last two years, a share of the 2025 regular season title, and UR’s first conference championship since 2015 are only a foundation. Wiggins, like the Richmond program, is still growing.
A ‘Shooting Stars’ field hockey summer tournament first put UR on Wiggins’ radar as a youth player. When she came for a visit during her recruiting process, she was impressed. She even compared UR to Hogwarts from the beloved Harry Potter book and film series.
“I fell in love with the team, the campus, and, most importantly, it felt like home,” she said. “As I was walking through campus, I could see myself here any day of the week of any season as a student or as an athlete.”
With all that a student-athlete must juggle, Wiggins, a Philosophy, Politics, Economics and Law (PPEL) major and Psychology minor, had to find creative ways to take elective ROTC courses that fit within her practice and game schedule. With this degree plan, Wiggins envisions herself in a law enforcement position or serving in a government agency role when she graduates.
Last year, Wiggins jumped into introductory ROTC courses both semesters, getting up to speed on Army and leadership values while also participating in lab classes that took the tactical aspects from the classroom to real field situations while the students rotated leadership roles.
This year, she decided to move into the junior year ROTC courses, which led to her summer “vacation” at Fort Knox.
“I was nervous and excited,” Wiggins said. “I had a great time and met a lot of great people. One of the best things about being in ROTC is the variety of perspectives that I have gotten to see from all the people I’ve met from all over the US and other countries.”
During the summer ROTC training camp, Wiggins participated in distance runs, did group physical training exercises while carrying a heavy equipment, worked through obstacle courses, and participated in extra physical feats. She also took it upon herself to get in more training, like long distance runs, when there was free time in the evenings.
“It was physically and mentally challenging,” Wiggins said. “But knowing that I was able to do it, I feel ten times better now.”
Wiggins sees the many ways that her courses, as well as her responsibilities as a teammate and a team captain, commingle to help her be successful in different ways.
“Being in leadership is different than watching leadership,” Wiggins said. “Learning about aspects of leadership in class with ROTC was a good way for me to put leading into perspective and be able to compartmentalize the different areas of leadership.”
“[I learned] what works best for me as a leader, how I can help my teammates, and understand that not everyone receives or does leadership in the same way,” she said.
Knowing the Army values acronym of LDRSHIP (loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage), Wiggins, serving as a game captain last fall and chosen as a team captain this season, thinks often, “what part of LDRSHIP can I bring today?”
“A big thing for me is leading by example,” she said. “How can I use these values to help myself and try to guide my teammates in the right way? It might not be every day that I can do everything for everyone, but I think about those values and how I can help.”
Wiggins has been able to take the Army ROTC values into real-time field hockey situations, including high-pressure games like when the Spiders defeated VCU at Cary Street Field to capture the 2025 regular season Atlantic 10 title.
“When we were able to put aside who we were facing in a high-stress game,” Wiggins said. “We were able to play as a team and win as a unit. We came together and were able to overcome the obstacle in front of us to win.”
As a sophomore, Wiggins first participated in SP4’s Leadership Program, an immersive leadership development experience that brings together Spider student-athletes from across all sports. The experience complemented what Wiggins was learning through ROTC while challenging her to think about how those principles applied to her own leadership style and her role within field hockey.
The 2025-26 theme for the cohort was “Leading with Light,” challenging student-athletes to consider how they show up for themselves, their teammates, and their communities, particularly when circumstances are difficult.
For Wiggins, the message closely mirrored what she was learning elsewhere: leadership isn’t reserved for captains, ROTC exercises, or high-pressure moments. It’s demonstrated through everyday decisions.
Over the year, Wiggins and her fellow cohort members participated in leadership skill-building sessions, were introduced to new tools including meditation, and were paired with mentors to help guide their development.
Experiences like Wiggins’ are part of Richmond Athletics’ broader investment in developing the whole student-athlete. Philanthropic support helps make that investment possible, providing SP4 with resources to strengthen its curriculum, mentorship, and experiential learning opportunities.
That philanthropic investment reaches well beyond competition, helping student-athletes like Wiggins develop skills and experiences that can shape who they become as teammates, leaders, and professionals long after their final game at Richmond.
For Wiggins, that commitment to leadership has taken on new meaning this fall. After helping Richmond to a season-opening win over Queens, she suffered an ankle injury against Duke that will sideline her for the remainder of the 2026 season. Now, the team captain is being challenged to lead in a different way, supporting her teammates and continuing to make an impact even when she cannot join team on the field.
The circumstances may have changed, but Wiggins’ goal has not. The lessons she has developed through field hockey, ROTC, and SP4 continue to point toward a simple focus– be a good leader.
“I was given the opportunity to be a spring leader, and I want to be able to step into that captain role this fall,” said Wiggins. “I want to be a good friend and teammate to everyone. I want to be able to help us all take a big step together in the right direction.”
Wiggins' story is just one of the many student-athletes at Richmond whose lives have been impacted by the support of Spider Nation. We are grateful to the loyal supporters who make these resources available to our 400 student-athletes and the opportunities they create for them!
