Girls’ wrestling, a club sport that’s quickly gaining traction and building a strong following throughout the Mid-Penn Conference and District 3 schools, saw its future solidified by the Pennsylvania State High School Board on Wednesday.
The long-awaited sanctioning of girls’ wrestling as a varsity sport across the Commonwealth came to fruition when the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association gave its unanimous approval during a meeting at its Mechanicsburg headquarters.
As a result, girls’ wrestling will be officially introduced as a high school varsity sport in the 2023–24 winter sports season. The PIAA will host a girls’ championship in conjunction with the boys’ championship at Giant Center in March 2024.
Efforts to sanction girls’ wrestling have been spearheaded by SanctionPA, a nonprofit dedicated to educating and promoting the sport and providing districts with the tools they need to sanction teams.
“I think it’s pretty awesome for the girls, especially the seniors, who are going to have the opportunity to compete in a PIAA state championship at the big show at the Giant Center,” said Ryan Seagreaves, Cumberland Valley girls’ wrestling head coach . “Anyone who saw the state championships in March saw that it was a real highlight and that the big show is worth attending.”
Camp Hill girls’ wrestling coach Chad Gallaher said Wednesday’s vote was a great day for wrestling in general.
“I am proud of the movement and pay tribute to SanctionPA and their work. The girls at Camp Hill are ready to move forward and do their best,” said Gallaher, who has 16 middle and high school girls in the program. He expects that number, which doubled last season, to rise again.
The path to official sanctioning was paved in February when Pennridge High School and Perkiomen Valley High School became the 100th and 101st schools to offer girls’ wrestling.
PIAA requires that at least 100 schools sanction a sport before sanctioning a state championship can be considered.
State Senator Scott Martin of the 13th District, which includes parts of Lancaster and Berks counties and is also the chair of the Pennsylvania Athletic Oversight Committee, praised the PIAA’s vote.
“Male and female wrestlers have always deserved an equal opportunity to compete for state championships, earn college scholarships and increase participation in their sport. The PIAA deserves credit for delivering on their promise to officially sanction girl wrestling in Pennsylvania and open new doors for these young athletes,” said Martin.
“Girl wrestling has grown tremendously in popularity across the country and I am grateful and excited that these girls will now be on an equal footing with so many of their peers across the country,” added Martin.
Of the 111 currently licensed girls’ wrestling teams statewide, 32 are within the boundaries of District 3. The full list of licensed girls’ wrestling schools can be found here.
Other MPC schools with recognized girls’ wrestling programs include Big Spring, Camp Hill, Boiling Springs, Gettysburg, Mechanicsburg, Palmyra, and State College.
Girls’ wrestling at Mid-Penn Conference schools is picking up steam, particularly at Cumberland Valley High School, which had 44 high school and six junior high school girls represented last season.
For Cumberland Valley High School’s Eliana White-Vega, who wrestled in the 124-pound weight class last season and picked up a fourth medal at the Club State tournament, the sanction means more than just attending an official varsity function.
“I think it’s going to get more attention from the colleges,” said White-Vega, who would like to compete in wrestling at the collegiate level. “They probably didn’t put a lot of money into it before. But now that we’re even, I definitely think colleges, especially colleges in Pennsylvania, are going to take notice.”
More than 100 colleges nationwide, including several nearby Pennsylvania schools. Offer women wrestling. The list of these schools can be found here.
White-Vega said she felt that competition in girls’ wrestling “will get more intense, like war and battle” now that it has university and championship status.
“I’m excited,” she said. “I can imagine things getting more intense.”
Carlisle is another MPC school district that saw good participation in girls’ wrestling last winter season.
Wrestlers Katelyn Coldren from Carlisle and Faith Warner from Big Spring were among the 2023 female nominees for the John Travers Award.
The scholarship award, named for the late executive sports editor of The Patriot-News, combines athletic excellence with dedicated classroom work and community service.
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