THREE DECADES OF FIGHTING: THE STORIES BEHIND THE GIRLS WRESTLING BOOM TOP

The whispers in the hallway, the lonely bus rides to and from meets, the exhaustion from the burden of it all — for the first girls who dared to become wrestlers, these shared experiences made it rather difficult for them to imagine they were the pioneers of what is now the fastest-growing high school sport.

In 1990, a little more than 100 girls across the country competed in high school wrestling. The concept of a wrestling team composed entirely of girls was implausible, and the only opportunities to participate were with the boys. Stereotypes made it even more difficult. Not only was there a physical disadvantage when competing against boys, but also a cultural one — much of society wasn’t ready to accept that women could train and compete in a machismo sport like wrestling.

But that stigma couldn’t slow down the movement.

According to the National Wrestling Coaches Association, there are now approximately 34,000 girls and over 6,000 teams in the U.S. participating in wrestling at the high school level. Year after year, those numbers have continued to boom, and with 36 states now recognizing girls wrestling as a sanctioned sport, it shows no signs of slowing down.

The growth has also reached the college level, where the number of women’s teams stands at 120 with 1,462 participants. In September 2021, the University of Iowa became the first Power Five conference institution to offer women’s wrestling, and they’re set to begin competing in 2023-24.

NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer believes the success in growing the sport can be attributed to visibility created at the Olympic level, as well as from coaches who have championed the movement at the scholastic and intercollegiate levels. He also credits organizations like the one he serves as a key to the swell.

“The NWCA has been very successful in helping to add 120 intercollegiate women’s wrestling programs across the nation, and those opportunities have helped to inspire many young girls to enter our sport,” Moyer says. “We also have a lot of other affiliated organizations in our sport that work well together to grow our sport.”

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JULY 14, 2022 - TRENT SINGER

THREE DECADES OF FIGHTING: THE STORIES BEHIND THE GIRLS WRESTLING BOOM

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HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS WRESTLERS COMPETE AT THE 2020 NAPA VALLEY CLASSIC TOURNAMENT ON JAN. 11, 2020, IN NAPA, CALIF. (PHOTO BY TONY ROTUNDO)

The whispers in the hallway, the lonely bus rides to and from meets, the exhaustion from the burden of it all — for the first girls who dared to become wrestlers, these shared experiences made it rather difficult for them to imagine they were the pioneers of what is now the fastest-growing high school sport.

In 1990, a little more than 100 girls across the country competed in high school wrestling. The concept of a wrestling team composed entirely of girls was implausible, and the only opportunities to participate were with the boys. Stereotypes made it even more difficult. Not only was there a physical disadvantage when competing against boys, but also a cultural one — much of society wasn’t ready to accept that women could train and compete in a machismo sport like wrestling.

But that stigma couldn’t slow down the movement.

According to the National Wrestling Coaches Association, there are now approximately 34,000 girls and over 6,000 teams in the U.S. participating in wrestling at the high school level. Year after year, those numbers have continued to boom, and with 36 states now recognizing girls wrestling as a sanctioned sport, it shows no signs of slowing down.

The growth has also reached the college level, where the number of women’s teams stands at 120 with 1,462 participants. In September 2021, the University of Iowa became the first Power Five conference institution to offer women’s wrestling, and they’re set to begin competing in 2023-24.

NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer believes the success in growing the sport can be attributed to visibility created at the Olympic level, as well as from coaches who have championed the movement at the scholastic and intercollegiate levels. He also credits organizations like the one he serves as a key to the swell.

“The NWCA has been very successful in helping to add 120 intercollegiate women’s wrestling programs across the nation, and those opportunities have helped to inspire many young girls to enter our sport,” Moyer says. “We also have a lot of other affiliated organizations in our sport that work well together to grow our sport.”

KYLIE WELKER, IOWA WRESTLING SIGNEE, COMPETES AGAINST JACKLYN SMITH AT THE US MARINE CORPS JUNIOR AND U16 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS LAST JULY. (PHOTO BY TONY ROTUNDO)

With each year that passes, it seems a new wrestling milestone is set. In 2001, at West Virginia’s Class AA-A state tournament, Erica Dyes fell just short of becoming the first girl to win a state title, becoming instead the first girl to finish second in a boys competition. Deanna Rix of Maine (2005) and Alyssa Lampe of Wisconsin (2006) later matched that feat before Michaela Hutchison of Alaska became the first girl to claim a title against boys, winning the 103-pound crown in 2006.

Then there was Clarissa Chun, who in 1998 became the first high school champion at the first girls state tournament in Hawaii in the 98-pound weight class. Chun went on to be crowned a world champion in freestyle wrestling in 2008 before claiming a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics. She was an assistant coach for the USA Wrestling women’s national team from 2017-21, and on Nov. 18, 2021 she was named the inaugural coach of Iowa’s women’s program.

Stories of the early pioneers in women’s wrestling are not forgotten, while advocates of the sport continue to strive for equal representation. The sport has made many strides in recent years, but the fact remains that 16 states and territories have yet to sanction girls wrestling at the high school level.