First-Ever Girls State Wrestling Tournament Saturday at York
In recent years all across the country there has been a significant increase in the number of high school girls who are lacing up a pair of wrestling shoes and hitting the mat. The state of Nebraska is no exception to this movement and once again female high school grapplers are making history.
This Saturday for the first time in history the NSWCA is set to host the first ever girls’ state wrestling tournament as history will be made at York High School.
With 111 girls representing 37 schools there will be plenty of great wrestling action as the best female wrestlers from around the state find themselves in the spotlight. The action will get started at 9:30 with girls competing in 14 weight classes.
In recent years girls’ wrestling in Nebraska has increased in popularity and the trend continues with each wrestling season. Just last month 76 girls made their way to Winnebago for what was the largest girls only tournament ever in the state of Nebraska sanctioned by the NSAA.
The local, state and national numbers are continuing to grow and the visibility of girls wrestling is all around us. The NFHS participation numbers for girls wrestling grew from 16,562 in 2018 to 21,124 in 2019. A 27.5% increase of 4,562 girls across the nation.
The number of girls wrestling programs with sanctioned state championships in the US stands at 20 states. Girl’s wrestling has continued to grow at the local and national level over the past decade.
In April of 2019 a 29-21 vote held in the NSAA Representative Assembly fell one vote short of the 60 percent majority that was needed to add girls wrestling to the list of NSAA sanctioned activities. The item will again be back on the docket this year and with a few changes many across the state feel that the vote will pass.
Unlike last year, this motion calls for a two-year transition period that would allow girls an option of competing in the boys lineup during regular-season contests if there are no girls to wrestle in their weight class. The proposal says that after the two-year transition period, the NSAA girls wrestling advisory committee will decide whether participant numbers are sufficient for girls-only competition separate from the boys.
Perhaps in the not so distant future these 111 girls will be able to look back at this Saturday’s competition and think of it as the beginning of something bigger when it comes to girls wrestling in the state of Nebraska.