Plum Borough School Board voted May 30 to recognize golf and wrestling for girls as varsity-level sports.
The school district added a girls wrestling team last June, and members just finished their first season, competing in events primarily hosted by other districts.
When Plum sanctioned girls wrestling, it was the 47th district in the state to do so. The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association requires 100 schools to sanction a sport before sponsoring it, showing that in the past year, the amount of schools in the state offering girls’ wrestling has more than doubled.
The PIAA in December 2021 recognized girls wrestling as an emerging sport, and in May, its board of directors voted unanimously to sponsor girls wrestling as a sport. Pennsylvania became the 38th state to do so officially.
Plans are in the works to hold a PIAA girls wrestling tournament at Giant Center in Hershey the same weekend as the boys tournament for the 2023-24 season.
Along with Plum, WPIAL schools sponsoring girls wrestling teams are North Allegheny, Canon-McMillan, Connellsville, Kiski Area, Southmoreland, Fort Cherry, Seneca Valley, Laurel, Mt. Lebanon, Moon, Burgettstown, Pine-Richland, Penn Hills, Trinity and Peters Township.
Regarding girls golf at Plum High School, the school board voted to create a supplemental coaching position at $3,538, to be added to the new collective bargaining agreement that was approved May 30.
