On the mat: Female wrestling continues to grow at all levels
Wrestle. Like. A. Girl.
Those four words inspire females dressed in the signature singlet to grapple and take down opponents, just like their male counterparts.
In the past two years, the sport has grown by the largest percentage of mainstream high school sports including football, basketball, baseball, hockey and soccer for boys and girls, according to Mike Moyer, executive director of the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
There are 291,000 boys and 64,000 girls who wrestle in high school in the U.S. and 46 states have a state championship or state individual competition for girls, according to the National Federation of High Schools, Moyer said.
“Girls can do this,” said Kiski Area High School sophomore Alyssa Tresco, whose father Justin Tresco is one of the school’s wrestling coaches. “It’s not scary. You have to be mentally tough and disciplined. It teaches you self-control and it is you who dictates how you do.”
Individual and team
Kiski Area junior Ava Golding watched her older brother, Luke Lacaria, wrestle. It inspired her to start wrestling in third grade.
Golding is one of five girls to become the first two-time Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League champions, along with Plum junior Alaina Claassen, Norwin junior Josephine Dollman, Moon sophomore Haley Smarsh and Norwin sophomore Octavia Walker.
“I love that this sport has both an individual side and that you are part of a team,” said Golding, who also wrestles for a team not affiliated with her school. “You control what happens. You learn discipline. Getting more girls interested would be great. It is cool to see young girls want to wrestle.”
Kiski sanctioned the sport for girls last year and other area high schools are following suit. A total of 193 athletes competed when the WPIAL hosted the second annual girls wrestling individual championships at North Allegheny High School in February.
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, which governs the WPIAL, hosted west regional championships on Saturday , also at North Allegheny High School.
Justin Tresco said he has noticed the growth in the sport. As a way to create more interest, he asks the girls to invite a friend to a practice when they train, run and lift weights.
“Girls are more flexible than boys,” Justin Tresco said. “Wrestling is great for everyone because it builds self-esteem.”
Growing the sport
U.S. Wrestling Foundation executive director Jack Clark the foundation runs an annual promotion in coordination with the National Wrestling Coaches Association, USA Wrestling, and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame to create awareness for wrestling. They send a recruiting kit to all the high schools that includes posters of celebrities and notable people that wrestled and benefits of wrestling.
“In our research we found these athletes want to get fit, take on challenges and be more disciplined,” Clark said. “This is definitely a grassroots effort. We are making progress.”
He said adding the girls teams doesn’t take away from boys programs; it’s growing the sport.
“This kind of growth has never happened before,” Clark said.
It’s not just the high school level where the sport is flourishing. At Waller’s All-American Wrestling Club and Camps in Mt. Pleasant, youth numbers continue to climb, said founder Rob Waller, who coaches his grandchildren, Gianna Allen, 13, Mila Allen, 9, and Rob Waller, 10.
When Gianna would visit her grandparents as a little girl, she would go to Waller’s gym and run on the mats, climb the walls and do pullups.
Waller was skeptical at first when Gianna told him she wanted to wrestle. A 1976 U.S. Olympic trials finalist at 163 pounds, Waller said he believed wrestling was for boys.
His granddaughter convinced him otherwise.
“I love the intensity of the sport and I have a sense of pride when I do well,” said Gianna, a member of the championship USA Wrestling 14-under 2024 national team.
Her younger sister, Mila, is following in her big sister’s footsteps.
“I love making new friends and learning,” Mila said. “I like that when you work hard, you win!”
The girls listen and are fun to be around, said Waller, who wrestled Olympic Gold medalist Dan Gable in the 1972 Olympic trials.
“They work hard and embrace the sport,” Waller said. “Seeing more and more girls getting into wrestling helps validate it. Their skill level has come a long way. Girls pay attention. They are receptive to what you are trying to tell them.”
Gianna and Mila’s mother, DiAnna Waller Allen of Penn Township, said it’s not unusual for friendly wrestling matches to take place at holiday gatherings for the Waller family.
“Wrestling is in my blood,” said Gianna, whose father and Mila’s father, Tim Allen, wrested at Pitt and whose uncle Robbie Waller is a 2003 NCAA champion from Oklahoma. “Having this as a high school sport is amazing. It is empowering. Wrestling against boys makes you better. We have mutual respect.”
Moyer said there are isolated incidents where high school girls can compete against high school boys and have success, but overall it is better to have separate teams — the growth is higher.
“While we advocate for separate teams for girls and boys, it is often unavoidable in the early stages of development of high school girls wrestling in most states — at least until there are enough critical masses of girls to compete against each other,” Moyer said.
A documentary
Filmmaker, editor and educator Jessie Beers-Altman of State College has spent the past two years researching girls wrestling and working on a documentary about the sport. “The Chance to Wrestle,” produced at WPSU Penn State Public Broadcasting, follows athletes from around Pennsylvania as they vie for coveted state titles in the inaugural season of girls high school wrestling.
“The film reflects on Pennsylvania’s deep wrestling roots and highlights the passion, dedication and determination of female wrestlers trying to find their footing in a historically male-dominated sport,” said Beers-Altman. “Wrestling instills confidence in girls. Every success or failure is on your shoulders. And it gives them accountability. They are strong and powerful.”
Beers-Altman attended the “unofficial” state championships for girls wrestling in 2023, where she connected with organizers, coaches and athletes who had been driving the movement for sanctioning, she said. Filming began in March 2023.
Beers-Altman originally pitched the story idea to the creative director at WPSU Penn State Public Broadcasting, where she works full-time, for its Keystone Stories.
WQED is scheduled to show the documentary at 8 p.m. March 27 and 4 p.m. March 28.
The message Beers-Altman wants to send is that “sports are a place for everyone, and that wrestling — specifically — is a sport that teaches resilience, grit and tenacity … qualities that are important for all young people, including girls.”
Beers-Altman said she hopes to increase the visibility of the sport for everybody.
NCAA sport
It is not just high school and youth who are being drawn to the sport. The National Collegiate Athletic Association added women’s wrestling as its 91st championship sport.
There were 76 women’s wrestling programs at NCAA schools in 2023-24, with projections of an additional 17 programs in 2024-25.
More than 1,200 women wrestlers are competing at NCAA schools today. Women’s wrestling has been an Olympic sport since 2004 and is the fastest-growing sport for young women in the nation, according to the NCAA.
The first NCAA championship will be in 2026.
In February, Chatham University in Shadyside announced it is adding Division III men’s and women’s wrestling. Competition will begin in 2026.
Moyer said according to NCAA research, men’s wrestling ranks No. 2 among all sports with first-generation college-bound students. The NCAA will start monitoring this for women’s wrestling now that it is a championship sport, Moyer said.
“There is a correlation between the presence of men’s and women’s college wrestling programs in a state and the quality and quantity of youth, middle school and high school wrestlers in a state,” Moyer said. “Growing the sport at the college level helps develop coaches for youth and high school. We’ve seen a lot of high school boys and men’s college coaches advocating for girls and women’s programs.”
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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