The Missouri State High School Activities Association has approved a state-sanctioned wrestling tournament for girls, beginning in the 2018-19 school year.
There's already significant interest in "the oldest and greatest sport" among high school girls in Missouri. KSDK-TV, the NBC affiliate in St. Louis, reports that more than 100 schools in the Show-Me State already have at least one girl on their wrestling team… with an estimate of at least 400 young women wrestlers already within the state.
At least one school, Warrensburg High just outside Kansas City, has taken advantage of the MSHSAA decision by announcing the establishment of a separate girl's wrestling program to go along with the already-established wrestling team for boys.
Keith Chapman, Activities Director at Warrensburg High, told the school board that the state was going to give girls wrestling a four-year trial period, then re-assess afterwards with the hope that it becomes a permanent offering.
"It's a big leap from the state," Chapman told the Daily Star Journal. "They think that this is a sport that will grow quickly."
"I think it's good for the sport," said Warrensburg head wrestling coach Jeff Brown, who will now be responsible for both boys' and girls' teams. "It just gives girls another opportunity."
"I'm going to guess I'll have five or six girls come out next year, then it will probably double the year after that," he said.
Missouri joins a growing list of states that offer separate wrestling competition for high school girls. Currently, Alaska, California, Hawaii, Texas and Washington offer girls' wrestling… with Colorado, Georgia and Oregon -- and now Missouri -- announcing the establishment of girls' wrestling for the upcoming 2018-19 school year.
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now