Do Girls Wrestle? Let’s Look at the Growth of Girls Wrestling

Written by Fogle40 in sports

The growth in the sport of wrestling is reaching almost 300% in Iowa. Other states are seeing similar results.

How Many Girls Wrestle?

In Iowa, the recent numbers from the Iowa Wrestling Coach Officials Association reflect the growing interest in the sport. Bear in mind these are high school aged girls.

2013-2014   36
2014-2015  41
2015-2016  67
2016-2017  93
2017-2018  93
2018-2019  187 (101% Increase)
2019-2020  559 (299% Increase)

Nationally, the top 10 states for girls wrestling participation, from states that report to the National Federation of State High School Associations are: 1. California (6,014) ; 2. Texas (4,421); 3. Washington (1,864); 4. Missouri (956); 5. Illinois (676); 6. Hawaii (620); 7. Oregon (597); 8. Arizona (481); 9. New Jersey (477); 10. Florida (475) . Nationally the Association reported that in 2018-2019 2,872 schools have girls participating in high school wrestling.

A state-by-state breakdown for the 2018-19 school year indicates the number of female wrestling participants as reported to the National Federation of High School Sports Associations:

  • AL 0
  • AK 347
  • AZ 481
  • AR 54
  • CA 6014
  • CO 140
  • CT 131
  • DC 7
  • DE 11
  • FL 475
  • GA 427
  • HI 620
  • ID 112
  • IL 676
  • IN 259
  • IA 204
  • KS 276
  • KY 123
  • LA 16
  • ME 78
  • MD 199
  • MA 126
  • MI 327
  • MN 20
  • MS 0
  • MO 956
  • MT 40
  • NE 124
  • NH 168
  • NJ 477
  • NM 154
  • NY 168
  • NC 0
  • ND 27
  • OH 0
  • OK 98
  • OR 597
  • PA 0
  • RI 32
  • SC 0
  • SD 36
  • TN 414
  • TX 4421
  • UT 124
  • VT 232
  • WA 1864
  • WV 0
  • WI 0
  • WY 22
  • Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, West Virginia, Wisconsin do not report.

State Sanctioned Girls Wrestling

States Sanctioning Girls Wrestling According to the National Wrestling Coaches Association

According to the National Wrestling Coaches Association these states sanction girls wrestling: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, Utah and Washington and Guam.

As of today, Louisiana joined the ranks of the state sanctioning girls wrestling.

Collegiate Womens Wrestling

In 2018 the NAIA granted Invitational Status to Women’s Wrestling.

Over 70 colleges now sponsor a varsity wrestling program. In our home state of Iowa Waldorf and Grandview currently field women’s teams. Iowa Wesleyan and William Penn will sponsor teams next year.

In 2020 the NWCA Multi-Divisional National Duals will host separate NAIA & NCAA Women’s Divisions for the first time.

What About Little Girls Wrestling

They are flocking to wrestling in a big way. Many of the AAU wrestling tournaments are adding divisions specifically for girls while others are mixing girls and boys at young ages.

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