Takedown Report

Looking to grow girls wrestling: Advocates are excited for prep potential

Girls wrestling has seen an increase in participation in recent years, but it’s still a few years away from being a sanctioned high school sport.Written By: Jeremy Karll of The Daily Republic (Mitchell, S.D.)
The number of female youth wrestlers in South Dakota has steadily grown, but many coaches believe the biggest spike is yet to come. Women’s wrestling becoming an Olympic sport in 2004 and colleges adding it has helped it gain notoriety, yet South Dakota still doesn’t offer high school girls wrestling. South Dakota has built up solid numbers of girls wrestlers, with 160 competing this year at the state youth tournament — a 19 percent increase over last year — and girls competing in national competitions for South Dakota. And while high school participation numbers for girls have improved in the last 10 years, the potential is likely capped if girls are left with no choice but to wrestle boys.

“Other states are putting their foot forward and finding out what works for them,” Pierre coach Shawn Lewis said. “We’ve kind of sat around and watched their states do their action. It’s not just a South Dakota trend, it’s a nationwide trend the last 5-to-10 years.” According to USA Wrestling, as of November 2018, there are 14 states with sanctioned girls high school wrestling. In the last year, formal talks about following the nationwide trend and making girls wrestling a sanctioned sport have grown. South Dakota High School Activities Association Assistant Executive Director John Krogstrand has also watched nearby states add girls wrestling at the high-school level. However, he said South Dakota won’t make it a sanctioned sport for the upcoming school year, though 2020-21 or 2021-22, “certainly are possibilities. Rest of the story at

July 19, 2019 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized