Takedown Report

A year away from NCHSAA recognition, girls wrestling makes jump forward in North Carolina

ASHEVILLE — Eva Keefauver remembers what it was like to be the only girl in sight at a wrestling tournament.

She found herself in that position plenty when she began the sport as a middle schooler, receiving looks askance from the boys, then often being overpowered by them in matches even when she had superior technique.

She also remembers her first years wrestling at East Henderson High School, as the number of girl wrestlers, girls teams and girls tournaments began ticking up, and the pressure on the state high school association to sanction the sport increased.

This season – a year before girls wrestling becomes an official NCHSAA sport – Keefauver, her fellow athletes, their coaches and anybody watching one of the many girls wrestling events across the state can see just how much the sport has grown from just a year or two ago, pointing toward a bright future for the soon-to-be newest sanctioned sport in the state.

“This is the first year that we’ve had finals together and full brackets in a lot of tournaments,” Keefauver said. “There’s a whole bunch of girls, and it’s normal now. It’s not just me.”

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YEARSLONG FIGHT:The road to NCHSAA sanctioning girls wrestling

While the sport needed enough participants to get the attention of the NCHSAA, its supporters also expected the numbers to jump after this summer’s news that beginning in the 2023-24 school year, the NCHSAA will officially sanction girls wrestling.

Those projections appear accurate. Three seasons ago, the number of North Carolina girls wrestling in high school was under 400, according to Cheryl Baynard, who organized a group dedicated to getting the sport sanctioned in the state.

Last year, it was up to about 600. This year, it’s jumped to above 900 and potentially crossed four digits. That’s allowed tournaments like the Smoky Mountain Grapple, which concluded Saturday at Harrah’s Cherokee Center, to add a weight class and have fuller brackets than last year.

“We’ve seen the jump,” Enka coach Mark Harris said. “We are learning as we grow, and it’s really been fun to watch the girls create their own culture and their own stamp within that program.” … rest of story at Citizen-times.com/story/sports/high-school/2022/12/22/nc-high-school-girls-wrestling-nchsaa-sanctioned-sport-growth-participation

December 31, 2022 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized