Takedown Report

Girls wrestling in first year as varsity sport in Ohio

Jennifer Long wasn’t allowed to wrestle as kid because of her gender. 

Long has always been a part of a family of wrestlers. Her brother was a wrestler, and her husband Chad Long, Fremont Ross’ football coach, previously coached the Little Giants and Tiffin Columbian’s boys wrestling team. 

A mother of three daughters and a son, Long and assistant coach Stephanie Hetrick helped spearhead Fremont Ross’ girls wrestling team as it jumped from a club team to a varsity sport. 

“I think, on a personal level, it was giving my daughters as well as other girl athletes a chance at something they normally wouldn’t have been [able] to,” Long said. “It was a calling. It really was a calling. And last year, starting out in it, it was ‘OK, this is bigger than myself.’ This is something that needs to happen. I need to do this and kind of give girls a chance.”

Access to girls wrestling in northwest Ohio has changed in recent years. Since 2020, female wrestlers have had the opportunity to compete in an individual state tournament hosted by Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association.

The Ohio High School Athletic Association announced the addition of girls wrestling as an emerging sport for the 2022-2023 academic year in January. It was a unanimous decision, as well as boys volleyball, by the OHSAA board of directors.

“It seems like every year the competition level for the girls grows exponentially,” Rossford coach DJ Recknagel said. “The wrestling’s getting better and the tournaments are getting bigger. And it’s cool. It’s cool to see.”

Liv Hussar began wrestling in eighth grade. Her brother, sister — three-time state champion Zoe Hussar — and father, Rossford High School boys wrestling coach Randy, all participated in the sport.

Liv Hussar, a junior Rossford wrestler, stuck with wrestling once she began high school, where she was able to match up with other girls on the mat. … rest of story at Toledoblade.com/sports/high-school/2022/12/26/girls-wrestling-first-year-varsity-sport-ohio

January 4, 2023 - Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized