Over the last few years, high schools have seen an exponential surge in the number of girls participating in wrestling. In April 2023, the Oregon School Activities Association unanimously voted in favor of making girls wrestling an official high school sport starting with the 2023-24 school year.

This decision will provide girls wrestling teams with more funding, sanctioned events and it gives the girls a feeling of validation in doing what they love. 

“When we started having girls on the team, they had to wrestle boys so they were out muscled. They took a back seat and never really got to grow,” said West Albany High School’s Head Girl’s Wrestling Coach Bryan Barker. “Now we feel worthy. Girls actually have equal opportunities now.”

Though girls wrestling wasn’t officially sanctioned before last year, girls have been wrestling as a club sport or an extension of the boys team for years. And every year, more girls join.

“Back in 2015 we had just two girls, now we have 22,” said Coach Barker.

This increase is typical across the state. Jessica Lister, the head coach of Hood River High School’s girls wrestling team, has experienced the increase in a unique way.

“I wrestled all through high school at Hood River, and we had just four girls when I graduated in 2015. Now that I’m coaching, we have 16.” 

Some schools in the state have had a full roster for years. Thurston High School in Springfield has consistently had 30 or more girls on the team for the last six years.

Head Coach Mike Simmons said, “We were one of the first in the state to have a full girls team, and this year we have 38.”

Wrestling is unique from other sports in that athletes don’t have to try out to be a part of the team, they just have to show up and try. But wrestling is a very demanding sport and not all the athletes who start the season finish it. WAHS wrestlers practice five days a week for over two hours at a time, and are expected to run and weight train in addition to team training. 

“I like the feeling of accomplishment because wrestling is so hard,” said Josie Gaitaud, WAHS varsity freshman. 

“I like to work hard,” said Lacie Manning, WAHS varsity freshman. “When I win I feel like it was worth it to feel like I was dying. I know I worked really hard and I feel powerful.”

Wrestlers are divided into novice, JV and varsity teams. The teams practice in different rooms, but all the male and female wrestlers on each team train together. 

“The girls do the exact same training as the boys do,” said West Albany’s Head Wrestling Coach Casey Horn. 

Coach Simmons from Thurston agreed, saying, “I don’t have boys and girls, I have wrestlers. They are treated the exact same and I think they appreciate that.”

Wrestlers in their first year or two compete on novice or JV teams while they learn the skills necessary to try out for a varsity slot. There are 14 slots available on the girls varsity team, one for each weight class (100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 155, 170, 190, and 235). The WAHS girls varsity team has 11 of these slots filled this year.

Weight classes have been a point of contention in the past. You used to hear stories from wrestlers and parents about coaches making athletes drop exorbitant amounts of weight in order to fit into a certain weight class. This could be done through starvation, excessive exercise, sweating out water weight in a sauna, or even taking laxatives to drop pounds before matches. 

Back in the late ’90’s early ’00’s, the National Federation of State High School Associations Wrestling  ruled that every state must develop a weight monitoring program to prevent unhealthy rapid weight loss among athletes. At the beginning of each season, wrestlers must have their weight certified. The certification process includes a urinalysis to ensure the wrestler is satisfactorily hydrated prior to being weighed. Based on the wrestler’s weight, age, height, hydration level and body mass index (BMI), a minimum weight is determined, and the athletes are monitored to ensure that they don’t fall below it or lose more than 1.5% body fat a week over the season.

Even with these safeguards in place, some still worried about the effect so much emphasis on weight would have on young female athletes. Could it lead to poor self-image? Eating disorders? Low self-esteem?

“We see the exact opposite happening,” said Coach Barker. “These young women exude confidence. And their confidence no longer comes from how they dress; They have a whole different swagger about them. They are way more body positive and happy about how they look and feel.”

The consensus among the WAHS varsity girls was that they don’t really worry about their weight.

“I don’t feel pressure to lose weight, and I could just tell the coaches no,” said Chachi Miranda, WAHS varsity senior.

Far from feeling pressured about their bodies, what they feel is, “badass!”

“I feel way more confident because I’m a badass,” said Macie Manning, WAHS varsity freshman.

“I feel badass,” said Kaydence Jeffreys, WAHS varsity Junior. “I know if anyone tried to mess with me I could take them.”

Women’s wrestling has been an Olympic sport since the 2004 games and its rise in popularity could mean that many of these young women could have a real future in the sport. Women’s college wrestling is growing at about the same rate as high school wrestling, which means wrestling scholarships are a real possibility for many of these girls.

“Each Division 1 team has 9.9 scholarships and 10 slots to fill,” said Coach Horn. “And with female wrestlers, there are more scholarships than there are girls. If the girls want them, they’re there”

Ariana Marinez, two-time state champion and two time triple crown winner, graduated West Albany High School last year and is now attending Life College in Georgia on a wrestling scholarship. 

“About 10 of our girls have gone on to wrestle in college,” said Coach Simmons. “Right now I have three or four more who want to wrestle in college and they’ll always have that opportunity.”

Coach Jessica Lister from Hood River also wrestled on scholarship at Eastern Oregon University. 

“I love wrestling. It’s the best sport!” said Coach Lister. “I love that it helped me grow as a person and as an athlete. And I hope that is what all these girls are getting out of it too.”