Ohio coaches to sponsor girls state wrestling tourney

COLUMBUS — The Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association has voted unanimously to sponsor a girls state wrestling tournament next winter, the organization announced Wednesday.The event will take place Feb. 22-23, 2020 at Hilliard Davidson High School."It is our goal to make this a first-class event and build it to 'emerging sport' status with the OHSAA," OHSWCA president Dean Conley said in a news release. "Once we meet the requirements, we plan on handing this over to the OHSAA like we did with the state dual tournament."Tyler Brooks, the OHSAA's wrestling administrator, said the OHSAA fully supports the girls tournament."This tournament is an important and necessary step for girls wrestling as they seek OHSAA emerging sport status," he said. "Last year, there were more than 200 females who wrestled for their school, so we look forward to partnering with the OHSWCA in order to help grow the sport of wrestling by increasing participation opportunities for female wrestlers."For a sport to be sanctioned by the OHSAA, at least 150 schools must field a full team. Girls are permitted to wrestle for their schools and last year more than 200 girls did so at the high school level in Ohio.The number of girls wrestling nationwide has increased from 804 in 1994 to 16,562 in 2018, according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association.Wrestling is recognized as an Olympic sport for women and 48 colleges have women's wrestling programs.Thirteen states sponsor state high school wrestling championships for girls: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon, Georgia, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, Hawaii and Washington.The OHSWCA announcement comes after a year of planning."We've tried to meet with as many stakeholders as possible including the OHSAA, USA Wrestling (Ohio), OWOA, and several parents and coaches of current female wrestlers in Ohio and around the country." said Dominic DiSabato, a past president of the organization who will be the tournament director for the inaugural event.Boys wrestling is popular in Ohio, with the state reporting 11,340 participants in 2017-18, the fourth-most in the country, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations. The OHSWCA thinks it can build on that momentum with a girls tournament, calling it a "no-brainer.""We have a lot of work ahead of us in order for this to be a top-flight event, but our committee is excited about the opportunity and we're honored to be hosting the first ever high school girls state tournament in Ohio," Conley said.——-By the numbers2,351 Schools nationwide reporting girls wrestling5,286 Girls wrestlers in California, the most in the U.S.16,562 Girls wrestlers in 2017-18, a 13.5% increaseSource: National Federation of State High School Associations The number of girls who wrestle in high school has grown from 804 to 16,562 as of 2018, according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association.