Girls wrestling is on the verge
The popular sport could earn FHSAA championship status.
When Kalani Rivas went to her first wrestling practice as a freshman at Freedom High School of Orlando, she had no idea that the sport would change her life.
Rivas, who as a senior this past season won a title at the unofficial girls state championship, was struggling with the wrong crowd and never envisioned going to college because of the cost.
“In my freshman year, I wasn’t surrounded by the best people,” Rivas said. “But once I stepped into the [wrestling] room, I met amazing teammates and they are now my family and definitely changed my path.”
Now Rivas is heading to Limestone College in South Carolina on a wrestling scholarship.
“I’m the first in my immediate family going to college,” Rivas said. “and because of wrestling, I’m going for free.”
Stories like Kalani’s can be found across the state as girls have flocked to the sport at an increasing rate.
Girls wrestling is among the fastestgrowing sports in the United States. According to the National Federation of High Schools, girls wrestling participation has increased every year since 1990.
“It’s exciting and it’s a great opportunity for girls,” Kissimmee Osceola wrestling coach Jim Bird said.
Bird’s Osceola program was one of the first to offer girls wrestling and has produced 38 All-Americans and four national champions.
“I was fortunate enough to have some of the first girls that were wrestling,” Bird said. “And the sport just keeps on growing, and I’m excited because that means more opportunities to wrestle and that makes everybody associated with the sport better.”
The number of high school girls wrestling across the country has grown from 804 in 1994 to 21,124 in 2019. In Florida last season, 708 girls completed a weight certification to wrestle despite it not being an FHSAA-sanctioned sport.
Supporters of the sport are hoping that will change this week when the Florida High School Athletic Association board of directors hears a proposal to make girls wrestling an official state championship sport. The request, which is recommended by FHSAA executive director George Tomyn, is scheduled to be discussed in an operations committee meeting on Monday and should go to a vote of the board on Tuesday.
Twenty-three other states have sanctioned the sport, and leaders in Florida are ready to begin this season with plans already in place if they get the go-ahead from the board, including hosting the state tournament alongside the boys at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee.
“As soon as it’s a go, it will encourage more schools to give more opportunities to girls,” Freedom girls coach Lynzie Doll said. “Once the state tournament is legitimized, that will encourage more coaches and athletes.”
As the sport grows and full teams start to develop, girls will still be able to wrestle against boys if needed, but the girls will have their own structure and state series to compete in.
“Some of the doors are invisibly closed,” Dr. Phillips girls wrestling coach Kirwyn Adderley said. “Sanctioning will open the
doors by creating a level playing field. Girls shouldn’t have to compete against the other gender and we need to move away from that — sanctioning guarantees that.”
One of the biggest moments for girls wrestling came in 2004 when women’s wrestling debuted as an Olympic sport.
“The grassroots movement of Title IX and the Olympic Movement converging during a time in our country has illuminated the narrative of gender equality — girls can do anything, especially wrestle,” said Sally Roberts, the founder and CEO of Wrestling Like A Girl.
Freedom rising junior Kailey Rees has been wrestling for years but it wasn’t until she went to the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials that she saw girls wrestle in person.
“It really opened my eyes to women’s wrestling and how they compete,” Rees said. “It made me realize that I wanted to be the best that I could be. It made me want to be like those women.”
Helen Maroulis’ gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games was the first for a United States woman, and her success brought even more attention to the sport.
“You can see girls getting exposure and the sport getting more exposure with media attention and international tournaments,” Jessica Corredor said.
Corredor just graduated from Dr. Phillips after winning her second state title and finishing her high school career ranked seventh in the country in her weight class. She is one of 11 girls in the state of Florida to be nationally ranked, led by Lake Highland Prep’s Chloe Ogden, who is No. 2 at 138 pounds.
Corredor will attend Missouri Baptist University in the fall on a wrestling scholarship.
According to the National Wrestling Coaches Association, there are more than 70 universities offering women’s wrestling.
“We have had so many kids come through our program who would haven’t been able to go to college and are at school now because of wrestling,” Doll said.
In addition to more opportunities being offered from the sport, girls are finding an inclusive place in wrestling that is unique.
Because the sport competes in weight classes that range from 100-222 pounds, there is not a preferred body type or athletic skill-set that is a prerequisite to success on the mat.
“It doesn’t matter your height or weight, you can find acceptance in this sport,” Rees said. “That’s the greatest thing about the sport: there’s a spot for everybody.”