Girls’ wrestling, which was sanctioned by Pennsylvania under a year ago, is the fastest-growing high school sport nationally, writes Marc Levy for The Morning Call.

In addition to being sanctioned by a growing number of states, the sport is being bolstered by a movement of medal-winning female wrestlers, parents, and coaches and administrators who consider it both a necessity and a matter of equality.

While girls used to primarily join boys’ teams and wrestle against boys, they are now joining girls’ teams and facing off against other girls. And since May in Pennsylvania, they have been wrestling in official tournaments, with their names entering state record books.

The number of high school girl wrestlers in the Keystone State nearly doubled this year. Today, the state has over 180 high school teams compared to none four years ago with hundreds of those girls taking part in the first sanctioned state tournament.

“There were never tournaments like this,” said Savannah Witt, a state champion wrestler from Palisades High School. “It’s awesome to see.”

Girls’ wrestling is also considered an “emerging” sport at the collegiate level and is expected to become a championship-level sport in 2026, according to the NCAA.

Read more about the growth of girls’ wrestling in Pennsylvania in The Morning Call.

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