Pennsylvania HS Girls Get Their Hand Raised

Pennsylvania’s Jordyn Fouse. Photo courtesy of Tony Rotundo / WrestlersAreWarriors.com

PENNSYLVANIA - The day has come that so many have worked for, that so many girls have longed for—the PIAA Board of Directors unanimously voted to approve high school girls wrestling as a sanctioned sport on Wednesday, May 17th. Mark the day.

The first program was launched on March 17, 2020, when Lancaster school J.P. McCaskey became the first high school to host a girls high school wrestling team. Since then, the state has reached the required 100 schools to reach the mark for consideration as a sanctioned sport.

Girls wrestling is the fastest growing sport in America at the high school and college level, though the PIAA couldn’t sanction it in Pennsylvania until the state passed the threshold of 100, as stated in the PIAA bylaws. But now that wall has been broken through by a community of passionate, hard-working athletes, coaches, and advocates.

“Right now. Please don’t stop. Please don’t stop pushing. One hundred isn’t the end,” PIAA executive director Robert Lombardi told Mechanicsburg’s WHTM ABC27’s Allie Berube. “With 472 schools having wrestling in our state, there is room for more.”

Next season will crown the first-ever sanctioned girls state champions in a state that has historically been known for boys wrestling. And as Lombardi pointed out, expect to see the sport growing even more in the days to come.