As more high schools start teams, girls wrestling is 'just getting better' in SW Indiana

EVANSVILLE — Girls wrestling has become one of the country's fastest-growing sports. That rings true in Southwestern Indiana.

High schools that previously haven't fielded girls wrestling teams are creating them, even if the numbers remain small. Bosse, Central and Reitz have started separate girls programs in the city, as have Boonville, Jasper, Mount Vernon, North Posey and Southridge.

Just how rampant has the sport's growth been? Indiana High School Girls Wrestling president Gary Myers predicts girls wrestling ultimately will outgrow the boys. National participation in girls wrestling increased by 55% from 2021-22 to '22-23, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.

The IHSAA designated girls wrestling as an “emerging sport" last school year, along with boys volleyball. That means girls wrestling follows all of the IHSAA rules, but it does not have an official IHSAA tournament — the IHSGW has put one on since its inception in 2017. Yet, if enough schools establish teams, the sport will take the next step toward becoming official.

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Myers believes the IHSAA will recognize girls wrestling and boys volleyball as sanctioned sports for the 2024-25 school year. Separate state wrestling championships are offered for girls by 36 state high school athletics associations already.

"I know our girls are growing overnight," said Myers, who also serves as the coach at Hamilton Heights High School in Northern Indiana. "I wish that some of my boys had the aggression of these girls. They go after each other. They want to win (and compete)."

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With the big push for girls wrestling came the birth of the area's teams.

Reitz formed its program with 10 wrestlers last year and is up to 12 in the second season. The Panthers are proud to have two IHSGW regional champions in freshman Lily Penner and junior Lili Greenfield. Neither had wrestled before before joining the new Reitz team. Greenfield first found out about the opportunity while having lunch with a friend — and she's held her own to the point she has competed on the boys team.

"My confidence was a little rocky at the beginning of the year," she said. "I was getting in my head a lot. But toward the end (of this year), it's getting better."

"A lot of the girls have been real receptive and eager," Reitz coach Scott Ferguson said. "They've been sponges taking all the new techniques and applications it takes to be successful in a male-dominated sport."

Reitz's girls enjoy bonding with each other and with the boys as they gain experience. The Panthers are also proud of the work they have accomplished by building this team from scratch as they make history.

"At regionals, we had such a good attitude and were all super excited for each other," Penner said. "(For) most of us girls to get to go to semistate, it was a very big accomplishment. And I will always remember that."

Meanwhile, Bosse's team is amid its inaugural season. There are just three members, all sophomores: Millie Christie, Abrianna Hilaire and Lauren Trail. Although Christie has been wrestling since third grade, Hilaire and Trail are first-time grapplers. All three qualified for last weekend's IHSGW semistate, plus Trail won a regional title in the 155-pound class.

It's been a joy for Bulldogs coach Stephan Mullen, who also coaches the football team, to see his wrestlers find immediate success. Two junior high girls have expressed interest in wrestling recently. He aims for the program to continue growing.

"Having a girl myself, she's two-and-a-half right now, but she's been up to the wrestling room a few times," Mullen said. "That's something we'll get her participating in as she gets older. It's a hope as a father as well to kind of push through the state to keep getting the recognition that these girls deserve on the mat."

Girls wrestlers in Southwestern Indiana are already experiencing success

Only 87 girls statewide were wrestling when the IHSGW was founded seven years ago. But over 1,200 grapplers competed in this year's postseason tournament. The number of regionals grew from two to 16. A semistate round was also added this year.

"It's just getting better and better every year," Myers said. "The better the organization, the more girls that will come out. There are so many girls in the elementary and junior high programs getting ready to feed into the high schools. It's going to be amazing to watch."

Five Southwestern Indiana teams are sending wrestlers to the state finals in Kokomo on Friday. North Posey's Adelyn Gamblin, Lydia Justus and Kenna Kleinschmidt; Mount Vernon's Taylor Mason, Madalyn McCarthy, Cammie Ritchie and three-time IHSGW state champion Hannah West. Plus, Jasper's Laine Mullins, Southridge's Rebecca Snider, Boonville's Paige Cook and Reitz's Greenfield.

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Southwestern Indiana has been represented well at the finals over the last few seasons, from West's reign to Central's three-time state champion in Destiny Garris. Heritage Hills senior Makenzie Smith also posted top-three finishes in each of the last three seasons and qualified for the boys semistate last year.

"I think those girls have done a great job of putting Southwest Indiana on the map," Ferguson said. "I hope here at Reitz that (the winning) becomes very contagious for other people to join."

Courier & Press sports reporter Treasure Washington can be reached via her email, treasure.washington@courierpress.com, and on X, formerly known as Twitter, @Twashington490.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: High school girls wrestling is rapidly growing in Southwestern Indiana