OHSAA high school girls wrestling already growing as it enters Year 2

Year 1 of OHSAA-sanctioned high school girls wrestling was about celebration and making history.

Entering its second season, growth within the sport will be key.

According to coaches around Summit County, there are signs of growth popping up everywhere.

Coaches report girls trying out for wrestling from Twinsburg to Norton. There's also been growth in established programs.

Cuyahoga Falls lost two of its three female wrestlers to graduation, but coach Jim Benson said his girls team more than doubled in size. He attributes part of that growth to returning wrestler Reaghan Moore.

"She was pretty much recruited everyone that she could talk to," Benson said. "All of the other girls are first-year wrestlers. They’re learning. They’re hard workers, so they're picking up what they need to."

Attracting the next generation of wrestling talent helps when you have a star like state champion Jaydyn McKinney at Manchester. However, Manchester coach Andy Kusmits said McKinney will be the lone girl in the Panthers' room this winter.

"It’s kind of disappointing actually," he said. "They just didn’t grow up in the sport. It’s a tough sport. I had six boys two years ago at the end of the season, so for a school our size to get a couple of girls out every year would be difficult."

Kusmits isn't despairing, as he said McKinney inspired his 10-year-old daughter Lily to give the sport a try.

"My own daughter is a huge fan of Jaydyn’s, so she’s decided to come out and wrestle," Kusmits said. "That’s where the hope comes from. There are girls in the youth program. She’s a real ambassador for the sport.

"At some point, it's going to gain traction at most of the schools. I think you’re going to have a similar dynamic as girls and boys basketball teams."

One small school where girls wrestling has gained traction is Mogadore. Coach Duane Funk will have five girls on the mat this winter, including returning All-Ohioans Mia and Kai Gaetjens.

"It’s kind of a tough sell. They will wrestle all girls when they wrestle with us, so that's something we can build on," Funk said. "We have a nice girls basketball team, so we had to work around that. Our quality is very good."

Funk said the district's youth and middle school programs continue to welcome girls, including his daughter Layla, who is in eighth grade.

Walsh Jesuit will be one of the schools to welcome its first crop of girls wrestlers this winters, led by national team qualifier Isabella Mbappe.

However, Walsh will make a different contribution to growing girls wrestling in Ohio when it hosts the first Women of Ironman Tournament this weekend.

Tournament co-director Johnna Zaccari said she felt it was important to give the girls a tournament of their own.

"It’s super exciting. Anything with girls is going to be helpful," she said. "It's just so much to have your own seat in sports. It’s great for them. We’ve had so much help from Clint Musser, who was there coaching girls in his youth program."

Would the former basketball and track star at Walsh have given wrestling a go had it been available in her day?

"It’s tough because wrestling is the same season as basketball and that was always my thing," Zaccari said. "As a bigger person, I don't think I would have wanted to be seen in a singlet. However, I think [former Walsh wrestling and track coach] Mr. Bill Barger would have been pushing me there."

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Year 2 of OHSAA girls wrestling hoping to see more participation