'Opportunity creates everything': RIIL to host first all-girls wrestling state tournament
SCITUATE — Ten years ago, it might have been unfathomable. And the five seasons prior, it was farfetched. But that was then.
Now high school girls wrestling participation is thriving. The Rhode Island Interscholastic League is hosting its first girls wrestling state championship and Scituate held an all-girls exhibition with student-athletes from North Providence, Mount Pleasant, Juanita Sanchez and Exeter-West Greenwich competing.
“I know I’ve preached leave it better than you found it before,” Scituate’s Maura Pendergast said. “But I'm leaving it on my senior year seeing all these little girls come out and hoping to come back in a few years and watch their matches out here.”
The high school grapplers were flanked by the next group of young wrestlers during opening ceremonies, celebrating both the sport’s growth and National Girls and Women in Sports Day on Feb. 7.
“[The progress] shows that we can do it,” Mount Pleasant’s Shalom Feliz said of building girl’s participation. “There's no boys here; we're all on the same field and most of us are new now that it's growing.”
There are 73 girls wrestlers this year — up from just eight in 2014, according to the Rhode Island Interscholastic League.
The state tournament is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 23 and 24 at the Providence Career and Technical Academy and the New England tournament is slated for the following weekend in Providence.
‘Making history’: First girls wrestling state tournament
Previously, qualified girls were admitted to states, but with the uptick in participation, there are now separate tournaments with girls-only weight classes.
The Scituate-held exhibition match ranged in weight classes from 106 pounds to 175. Scituate, which has about 10 girls wrestling, is one of the most diverse programs in the state.
“Opportunity creates everything,” said Scituate coach Serge Bouyssou, who owns Mayo Quanchi Judo & Wrestling. “All of the girls forever would always come into practices and there'd be one girl to 30 guys in the practice. It was difficult for them.”
“I know a bunch of my friends that don't wrestle, even my age, they reached out and asked, ‘What's going on?’ Pendergast said of the exhibition. "It's definitely one of the first things in Rhode Island to come about girls wrestling. It's going to gain traction and pull more girls to Rhode Island wrestling.”
The RIIL is offering 12 weight classes exclusive to girls with a chance to earn entrance into the New England Championship, which is also offering classes for the first time.
“I'm actually excited that they're having this opportunity for the girls,” Mount Pleasant coach Ivan Montanez said. “Girls don't really typically get a lot of opportunities to showcase what they've learned and what type of wrestling skills they have.”
The enthusiasm for Feliz, who won her exhibition match via pin, was immediate.
“I’m really excited,” Feliz said of the tournament. “I've been looking forward to it since I heard about it.”
Related: Is Gabriel Bouyssou the best wrestler to come out of RI? It's hard to deny 4 years of wins
Pendergast lost her exhibition match, but the tournament provides the opportunity for her, and others, to earn well-deserved hardware.
“Making history but also redeeming myself,” Pendergast said of what she’s excited for in the state tournament. “I had a tough night [last week]. I made a few mistakes, but I'm hoping at states to redeem myself, and with all the other girls, win a state championship for Scituate. And, obviously, watch all of the other teams — watch these girls make history for their schools.”
La Salle also has a handful of girls wrestling and, earlier this season, sophomore Meili Shao won the first-ever RIIL varsity girl-only match, the Rams announced on their Instagram page.
Growth in the state and country
Rhode Island is one of 45 states to host a high school girls wrestling state tournament, with some states slated to begin during the 2024-25 season, according to Wrestling Insider. After the New England tournament, there is all-girls nationals for qualified grapplers.
“The numbers are never going to build if you don't have the opportunity,” Bouyssou said. “Why would a girl want to wrestle if they don't even have a state championship?”
Bouyssou’s daughter, Katelyn Jarrell-Bouyssou, was one of Rhode Island’s inaugural female wrestlers and faced harsh criticism for her participation.
“I started with my daughter and it was not an easy run for her at all,” Bouyssou said. “She had a tough go because there were all boys. I mean, no girls really wrestling at all. So, she got picked on and coaches and would say inappropriate things.”
Pendergast thanked the female trailblazers, including Jarrell-Bouyssou, who were honored before the event.
“Now that these girls have an opportunity, it’s super exciting not to have to negotiate through the amount of negativity that she had to go through and see the opportunity that these girls have,” Bouyssou said.
The exhibition acted as a showing for the state tournament in just over a week.
“It's a historic moment,” Pendergast said. “It's like a preview of the big moment, so obviously it was a little bit nerve-racking coming out. We had to get some the jitters out to get ready for states.”
jrousseau@providencejournal.com
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This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: RIIL to host first all-girls wrestling state tournament
