Berks County is leading the movement for girls wrestling as an official PIAA sport

Jan. 7—Girls wrestling is on the verge of being recognized as an official high school sport by the PIAA, and Berks County schools are helping lead the way.

Currently, 90 school districts have approved girls wrestling as a school-sanctioned sport in Pennsylvania, including 10 from Berks, tying it with Lancaster County as the county with the most in the state. Additionally, District 3 has the highest number of sanctioned teams with 30.

Gov. Mifflin, Brandywine Heights, Exeter, Berks Catholic, Wyomissing, Boyertown, Reading High, Hamburg, Schuylkill Valley and Wilson have active girls wrestling programs.

When the sport reaches 100 sanctioned schools within the state, the PIAA will be petitioned to officially recognize girls wrestling as a high school sport with a state championship.

"In talking to the people who run the organization called Sanction PA, who is basically the engine behind this girls (wrestling) movement, they really think that'll happen this spring that they'll get to 100," said Kevin Ochs, coach of the Gov. Mifflin girls wrestling team. "Basically, (Sanction PA) they'll petition the PIAA to approve girls wrestling as a PIAA sport. We follow most of the PIAA rules right now, so when the PIAA sanctions something, all they're really doing is saying, 'Okay, we will hold a PIAA state tournament.' "

That's the next step for sport that has seen a drastic increase in participation over the past year.

In 2020, nine school boards had sanctioned girls wrestling teams in Pennsylvania. In 2021, that number jumped to 31 schools before nearly tripling in 2022. As far as individual participation, Sanction PA announced that more than 1,000 girls are participating in wrestling in grades 9-12 in PIAA high schools. According to Sanction PA, that is over 80% higher than last year and 240% higher than two seasons ago.

At the forefront of the growth is Gov. Mifflin and Jayleah Pletz.

"Jayleah is kind of like the godmother of girls wrestling," Ochs said. "She is kind of the person that most of the girls are looking up to, not only with Gov. Mifflin, but with other schools.

"This is her senior year, her last year, so she is kind of the bellwether for girls wrestling and she's done a lot to be involved in other girls programs as far as coming and talking to our girls and going down to the elementary level and that kind of thing."

Mifflin was the sixth school district in the state to approve girls wrestling, in 2020. Since then, Pletz has won two (non-official) state championships in the 101-pound weight class and last year finished second at 106.

Pletz, also a member of the Gov. Mifflin boys team, became the first girl in the 47-year history of the Gov. Mifflin Holiday Tournament to earn a medal when she placed fourth at 106 pounds in 2021. This year, Pletz finished eighth at 107. She has 38 wins in the boys division.

In the most recent Gov. Mifflin Girls Wrestling Holiday Tournament, Pletz defeated Hamburg's Isabelle Wilkes 11-0 to win the 107 championship.

The girls tournament, which had 247 wrestlers from 27 teams registered and was the largest girls tournament in the state to date, serves as another sign of the sport's growth.

"The first year (the 2020 holiday tournament), we had 38 kids," Ochs said. "That year, we only had nine teams and it was limited because of the COVID crisis. Last year, we ended up with 128 wrestlers at the tournament. This year, we had 247 participants.

"We ended up turning people away just because we only have so much capacity. So it's really an exciting problem to have as well."

Wyomissing wrestling coach Frank Ferrandino said he believes that more exposure for girls wrestling will lead to higher participation rates. The Wyomissing School Board approved girls wrestling last May.

"I think it's exploding all around the state and the popularity of it is growing with exposure," said Ferrandino, who coaches the Spartans boys and girls. "I think it's one of those scenarios that when a young lady gets in an environment where she can watch it and see it, whether it's at a practice or a competition, it's something that they would like to try and get involved in.

"So the more exposure we have with young ladies that are not involved in the sport, when they get a chance to get their eyes on it, and see the atmosphere, see the camaraderie, see the competition, it's going to really, really drive the numbers higher and higher as we go."

In addition to the sport gaining more exposure at the high school level, Ochs said he has seen interest grow at the junior high and elementary school levels.

According to an estimate by Ochs, the Mustangs had 11 girls sign up in 2020, 19 in 2021 and 25 in 2022, with junior high members being included in the team total since last year. At the elementary level, participation has more than doubled from five wrestlers last year to 12 this year.

With girls competing at all levels, the opportunities for team-building activities allow wrestlers such as Pletz to take on mentorship roles, thus helping grow the sport.

"We run what we call 'a girls night out' (on Jan. 25), and she (Jayleah) will be a big part of that," Ochs said. "All of our girls from elementary, junior high and senior high get together for a workout and it's a nice thing for the elementary girls to look up to the junior high and high school girls. It's a really fun time and the little girls love it too; they have a big sister for the night."

If the anecdotal evidence and numbers aren't enough, the foundational reasoning for the advancement of girls wrestling seems clear as it provides students with an additional opportunity to get involved in organized sports.

"When we started this thing, probably towards the end of 2019, I talked to (Gov. Mifflin athletic director) Pat Tully," Ochs said, "And Pat's comment, which was really good, was, 'Wrestling is not going to steal or cannibalize students from other sports.'

"So if you're a basketball player, you're gonna be a basketball player, you're not going to quit and join wrestling. So really, these are all girls who really weren't doing anything. Now they have an opportunity to participate and belong on a team."