Centenary University to become second NJ school to add women's wrestling program
Centenary University will soon be the second college in New Jersey with a women’s wrestling program.
The university on Thursday announced plans to launch the D-III program by next year. Recruitment is underway for the program’s first coach and an inaugural roster, university officials said.
The women’s wrestling team will be the second of its kind in New Jersey, as more colleges leverage the sport’s growing popularity in the tri-state area. In 2021, New Jersey City University made history by establishing the state’s first collegiate wrestling program for women.
“Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports in the United States,” university president Bruce Murphy said in a statement. “Centenary’s new women’s wrestling team aligns with the objectives of our strategic plan to grow the University, while providing academic and extracurricular opportunities that enrich the experience for a more diverse group of students.”
Girls' and women’s wrestling has exploded in popularity in recent years in New Jersey — sparked by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association decision to sanction the sport in 2019. The next year, Bergen County hosted its first girls' wrestling tournament. The event has since become an annual tradition. Growth at the lower level naturally led to growth at the college level, as girls aged out of younger divisions and were eager to continue wrestling.
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Women’s wrestling has been an Olympic sport since 2004. The number of women who wrestle in high school has grown from 804 in 1994 to more than 31,654 in 2022, according to the National Wrestling Coaches Association.
Recognized as an emerging NCAA sport in 2020 for all three collegiate divisions, women’s wrestling is sanctioned for high school competition in 36 states, including New Jersey. Centenary’s program will be one of two NCAA collegiate programs in the state, although several other colleges and universities offer the sport on the club level or allow women to compete on men’s teams.
Centenary, in Hackettstown, plans to leverage the success of its existing men’s wrestling program to build the women’s team. The two teams will be sharing facilities.
“Centenary has a long and proud reputation for men’s wrestling, producing many national qualifiers and All-Americans,” Rose Haller, the university’s associate athletic director, said in a statement. “We anticipate that the University’s new women’s program will follow in that proud tradition.”
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Centenary University NJ to add women's wrestling team
