General McLane latest Pennsylvania high school to sanction girls wrestling
Add General McLane and Saegertown to the list of schools that will sponsor girls wrestling.
SanctionPA, an organization that seeks have the sport officially recognized by the PIAA, announced via Twitter that the Lancers will sponsor a program starting with the 2022-23 academic year. That happened just over a month after Saegertown made the same announcement.
McLane and Saegertown joined Seneca and Mercer as District 10 schools that have indicated their support. McLane also became the state's 56th high school to give its consent, according to SanctionPA.
PIAA Executive Director Robert Lombardi announced two years ago that if 100 schools agreed to formally sanction girls wrestling, the organization would follow suit.
McLane's female wrestlers will be coached by Ryan Cook, who's held that same role with its boys since 2004. Cook and his assistants started campaigning this past winter for school officials to add girls wrestling.
They were persuasive enough to finally get the go-ahead from McLane administrators that included new Athletic Director Jamie Soboleski.
“You've talked to me long enough to know I'm very passionate about the sport,” Cook said. “I truly believe in wrestling and what it does (for kids), especially in the times we live in today. It's another outlet for (girls) to find a sport that helps define them as individual.
“I think this is the start of something very good.”
Cook and his assistants are about to start a program almost from scratch. McLane had no female wrestlers, be it at the youth or varsity levels, in recent seasons.
“But the fact that it's hard to gauge interest without providing (the girls) an opportunity is how we approached it,” Cook said. “This is going to rejuvenate (McLane wrestling) from our youth program on up. We'll try to get more families in the school district involved.
“Before it was, 'Do you have a son (interested)?' Now, it's, 'Let's get the whole family involved.'”
More:Cathedral Prep's Van Dee commits to Nebraska; Seneca shows support for girls wrestling
Push for 100
Cook said it's disturbing to him that Pennsylvania, a state nationally known for high school wrestling excellence, doesn't officially sanction it for female students.
MyHouse, which manufactures sports equipment that includes wrestling singlets, sought to help make that reality in 2020. That's when the company sponsored the state's inaugural girls tournament, which was held at Gettysburg.
This year's meet took place at Harrisburg's Central Dauphin High School a day after the conclusion of the PIAA-sanctioned boys tournament at the nearby Giant Center in Hershey.
J.P. McCaskey High School in Lancaster was the first PIAA school that confirmed its intention to sponsor girls wrestling after Lombardi's announcement in 2020. There were nine on the list by the end of that year and 31 by the conclusion of 2021.
Seneca was the first District 10 school that committed. Mercer followed this Jan. 27 and then Saegertown on July 11.
More:Crawford Wrestling Club wins first all-girls dual on northwestern Pa.
Saegertown's situation
Melissa Bartholomew, a 1994 Saegertown graduate, was hired as the coach of her alma mater's new program.
Bartholomew and Andy Dylon assisted coach Kane Patron, a former Strong Vincent wrestler, when the Crawford Wrestling Club scheduled northwestern Pennsylvania's initial all-girls wrestling dual Jan. 25. More than 100 fans showed up at Saegertown's Steve Scott Gymnasium to watch the club's 48-27 victory over Canon-McMillan.
“This is something I wish I could have done back in the day,” Bartholomew said. “They just didn't have that. Girls getting opportunities to get full scholarships to college ― or even partial scholarships to college ― that's never been heard of before, so it's an amazing opportunity for these young women to come out and show their abilities in the sport of wrestling.”
Saegertown's roster should include wrestlers from beyond its campus. Students from Cambridge Springs and Maplewood, which also are part of the Penncrest School District, plus those from Meadville and Conneaut are eligible to participate.
Bartholomew played softball and also was a cheerleader during her days as a Panther. However, she was familiar with the boys wrestling program long before her time with the Crawford Wrestling Club.
Doug Luikart, Bartholomew's father, was Saegertown's coach when she was a student there. She held even more interest in the Panthers' fortunes when Dawson Bartholomew, her son, competed between 2015-19
The family's wrestling bond will continue, according to Melissa Bartholomew.
“My father's going to help me on the journey,” she said, “and Dawson has (applied) to be an assistant.”
Patron said he and Dylon will still be in charge of the Crawford Wrestling Club. Going forward, though, they only plan to run it more for practices during the offseason.
“The girls will still have a team to wrestle for during the summer,” Patron said. “We don't want to take away from Saegertown.”
Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNcopper.
PIAA schools that have confirmed their addition of a girls wrestling program as of Aug. 18. The PIAA has said it will sanction the sport if 100 of its schools do the same:
District 12: (none)
District 11: Easton; Executive Education Academy; Parkland; Palisades
District 10: Seneca; Mercer; Saegertown; General McLane
District 9: Curwensville
District 8: (none)
District 7: North Allegheny; Canon-McMillan; Connellsville; Kiski Area; Southmoreland; Plum; Fort Cherry
District 6: Central Mountain; Bald Eagle Area; Bishop McCort
District 5: Chestnut Ridge; Northern Bedford
District 4: Milton; Athens; Montgomery
District 3: J.P. McCaskey; Governor Mifflin; Annville-Cleona; Gettysburg; Brandywine Heights; Exeter; Newport; Penn Manor; Big Spring; Warwick; Manheim Township; Berks Catholic; Wyomissing; Lampeter-Strasburg; Pequea Valley; Palmyra; Octorara; Reading; Spring Grove; South Western
District 2: Delaware Valley; Western Wayne; Hanover Area; Honesdale; Greater Nanticoke; Wallenpaupack; Cumberland Valley; Montrose
District 1: Souderton; Boyertown; Bensalem; Harry S. Truman
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: General McLane latest PA high school to sanction girls wrestling
