Girls wrestling, boys volleyball see participation surge under OHSAA
Correction: A total of 257 schools entered wrestlers in regional tournaments this season compared to 169 last year. A previous version of this story said 257 wrestlers competed at the regional tournaments.
There aren't many similarities between their sports, but this year, Ohio high school boys volleyball players are following in the footsteps of girls wrestlers.
Girls wrestling recently completed its first season under the Ohio High School Athletic Association, while boys volleyball is a couple weeks into its OHSAA debut. For both, being brought under the OHSAA has dramatically increased participation.
Girls wrestling had 89 programs with six or more competitors, up from 40 a year ago, with 257 schools entering wrestlers in regional tournaments compared to 169 last season, said Jeff Martin, communications chair for the Sanction Ohio girls wrestling organization. Also, there are about 180 boys volleyball programs this year compared to 92 a season ago, according to the OHSAA.
At the first girls wrestling state tournament run by the OHSAA — it was held March 10-12 at Value City Arena in conjunction with the boys tournament — the consensus among athletes and coaches was the event was a hit. The Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association ran the girls state tournament in the sport's first three seasons.
“Being able to watch girls walk out of the tunnel and compete at (Value City Arena) was a dream come true,” said Olentangy Orange coach Vanessa Oswalt, whose team finished second.
Boys volleyball had a longer wait to join the OHSAA, as its first state tournament was held in 1988 by the Ohio Boys Scholastic Volleyball Coaches Association. The sport added a second postseason division in 2008.
“(The OHSAA’s commitment is) great for the sport,” said sixth-year Hilliard Darby coach Evan Bell, whose program won state titles in 2013 and 2015. “It will legitimize the sport in a lot of athletic directors’ eyes across the state. Maybe in 10, 15, 20 years, boys volleyball will be such a common and growing sport that most schools in the state will have it. That’s one of the major positives in all this.”
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There are about 50 boys volleyball teams in the Central District, which includes the addition of Centennial and Columbus South. They join fellow City League schools Briggs, Eastmoor Academy, Northland and Whetstone in offering the sport.
“We tried to form a team before COVID, but after COVID it was unsuccessful,” first-year Centennial athletic director Aaron Mays said. “We’re trying to bring it back and we’re trying to (raise) those numbers for it to be a successful sport here at Centennial. With OHSAA and it being sanctioned, it holds a lot of credibility. It’s great because it’s noticed as a school sport now.”
After holding its state tournament at Pickerington Central the past two seasons because of COVID-19 concerns, the event will return to a college venue with Wittenberg hosting May 27 and 28. Capital previously hosted the tournament.
Four teams will qualify for state in each division compared to eight in Division I and four in Division II in previous seasons.
Practices began Feb. 20 and the season opened March 10.
The coaches association will still organize clinics and present the regional and state individual postseason awards.
“This has been a long time coming,” said St. Charles coach Ned Gruber, who is in his 10th season. “We’ve been having a state championship since 1988, so it’s really exciting to finally see (OHSAA sanctioning) happen as an emerging sport.”
St. Charles, which formed its first team in 1989, won state titles in 2009 and 2018 and was runner-up in 1990.
“It’s important as the OHSAA takes governance that we still have people that remember what things were like before,” said Gruber, who also is president of the coaches association. “One of the things that makes boys volleyball so great to be a coach is we’re all in it together. All of our coaches get along really well and we’re all about helping new programs expand. I hope we don’t lose that spirit of growth and development in helping each other now that we’re sanctioned.”
New rules include reserves no longer being permitted to stand for prolonged periods to cheer on teammates. That aligns with the National Federation of State High School Associations, which devises rules for all 28 of the OHSAA's sanctioned sports.
The regular season consists of 22 matches compared to 24 in the past.
“It’s another fast-growing sport, especially at the youth level, so we’re happy to be able to add a spring sport for boys volleyball and see where it goes,” said Tim Stried, director of media relations for the OHSAA. “There needed to be stability with the coaches association and support from the coaches association and they definitely have that.”
Oswalt expects girls wrestling's participation surge to continue.
“We’re encouraging more girls to come out,” she said. “Other schools and clubs have added girls programs, so it was just a matter of time. It’s (one of) the fastest growing (sports) in the world. It’s only a matter of time before girls wrestling is going to catch up with the rest of the world.”
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: How many OHSAA schools have added girls wrestling, boys volleyball?
