'I'm a pioneer:' Female wrestlers reflect on the journey as sport nears official status

Kayla Henderson said she felt nervous entering her first state wrestling tournament two weekends ago.

At the same time, she appreciated she had the opportunity to feel that way.

Henderson moved from California to Maryland a few years ago. Then came another move across the Mason-Dixon line to Hanover last year. She was looking for another sport to play and a way to make new friends when her gym teacher at South Western High School, wrestling coach Nate Murren, approached her about a new team coming to the school.

A year later, Henderson was standing on the podium at the MyHouse PA Girls State Wrestling Championships at Central Dauphin on March 12. She won a state silver medal in her first year wrestling after reaching the finals at 235 pounds.

"It was a lot of work but it was rewarding," said Henderson, who also competes in track and field for the Mustangs. "Especially seeing my hard work in practice pay off. I wanted to be a multi-sport athlete and wanted to give wrestling a try."

Related: Why does Pennsylvania still not have a girls' state wrestling tournament?

Henderson was one of four wrestlers from York County to medal at the PA Girls State Wrestling Championships two weekends ago. South Western juniors Natalie Handy (100 pounds, second) and Davina Crump (190, third) both finished in the top three, and York Suburban's Naylee Ierley (142) took fourth. Wrestlers from Dallastown, Dover and Susquehannock also competed at the tournament.

As for Adams County, Gettysburg took fifth in the team race, and sophomore Zoey Haines won the 142-pound state title. Kylie Monroe (155, third) and Zalika Roberts (136, seventh) also medaled for the Warriors.

This was the sixth year that the PA Girls State Wrestling Championships were held independently of the PIAA wrestling championships. But that will hopefully be coming to an end soon. As of February, Pennsylvania has more than 100 school districts with approved girls' wrestling teams. That means the sport is eligible to be sanctioned by the PIAA as an official sport — which will allow an official state tournament to be held.

It's not likely an official girls' state tournament will be held next season. The PIAA Board of Directors needs to pass legislation on three readings for it to take effect. The second vote on a proposal to sponsor and take jurisdiction of girls' wrestling will take place this Wednesday, according to the PIAA's agenda. Since the PIAA is currently in the first of a two-year competition cycle, it's more likely girls' wrestling will become an official sport in 2024-25.

While York County's state medalists will have graduated by then, they're still excited to be participating in the sport during a historic time.

"I definitely feel like I'm a pioneer," said Ierley, who will compete for York College's women's wrestling team next year. "It's made me feel so empowered. At the (girls) championships this year they were selling T-shirts that said: 'Pa. is here to stay' and that was really cool."

One gold medal, one black eye: Sierra Chiesa's one-of-a-kind weekend of varsity wrestling

Ierley and Henderson took different paths to the sport, but both said they think sanctioning girls' wrestling as an official sport will lead to higher participation. They said they saw a huge jump in interest the past few years as more schools created teams. J.P. McCaksey became the first school to create a team in March 2020, and Pennridge became the 100th just under three years later.

When South Western approved a team last July, Murren said the Mustangs had 10 girls (five varsity and five JV) on the boys' team last season. Their official roster this year lists 19 girls.

York Suburban does not have an official girls' team yet, but Ierley said she saw way more girls' wrestlers this year than the past two seasons.

Both wrestlers said they've grown personally since starting the sport.

"I'm usually an introvert but this allowed me to open up more," Henderson said. "I know a lot more people now. It was very different from the other sports I've played but it taught me responsibility."

Unlike Henderson, Ierley has been around the sport most of her life. Her siblings, sophomores Riley and Hazelin, both wrestled for York Suburban this season. She has three more younger siblings, including two little sisters, who are also interested in wrestling.

She said she thinks about her sisters when reflecting on how much the sport has grown in recent years. Earlier this month, Northwestern sophomore Sierra Chiesa became the first girl to compete at the PIAA championships, where she won two matches against boys at 107 pounds.

Ierley hopes her sisters will be able to compete at a girls' championship tournament at Hershey's Giant Center when they reach high school.

"After I won my first varsity match sophomore year, one of my teammate's little sisters said I was her favorite wrestler," Ierley said. "Hopefully when my sisters are my age they'll be able to look back and see I was a part of this."

Matt Allibone is a sports reporter for GameTimePA. He can be reached at 717-881-8221, mallibone@ydr.com or on Twitter at @bad2theallibone.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: PA girls' wrestling championships: York County medalists reflect