Which Pa. schools have girls' wrestling teams? A second YAIAA school adds to the list

Matt Allibone, York Daily Record
·5 min read

Girls' wrestling is continuing to grow in York County ― and across the state.

South Western became the second York County high school to approve an official girls' wrestling program at its school board meeting Wednesday. Spring Grove became the first school in the county to start a program when its board approved a team in June.

Gettysburg became the first YAIAA school (and eighth in the state) to approve a girls' program in October 2020. But Gettysburg will compete in the Mid-Penn this upcoming school year.

South Western head coach Nate Murren said he'd been exploring creating a girls' team in recent years after Emily Zheng competed for the Mustangs from 2018 to 2021. This past season, the Mustangs had five girls on the varsity roster and another five on JV.

Natalie Handy from South Western grapples with Autumn Shoff from Moshannon Valley at the 2022 MyHouse Pennsylvania Girls High School State Championships organized by SanctionPA and hosted by Central Dauphin High School on March 13, 2022.
Natalie Handy from South Western grapples with Autumn Shoff from Moshannon Valley at the 2022 MyHouse Pennsylvania Girls High School State Championships organized by SanctionPA and hosted by Central Dauphin High School on March 13, 2022.

"The credit for this goes to the girls because they were the ones who were interested," Murren said. "That was the biggest influence. If there wasn't so much interest I'm not sure we would've made the attempt."

South Western also had success at the 2022 MyHouse PA High School Girls State Championships ― an annual event held separately from the PIAA. Sophomore Natalie Handy won the 100-pound state title and junior Sophia Cordon took sixth at 170 pounds.

"Having success doesn't hurt," Murren said when asked if Handy's state title helped influence the creation of an official team. "Our girls were competitive and that's helpful getting girls out for the team but it was more about having the interest there."

Natalie Handy won the 100-pound weight class at the 2022 MyHouse Pennsylvania Girls High School State Championships organized by SanctionPA and hosted by Central Dauphin High School on March 13, 2022.
Natalie Handy won the 100-pound weight class at the 2022 MyHouse Pennsylvania Girls High School State Championships organized by SanctionPA and hosted by Central Dauphin High School on March 13, 2022.

Murren said his goal is to have 10 girls on varsity and another 10 on JV next season. Jennifer Strine, a South Western teacher who has wrestlers in her family, will serve as the girls' head coach. Murren said the current plan is for the girls' team to practice alongside the boys' team ― similar to how a swimming or track and field program is run.

South Western's 2022-23 district budget was approved prior to the creation of a girls' wrestling team. South Western athletic director Troy Warehime said the school will "rearrange" some of the funding that goes to boys' wrestling to help the girls' program next season ― similar to how it functioned with 10 girls in the program this year. The program will also boost its fundraising efforts to take care of expenses like uniforms, travel and tournament fees.

Warehime said South Western's 2023-24 district budget will include a specific budget for the girls' program.

Pennsylvania up to 55 girls' programs

South Western is the 55th school in Pennsylvania to approve a girls' wrestling program.

J.P. McCaskey became the first Pennsylvania school to sponsor the sport when its board approved a team in early March 2020.

24 schools have started programs in 2022 ― with 16 coming since June.

That means Pennsylvania is moving closer to reaching 100 schools with official girls' teams — which would allow the sport to be sanctioned by the PIAA and hold an official state tournament.

There are currently 32 state high school associations that sanction a girls' wrestling state championship tournament. But while Pennsylvania is one of the top wrestling states in the country, the PIAA has not sanctioned girls' wrestling as an official sport, which means there is no district or state tournaments for the sport.

The PIAA's reasoning is that its bylaws require 100 schools must sponsor a sport before it can be sanctioned. Local coaches have long argued that the PIAA's stance is actually preventing the sport from becoming sanctioned.

However, advocates for girls wrestling have become proactive in recent years by encouraging schools to sponsor the sport on their own in order to reach the 100-school mark.

An independent event titled the PA High School Girls State Championships has been hosted in recent years — first by Gettysburg High School, then at Spooky Nook Sports and then at Central Dauphin this year. Hundreds of girls have competed at that event.

Gettysburg also hosted Big Spring in District 3's first girls' wrestling dual meet this past season. Gettysburg won the match, 47-6, on Jan. 5.

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

Related: 'She's like my sister': York-Adams national champion girls' wrestlers commit to same college

Pennsylvania schools to sanction girls' wrestling

  • JP McCaskey High School (Lancaster County)

  • Easton Area School District (Northampton County)

  • North Allegheny School District (Allegheny County)

  • Executive Education Charter School (Lehigh County)

  • Central Mountain School District (Clinton County)

  • Annville-Cleona School District (Lebanon County)

  • Governor Mifflin (Berks County)

  • Gettysburg School District (Adams County)

  • Brandywine Heights Area School District (Berks County)

  • Delaware Valley School District (Pike County)

  • Western Wayne School District (Wayne County)

  • Bald Eagle School District (Centre County)

  • Parkland School District (Lehigh County)

  • Exeter Township School District (Berks County)

  • Souderton School District (Upper Montgomery County)

  • Newport School District (Perry County)

  • Seneca High School (Erie County)

  • Milton Area School District (Northumberland County)

  • Canon-McMillan School District (Washington County)

  • Connellsville Area School District (Fayette County)

  • Hanover Area School District (Luzerne County)

  • Honesdale High School (Wayne County)

  • Penn Manor School District (Lancaster County)

  • Chestnut Ridge School District (Bedford County)

  • Big Spring School District (Cumberland County)

  • Greater Nanticoke Area School District (Luzerne County)

  • Warwick School District (Lancaster County)

  • Athens Area School District (Bradford County)

  • Wallenpaupack Area School District (Wayne and Pike counties)

  • Manheim Township School District (Lancaster County)

  • Kiski Area School District (Westmoreland County)

  • Berks Catholic High School (Berks County)

  • Southmoreland (Fayette County)

  • Mercer (Mercer County)

  • Palisades (Bucks County)

  • Northern Bedford (Bedford County)

  • Montgomery (Lycoming County)

  • Wyomissing (Berks County)

  • Lampeter-Strasburg (Lancaster County)

  • Bishop McCort (Cambria County)

  • Pequea Valley (Lancaster County)

  • Cumberland Valley (Cumberland County)

  • Montrose Area High School (Susquehanna County)

  • Boyertown Area Senior High School (Montgomery County)

  • Curwensville Area High School (Clearfield County)

  • Palmyra Area High School (Lebanon County)

  • Plum High School (Allegheny County)

  • Octorara High School (Lancaster County)

  • Reading High School (Berks County)

  • Fort Cherry High School (Washington County)

  • Spring Grove Area High School (York County)

  • Bensalem High School (Bucks County)

  • Harry S. Truman High School (Bucks County)

  • Saegertown High School (Crawford County)

  • South Western High School (York County)

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: Which Pa. school districts have girls' wrestling? Here's the growing list