Milestone reached.
Pennridge High School in Bucks County on Tuesday became the 100th school in Pennsylvania to adopt a girls wrestling program. This means women's wrestling can now be legalized as an official sport by the PIAA.
Thanks to this, the official women's state championship will be held.
"We are so happy for the day we had," SanctionPA, a nonprofit that promotes women's wrestling in the state, wrote Wednesday. “We wouldn't be here without each of these 100 schools and everyone involved in this journey in one way or another. This is a monumental achievement that many thought was impossible, but you all believed and we did it together. This effort is historic. We are so proud to be a part of this wrestling family.
The PIAA board still has to select the organization to take jurisdiction over the sport. It remains to be determined when this vote will take place and whether women's wrestling will become an official sport in the next academic year (2023-24) or the following year (2024-25), as the PIAA will hold its competition biennially in the first year of competition. . cycle
Related: Why doesn't Pennsylvania have women's state wrestling championship yet?
This year's postseason won't change. PIAA Championship Wrestling (Men's Championship) will be held March 9-11 at Hershey's Giant Center. The Pennsylvania State MyHouse Girls Championship will take place independently at Central Dauphin High School on March 12th.
Women's independent state championships have been held since 2018, first at Gettysburg High School, then at Spooky Nook and Central Dauphin. Hundreds of girls participate in the competition every year.
"PIAA would like to congratulate member schools who help protect and educate girls in wrestling," PIAA Executive Director Robert Lombardi said in a statement. "We look forward to developing a flagship program to highlight these athletes and would like to thank everyone associated with Sanction PA for their dedication to this growing sport."
Already 37 state athletic associations have recognized women's wrestling as an official sport. But while Pennsylvania is one of the best wrestling states in the country, the PIAA is not. PIAA's argument is that its regulations require 100 schools to sponsor a sport before it can be approved.
Local coaches have long argued that the position of the PIAA does not allow sanctions to be imposed on the sport.
JP McCaskey in Lancaster became the first school in Pennsylvania to sponsor the sport when its board approved the team in early March 2020. The girls team fielded eight other schools that year, including Gettysburg, which became the first YAIAA school to sponsor the sport. Gettysburg now competes in the Mid-Penn competition.
Related: York County forms first women's wrestling team as sport continues to grow in Pennsylvania
Since then, the movement has grown. In 2022 there are wrestling teams in 54 schools, and in 2023 there are 11 schools.
Last June, Spring Grove became the first York County school to adopt a girls wrestling program. Southwest adopted its program in July, and Dallastown followed in September.
In January 2022, Gettysburg hosted the first District 3 women's wrestling competition in Big Spring. The women's games were held in Spring Grove and Dallastown this season.
And the traffic continues to grow to #100. Coatesville became school number 101 on Wednesday.
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JP McCaskey
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Easton
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Executive Education Academy
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North Allegheny
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middle mountain
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Governor Mifflin
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Anvil-Cleon
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Gettysburg
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Brandy Height
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Delaware Valley
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Wayne West
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Seneca
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milton
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Connellsville
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Honesdale
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chestnut tree
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Big spring
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Later bigger
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Warwick
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Athens
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Valenpawpack
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Municipality of Mannheim
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Kiski district
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catholic church
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Southmoreland
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Mercer
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Palisade
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North Bedford
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Montgomery
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Bishop McCourt
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Pekea Harana
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to Octara
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Read
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spring garden
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Bensalem
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Harry S Truman
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Southwest
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General McClain
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bay
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the Wilkes-Barre area
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three
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combined
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Sunny Valley
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Phillipsburg-Oceola
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Lancaster Catholic
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Above Perkiomen
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Perkiomen Valley
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Pennridge
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Coatesville
Matt Elibon is a sports reporter for GameTimePA. He can be reached at 717-881-8221, mallibone@ydr.com, or via Twitter at @bad2theallibone.
This article originally appeared in the York Daily Record: Women's wrestling could become a legal sport in Pennsylvania.