History has been made for the state of Iowa. The Iowa Girls’ High School Athletic Union board voted to sanction wrestling for girls. The vote was made and announced on January 12th, at the start of the championship round of the Girls’ State Wrestling Tournament in Coralville.
Iowa is now the 34th state to sanction girls’ wrestling. This is the 11th sport to be sanctioned by the IGHSAU and the first since bowling in 2007.
On the latest data on Trackwrestling, it showed that over 1,000 girls have participated in high school wrestling this year alone, representing over 185 Iowa schools.
As the year continues, rules and regulations are still being set in place and new information will be brought out to those who are interested. High school coaches are also learning and listening as to what the 2022-2023 season will look like and how the girls will be put into play.
For Algona High School, this is something our own girl wrestlers are ecstatic for. For the new upcoming underclassmen to our senior, Sophie Degner, who has experienced it all. Degner shared her thoughts about the sport being sanctioned, “I am honestly truly happy girls’ wrestling has finally been sanctioned. Being a part of this team holds a special place in my heart and I have high hopes for the girls who continue to wrestle throughout the rest of their high school.”