Iowa High School Girls Wrestling Preview

The 2017-2018 wrestling season has again ushered in a record number of Iowa girls registered to wrestle on their high school teams. As of today, there are 91 girls registered with 90 of them officially passing weight certification.

Using 90 as the official number, this is a 5.9% increase over last year’s 85 weight-certified female wrestlers at the high school level and an impressive increase of 34.7% over the past two seasons. This shows continued momentum and steady, increasing growth in female participation throughout the state.

The breakdown by grade level is as follows:

Freshman: 24
Sophomore: 24
Junior: 16
Senior: 27

This season, there is a female registered to wrestle is all but 2 districts covering 1A, 2A & 3A throughout the state of Iowa. Keep in mind that there are generally additional wrestlers who are late sign ups or have not been entered in the roster data. At this rate of growth, what used to be a handful of female wrestlers throughout the state will soon be well over 100 and growing.

Breakdown by class:

Class 1A: 29
Class 2A: 27
Class 3A: 34

Des Moines-Lincoln has returned this year with 4 girls on the roster, however Ottumwa has taken the lead as the leader in registered, certified female participants.

Top teams by female participation:

Ottumwa: 5
Des Moines-Lincoln: 4
Chariton: 4
Colfax-Mingo: 3

As mentioned in last year’s preview, “Iowa does not currently sanction girls wrestling at the high school level, requiring those females interested in wrestling to do so by competing on the boys team at their high school. We have reached a point in Iowa where sanctioning girls wrestling should be a major topic of discussion at the Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) and the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU). The participation numbers, rate of growth, and active support among coaches, officials, and administrators point to the need for sanctioning. The assumption can also be made that the numbers would increase exponentially given the opportunity for girls to wrestle other girls. For those who have not supported girls wrestling because they have competed against the boys, here is your opportunity to support the girls by supporting sanctioning of girls wrestling in Iowa.”

It is also important to mention that there are tremendous opportunities for Iowa’s female wrestlers at the collegiate and international levels. There are 42 colleges and universities throughout the United States (16 in Canada) offering scholarship opportunities in women’s wrestling with additional programs being added every year. With the addition of the Presbyterian College program, women’s wrestling has now broken into the ranks of NCAA Division 1. Women’s wrestling is also included in the Olympic Games and there are developmental programs at USA Wrestling for girls at the Schoolgirl, Cadet, Junior and U23 levels.

The growth is strong, the future is bright, and there is a tremendous amount to be proud of when reviewing the growth of women’s wrestling in Iowa and across the nation.

Now on to the preview!

We have listed the wrestlers in their respective classes and districts and have included their grade level and weight class. Keep in mind that these are the certified weights and many wrestlers will compete at different weights as the season gets underway.

Class 1A Districts (29 wrestlers)

Class 2A Districts (27 wrestlers)

Class 3A Districts (34 wrestlers)

As mentioned above, additional wrestlers will likely be added in the coming weeks. If you know of a female high school wrestler who is not included, please email their information to: iowawwr@gmail.com

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Interested in the benefits of wrestling at any age level? Contact Charlotte Bailey of Female Elite Wrestling (FEW) at: coach@femaleelitewrestling.org to find out more.