teams in the state to qualify . Since November , another 17 club teams have been formed , bringing the state total to 36 .
The girls team just competed at the SanctionPA State Championships on March 13 at Central Dauphin High School and finished 3rd in the State , out of 116 teams ! Four girls placed with Chloe Ault finishing 2nd , Natalie Rush 3rd , Rylie Stewart 5th and Leilani Ramos in 6th place . This was a very strong showing with such a large field of competition .
Coach Brian Krenzelak , who coaches Canon-Mac Boys Wrestling and coach of the girls ’ team , believes the goal of 100 teams will be met within a few years .
“ Girl ’ s Wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports in America . We ’ re seeing exponential growth .”
As a club sport , the girls ’ team is not eligible for school funding . So , when they travel , the team must pay for its own expenses . Also , there is no funding for an additional female coach for the team . But Coach Brian is hoping that this can change in the not-too-distant future . In the meantime , volunteer chaperones have been filling in to help .
The team has already enjoyed success this season by winning all of the matches . At the time of this writing , they are scheduled to attend the State Championships on March 13 at Central Dauphin High School , and their outlook for success is promising .
girls wrestling is one of the fastest-growing sports in america . we ’ re seeing exponential growth .
It will be a SanctionPA event , since there is no PIAA tournament until criteria are met for the sport .
It ’ s been a different experience for Coach Brian , who is teaching the basics of beginning wrestling to high school-aged girls . At this point , the girls are learning what they ordinarily would have at the age of six . However , they are learning it much more quickly .
“ The girls are generally much more detail-oriented , and their attention span is longer than the boys . They can focus on the technical aspect of learning moves for an hour at a time . Boys tend to want to build strength , while the girls are more focused on how to technically overcome any opponent .”
The other surprise that Coach Brian has noticed in his first experience coaching girl ’ s wrestling is that they ask far more questions .
“ Girls ask tons of questions . Those are the moments you live for as a teacher . You want to know that they ’ re interested in learning .”
In the first tournament of the year in December , the girls were able to use some advanced takedown tactics , which they were executing well . However , the girls did not know how to defend a basic move such as a half nelson . The basic half nelson is something rarely used at the higher levels in boys wrestling , so the coaches neglected to teach the girls how to do it . Once they realized what was going on , the coaches made a quick adjustment . They taught the girls the defense to the half nelson , and they came back strong , winning most of the matches in their event .
Though the regular season is over , Coach Brian is continuing the wrestling club into the spring , where they will learn freestyle wrestling .
Coach Brian explains , “ Freestyle wrestling is used in girls collegiate and Olympic wrestling . So , this will prepare them for the next level if they want to continue wrestling in college . Right now , is a good time to join the team if girls are interested , since everyone will be starting fresh and learning the freestyle techniques . We ’ re definitely looking to add girls to the team at any time .”
The freestyle season will start at the end of March and continue to June . In the summer , there will be wrestling camps for K through 12 . And in the fall , they will begin their pre-season training . To learn more about girl ’ s wrestling , or just trying it out , email coachslack @ aol . com .
Girl ’ s wrestling was just recognized by the PIAA a few weeks ago as an emerging sport . So , there is hope that it will soon be a school sanctioned sport . n
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