Girl's Wrestling Grows Around the State

Girls Wrestle with Policy to gain Equal Competitive Opportunities

by Ryland Larson

Athletes walk into the Billings metro to the smell of mat cleaner and sweat. Coaches, wrestlers, referees all walked around busy preparing for the tournament . Competitors sit down and take in the scene and breathe. This year, the scene was different than years before. For the first time, girls had to qualify at divisionals for their chance to wrestle at state due to the escalating numbers of girls who have fought their way to mats.

Girls' high school wrestling didn't just start easily.  In the beginning in the late 1980s, the few girls who chose to participate in wrestling, would wrestle boys and once in a while another girl. Berlin Larson, who is now a senior, was one of the first girls to join the team her Freshman year. At first, Larson said, “It was tough wrestling guys the first couple of years since they would be more experienced and stronger, but even though they would be better sometimes, I wouldn't let that get to me. I kept going and pushing forward.”   

According to the press release by the Montana High School Sports Association(MHSA), “Girls can compete in regular season matches against either girl or boy competitors. This is due to a lack of girl’s competition opportunities in certain areas of the state.”

In March of 2022, MHSA published a implementation plan for girls wrestling due to the rapidly increased numbers of girls joining the sport. While girls still wrestle in 1 Classification (AA, A, B/C), they will only wrestle other girls in post season matches. It also reported the decision that girls would have their own divisional tournaments to qualify for state.  

Coach Thad White has seen amazing growth in girls wrestling. Couch White has seen not only growth in the tournaments he coaches at, but also in the wrestling room: “there are a lot more girls wrestling and not just here and there, there are a heck of a lot more girls wrestling in Montana and even more in highschool. This year the Shelby team started with 4 girls and ended with 2 at divisionals. Girls wrestling is probably the fastest growing sport in Montana if not the country.”

Larson said she was the first girls high school wrestler. She faced many challenges whether it be injuries or other wrestlers, but also school board and MHSA policy. In Larson’s sophomore year, MHSA made girls wrestling official, but our school board would not allow her to wrestle due to school policy. 

Luckily,she said friends, family and almost the whole town came to advocate for her, so the school board decided to revise the policy in 2019. Larson said, “I was very happy, I cried a lot, and I was really excited to be able to wrestle with the boys I was wrestling with the past two years.” Larson’s senior year was the first year of divisionals for girls. She placed 3rd and she went on to state. Although she didn’t place at state, she is glad to see other girls joining the team and that her efforts will leave a legacy and pathway for female wrestlers to continue to to wrestle in the future.

You can read the policy change by visiting the following website: https://www.mhsa.org/wrestling