Sanctioned Girls’ Wrestling On Tap

“A League Of Their Own”

A League Of Their Own,

a 1992 movie that chronicled a 1940s women’s only professional baseball league, might relate to sanctioned high school girls’ wrestling coming to many Montana schools next year. Wolf Point and Poplar are likely to be among the first schools to participate.

The Montana High School Association approved the additions of girls’ wrestling and boys’ powerlifting as sanctioned sports during a meeting in Billings Monday, Jan. 20.

Rapidly growing in Montana and other states, Montana will join several states with high school girls’ wrestling programs. The numbers of female high school wrestlers competing against males in Montana and the recent inclusion of girls’ wrestling in several states led to consideration of the change by the Montana High School Association as far back as 2017.

Poplar High School has had girls’ wrestling the past several years. Several girls are wrestling at Poplar Middle School and in the AAU program.

Wolf Point as a few girls coming up but the most noticeable change is that two of the current four varsity wrestlers are girls.

Poplar head wrestling coach Jason Frederick said he will discuss the changes and how they would affect the Poplar wrestling program with the Northern Plaines Independent in the near future.

Powerlifting for male students will also become a sanctioned sport next year.

Poplar High School activities director Coy Weeks expressed optimism about the changes. He said both girls’ wrestling and powerlifting are possibilities for Poplar.

“I am going to see how many students are interested in each sport,” Weeks said.

“I think anytime you can add activities, it will help with the all-around educational process,” Wolf Point High School activity director Cody Larson said.

“We still have to make some choices on what fits the Wolf Point School District best,” he said.

“We just had the girls’ wrestling this weekend as we were in Chinook and Harlem,” WPHS head wrestling coach he said.

“We are happy about this,” Wolf Point head wrestling coach Scott Vandall said.

There are some things that they will have to hammer out,” he said.

Vandall said seven weight classes were approved for girls’ wrestling. He said there could eventually be more than seven weight classes.

“This next year is, I believe, a get it going and see where it takes them,” Vandall said.

He said there will be a girls’ all class state meet separate from the boys’ state competition.

There are still unanswered questions.

“I don’t think they really have a good idea on how many girls will be out next year. We have seen the female wrestlers numbers grow this year. The numbers are coming up all over the state,” Vandall said. “Poplar will have a bunch of girls next year.”

Poplar has several female varsity wrestlers and more girls wrestling at the middle school level.

Frederick said he will discuss girls’ wrestling with the Northern Plains Independent

soon.

“Girls’ wrestling is really becoming one of the fastest growing sports. There are a lot of girls wrestling this year,” Vandall said.