Written by: Annaliese Witmer

I want future generations of girls in Pennsylvania to have the opportunities I never had presented to me. I have been a part of the wrestling world for 16 years now as a wrestling sister. When I was growing up, I was never told I could wrestle. In fact, it was quite the opposite. This was before it was common to see a girl wrestle, and before it was accepted by many. It was a rare occasion to see a girl wrestle, and when I did, I would also hear the comments from people around me. People could come up with 100 reasons why girls shouldn’t wrestle, but not one reason why they should. 

As I continued to grow as a person, my love for wrestling also started to grow. Fast forward 14 years to the 2018 World Team Trials at Penn State’s Rec Hall. I watched in shock as Adeline Gray walked out to the center of the mat. That was the moment I realized girls can wrestle and be just as good as boys. 

That is one of many reasons why this means so much to me. If I, a girl who had been surrounded by wrestling my entire life, didn't know the possibility for girls to wrestle and succeed, how would other girls know about the opportunity? This is also what pushed me to get involved in the women’s wrestling community as a journalist, so that I can amplify and spotlight the sport. Being a part of this community has given me something bigger than just myself and my work. I have met so many great role models and mentors from the world of women's wrestling, and the general wrestling community. 

This sport is so special, and everyone should have the opportunity to be a part of it no matter their gender. You can learn so many important life lessons from wrestling, so why wouldn't you want your daughters to learn the same lessons?

I also realize how big of a deal wrestling is in PA. We are known for our high level of talent and success at the high school level and beyond. However, we are one of just 16 unsanctioned states. We have 34 out of 100 needed high school girls wrestling programs to be sanctioned by the PIAA. Just recently, we were granted emerging sports status, but for me, that isn't enough. We need to think bigger. Why is it 2022 and the fastest growing sport in the nation still isn’t sanctioned in one of the biggest states for wrestling? 

Someday, I hope to see every state in our country sanction girls wrestling. I hope to see more equal coverage for women in all sports, not just wrestling. I hope to see more colleges add women's wrestling programs. I hope to see girls not only participating, but also coverage of girls wrestling competitions. But most of all, I hope to see girls wrestling being treated the same as boys wrestling because, in reality, all wrestling is wrestling. 

But to make any of that happen we need you. We need you to advocate for our girls. We need you to build programs and coach our girls. We need you to watch the coverage of the girls wrestling competitions. We need you to recognize and hop on board the movement of girls wrestling for our girls. Think about it. If we don’t stand by our girls, who will? They deserve to feel included and as though they belong in this sport because they do.

Furthermore, it is proven that when states sanction girls wrestling, not only does the participation of girls wrestling grow but also boys wrestling participation grows tremendously. Women's wrestling is great for our sport as a whole. 

Just in my lifetime, I have watched girls wrestling grow from virtually nothing to the fastest growing sport in the nation. I went from not even knowing girls could wrestle to having a whole website and movement dedicated to the growth of girls wrestling. Imagine how big girls wrestling will become in just a couple more years of time. If we don't jump on board soon, then before we know it, PA will be the last state to sanction girls wrestling.