WOODRUFF, S.C. – Around a dozen upstate girls wrestling teams lined two mats this past week at Woodruff High School; some teams with full rosters, others with one or two girls– but all teams ready to toe the line.
Looking around the gymnasium before the matches began, the stands looked a lot fuller than I remembered them being at my few-and-far-between girls tournaments when I was a high school wrestler in Georgia.
I continued to look– some girls were braiding each other’s hair, others just finished their warm-up and were lying belly down, kicking their feet and laughing with one another. You wouldn’t think these girls were about to go into hand-to-hand combat with each other in an hour.
It was a perfect picture of femininity in a sport that is stereotypically male. It was an image of girls saying they belong in male-dominated spaces, yet without them saying a word.
“The number of female wrestlers in the state of South Carolina has expanded greatly, even in the small town of Woodruff, we have the highest number of female athletes we’ve ever had,” said assistant coach Cody Oswalt of Woodruff High School.
Woodruff ended their home tournament with four champions and the majority of the team placing.
“I’ve seen girls wrestling grow a lot, especially in high school. I think sanctioning us from the boys made girls less scared to try it out. A lot of the newer girls on my team joined because they felt that they had a chance now that they weren’t wrestling boys,” said Kennedi Washington, the 220-pound girls state champion from Greenwood High School.
Greenwood posted 19 wins on Friday, 18 of their wins being pins. Washington contributed to this major debut tournament with two pins and a 1st place finish.
South Carolina High School League held a girls state tournament adjacent to the boys during the 2022-23 season, but the sport still remains unsanctioned. Greenwood and other schools in the upstate have sanctioned girls wrestling as its own sport, meaning girls would no longer have to roster on the boys team at their high school and would be competing against their own gender. Since sanctioning, Greenwood and other upstate teams have seen a boom in participants across the high school and middle school levels.
“Girls wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports nationwide, it’s important to keep that momentum here in South Carolina. With 41 states having sanctioned girls wrestling officially. It’s important to keep that growth going so that all female athletes have the same opportunity as others in the remaining 9 states,” said Oswalt.
Organizations such as Wrestle Like a Girl have a grassroot philosophy when it comes to state-by-state sanctioning: “If you build it, they will come.” As for South Carolina, these girls are building the sport and will continue to do so, with or without the support of the SCHSL.
“It was a nice flex to say you were on the boys varsity team as a girl,” continued Washington. “But it just feels a lot better to have your own team. You feel more important.”
Alongside sanctioning girls wrestling, upstate schools have been looking to do their part in hiring female coaches. Dorman recently hired Coach Brandy Green, a previous collegiate coach at Limestone University in Gaffney, SC until the program was dissolved following the 2022-23 campaign. Woodruff hired Coach Morgan Norris as a part-time assistant coach, Norris is a current PC student and collegiate national champion.
“For me personally, moving from College to high school has been smooth,” said Coach Brandy Green. “I love developing athletes. The first wins are the most fun for me.”
Personally, I was hired in September by Greenwood to oversee the girls program. I am currently a student-athlete and wrestler for PC but cannot compete due to injuries, so the opportunity was perfect for me to continue to grow as a student of the sport and do what I love– coach.
Recently, Coach Jessie Deane, a former wrestler from Missouri, has also joined the Greenwood staff for her first season coaching.
“I have seen girls wrestling grow within our team with the addition of two female coaches,” said Alanise Ricardo, a Sophomore state placer.
Having female role models within the sport is just as important as sanctioning. Girls need to be able to see the women who blazed the trail before them to understand that what they are doing isn’t impossible, even if it feels that way at times. Wrestling teaches girls strength.
“I wrestle because I was once facing adversity, and it has helped me strive for a better me,” said Ricardo. “When I’m facing hard times I know that wrestling is something I can always look forward to even at my lowest.”
Ricardo secured two pins and a first-place medal on Friday.
Wrestling is giving these girls a mindset to be successful, not just on the mat but in life. Why would South Carolina not want to invest?
“To be honest, girls wrestling in SC is where I saw wrestling in the late 90s when I was competing,” said Green. “Texas, Hawaii, California have more girls wrestlers than we have boy wrestlers in South Carolina. There are over 50,000 girls wrestling in the U.S. and close to 150 colleges. The question should not be ‘Why girls wrestling?’ It should be ‘Why not?’”
The consensus is in, and the rising participation numbers back it up. Times are changing. Young women are demanding a seat at the table, and they’re not afraid to use their voices.
To the SCHSL: change, or be left behind.
Works Cited:
- https://wrestlelikeagirl.org/hsseau
- Live Sources:
- Kennedi Washington, Student – Greenwood HS
- Alanise Ricardo, Student – Greenwood HS
- Cody Oswalt, Assistant Coach – Woodruff HS
- Brandy Green, Assistant Coach – Dorman HS
