Girls wrestling added as official OSAA sport; state’s first new sport since 1979

(Update: adding video, comments from OSAA, Redmond wrestling coach)

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- In the 2023-24 season, high school girls wrestlers can hit the mat as part of their own team.

Previously, high school boys wrestling programs could have separate girls teams, if they had the numbers.

On Monday, the OSAA voted unanimously to add girls wrestling as an official high school sport.

It's the first official new sport since softball was added in 1979.

OSAA Executive Director Peter Weber said the coaches and pioneers of girls wrestling felt it was time for it to become its own sport, and the board agreed.

“Well honestly, part of it was we got a request for it,” Weber said. “Let's make the change, let's get it officially sanctioned, and then allow schools to move forward accordingly.”

Schools will have the option to create separate girls programs, with their own coaches, schedules and practice times.

However, Weber said they don’t have to. 

“It’s going to really depend on the school. It may not look different in some areas,” Weber said. 

Redmond High wrestling, home of the 5A boys state champions and an individual girls state champion, enjoys the shared structure, according to Head Coach Kris Davis. 

“Right now, we want to try and keep our boys and girls together as much as we possibly can,” Davis said. 

Davis said for the Panthers, the future plan depends on the number of girls who turn out for the team.

“I don’t know -- I mean, I don’t have my crystal ball in front of me for what my numbers are going to look like,” Davis said. “But I have a feeling we're going to be pretty large, so we're going to have to make a decision.”

From 2012 to 2023, Oregon went from 131 girl wrestlers at 39 schools to more than 1,000 at 157 schools.

Just in the past year, the number of girls wrestlers increased nearly 12%.

Davis knows not every school will have the resources Redmond does, but thinks creating a girls program is a good thing.

“I think it can be, as long as we as a state kind of embrace it,” Davis said. 

Weber said the state tournament should look relatively the same next year, but as numbers increase, things are bound to change.

He also says after the girls wrestling vote, the board heard a “first reading” for boys volleyball and an informational presentation about water polo.