— By David Walsh
There’s a new twist coming to the West Virginia State High School Wrestling Championships.
For the first time, girls will have their own division. The past four years, the Girls State Tournament has been held on a Saturday in mid-February in Parkersburg. Girls would later take part in regionals in hopes of qualifying for the State Tournament.
Now, the girls will take center stage at the State Tournament if they so desire. They can still wrestle with their respective teams during the season, but at the state, they either stay with the team or enter the girls bracket. There is no crossover.
Bill Archer, former wrestling coach at Huntington High, is tournament director with another division to now watch over.
The addition of the girls to the State schedule is endorsed by the West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission.
“They think it can increase the number of girls,” Archer said.
The 2024 State Tournament is scheduled Feb. 29-March 2 at Mountain Health Arena in Huntington. The girls would compete on March 2 with the highlight being the championship round that evening alongside the boys Class AAA and Class AA-A fields. That means three mats in use for the finals.
Girls will also take part in the Parade of Champions prior to the finals where all placers march out and finalists line up opposite one another and shake hands before heading off to wrestle. Their presence means more plaques for teams and individuals and officials to call the action.
There were 40 teams in the 2023 Girls State, which East Hardy won. The Girls State Tournament began in 2020 and Musselman was team champion each of the first three years.
At the 2023 event, there were 12 weight classes. Entry totals varied by weight. On Saturday, the girls will have their designated mats and compete while the boys are in wrestlebacks.
For the boys, each weight class has 16 entries and the event takes three days.