By Mark Carpenter

People’s Defender

In a decision that many at West Union High School had been long awaiting, the Ohio High School Athletic Association recently announced that both Girls Wrestling and Boys Volleyball will be classified as emerging sports beginning with the 2022-23 seasons.

The official OHSAA press release read as follows:

In a historic move Thursday, the Ohio High School Athletic Association Board of Directors voted unanimously to add girls wrestling and boys volleyball as emerging sports beginning with the 2022-23 school year. In addition, the board voted to move girls and boys lacrosse out of the emerging sports category into the list of OHSAA recognized sports, and also committed to discuss partnering with a group to provide a tournament in Esports (gaming).

The Ohio High School Wrestling Coaches Association has been conducting a girls wrestling tournament since 2020, and the Ohio High School Boys Volleyball Association has been conducting its tournament since 1988.

“The OHSAA has been talking with the boys volleyball and girls wrestling leaders for several years and we are now in the position to bring these two sports into the OHSAA,” said OHSAA Executive Director Doug Ute. “This move will help those sports continue to grow and allow those student-athletes to compete for an OHSAA state championship. It gives more kids opportunities and that is the mission of the OHSAA.”

As emerging sports, girls wrestling and boys volleyball will be administered like the OHSAA’s current 26 recognized sports, but will have additional requirements according to OHSAA General Sports Regulation 16 that could lead to full sanctioning in the future.

“We will look to keep a very similar format for the girls wrestling and boys volleyball tournaments as what the coaches associations have been doing,” Ute said. “The girls wrestling state tournament is held in mid-February and the boys volleyball state tournament is held in the spring. We have not yet developed tournament regulations, but we’ll start working on that so that those two sports hit the ground running next fall for the start of the 2022-23 school year.”

The OHSAA added lacrosse in 2016 and the sport has continued to grow and now moves out of the emerging sports category, effective immediately.

With the addition of girls wrestling and boys volleyball, the number of OHSAA sports grows to 28, with 14 for girls and 14 for boys.

One local coach was thrilled with the OHSAA announcement, West Union wrestling coach Michael Felts.

“First I would like to say that it’s been a long time coming but we are not out of the woods yet,” said Felts. “The OHSAA has moved girls wrestling into the emerging sports category which means we still have some work to do. I have given my opinion on this in numerous Zoom meetings, speaking with the state coaches association, who have been at the forefront of this push. Wrestling is not an emerging sport, it has been around for 90 years in Ohio. All we are asking for is a separate girls division.”

With that being said, I have been on Cloud Nine since I heard the news. For the last year or so, I have been part of the group of coaches leading the charge and I knew we were close. When the announcement was made, I could not stop smiling and holding back tears and I couldn’t be more happy for nor only our girls but every girls wrestler in the state. These girls have worked so hard to prove their worth and it has paid off, but there is still part of me that is sad for the thousands of girls across the state who didn’t get this opportunity. This is a great opportunity for young girls across the state to become part of something special.”

The girls wrestling program at West Union has made enormous strides in recent years, with numerous girls receiving state recognition.

“My heart is filled with excitement for our West Union girls,” Felts continued. “Scotlyn (Adams) and Leena (Blanton) have worked so hard to become leaders within the sport, on and off the mat. Within the last three years, they have become huge advocates for girls wrestling and I believe that is why our high school numbers have more than doubled. I have been blessed with a great group of young ladies including returning state qualifier and alternate in Adams and Blanton, plus Trinity Reeves, Skylan Pennington, Sara Boldman, Jaylynn Mason, and Alexis Cowan. These girls work hard every day with no complaining.”

“Our numbers at the youth level have experienced a huge jump, we have 15 girls signed up, thanks a lot to the work of sixth grader Lylah Adams, who has led by example with her hard work, great attitude, and success. Just like her older sister, she is no stranger to state-level competition, being a two-time youth state qualifier and one-time state placer.”

“I’m very excited with the OHSAA decision and anxious to see the growth that it will cause across the state and especially here in Adams County,” Felts concluded. “I love coaching wrestling and giving the youth of Adams County an opportunity to be part of the wrestling family.”

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