Numbers are growing for TC girls wrestling

Editor's note: This is the latest article in a series of stories about the rise of girls wrestling and bowling in our coverage area To the world, we are just a team. To each other, we are family. This mantra perfectly describes what most of the local schools that have girls wrestling teams have felt not only from their supportive communities, but also what they have experienced as they help trailblaze the way for the future for their schools. The growth in girl's wrestling A recent release of statistics has indicated just how much the sport has grown across the United States. Last school year (2023-2024), the total number of wrestlers was 356,000, of which 64,257 of them were girls. Forty-five states have officially recognized it as an official high school sport, with Louisiana being the most recent state, of which there were only six in 2017. While it hasn't hit top 10 sport status, it is currently the 14th most popular sport. Locally, each of the teams have been seeing more and more interest in girls for wrestling, especially as education grows about the sport, more girl wrestlers make history, and the younger girls see what happens when they stick with a sport that takes confidence and knowing the support from their peers, teachers, parents, community and coaches are present. Navigating the WatersColumbian is just in the infancy phase of having its first-ever girl wrestling program. While it doesn't have enough at the moment to field a full roster, Athletic Director Bill Beaston thinks that it will change in the next five years, given the growth and popularity. While girls have always been able to wrestle at TC, it wasn't until the sanctioning that changed the way that girls can wrestle. "It wasn't until recently that girl's had their own tournaments to compete in," Beaston said. "Previously, girls would be on the boys team, participate in boys events, and in most cases, wrestle against boys. When we did have girls participate, prior to '22, that was the format." Now though, while they practice under the same roof, they train with other girls and compete in their own division. With Ohio sanctioning the sport, it gives girls opportunities to compete for college scholarships, as well as wrestling at higher levels. For coach Eric Gibson, it all started last school year as far as the girls wrestling program. His daughter, Alexa Gibson (now senior), used to wrestle in the youth program. For coach Gibson, he has been at Columbian since 2019, and his daughter was no stranger to the mat, and though the numbers weren't there to have a separate team yet, the decision was made to integrate them with the boys team and he began to coach both. "I'm the boys coach as well, and once the girls wrestling was sanctioned, we decided to open the opportunity to other girls in our schools who might be interested," Gibson said. Once it opened up, Taylor Roush (now a freshman) and Gracyn Brose (now eighth grade) decided to join the program. This year, they have added Ali Nitecki, Asialee Ellis and Harley Clary to the junior high team, while the high school team has just two Gibson and Roush. While the challenges might seem to be a bit of an uphill battle, the strength of the team comes through at every practice, meet, and tournament. "The girls are highly eager to learn new techniques and consistently give their best effort," Gibson admits. Off the mat, they excel in their academics and show strength in their schoolwork. According to the newest Dubstat Poll, Roush (110 pounds) is currently ranked 104th in her weight class while Gibson (190) is currently ranked 17th in her weight class. As of right now, the goals are simple. Don't get discouraged by losses, keep learning the sport, stay committed and keep coming back stronger. For Gibson's daughter, a tough loss at regionals last year at Marysville has her motivated to not only go back, but to also make it to the Schottenstein Center for state. The Tornadoes records currently are Roush (2-4), Brose (2-1), Ellis (2-0), Nitecki (4-0), and Clary (2-4). What inspired the growth in the program? Depends on who is asked. "I think the girls we have now simply wanted to give the sport a try," Gibson said. "They saw the junior high and high school girls participating last year and were inspired to join." Beaston thinks it has more to do with who is coaching. "Coach Gibson is a great ambassador for wrestling," Beaston said. "He's a great teacher and our athletes enjoy working with him. The more girls that hear his message and what wrestling can do for them, will only expand our participation numbers." Growing pains: Changing the perception It has taken a while to change the perception of the way things used to be done. For coach Gibson, he sees it as one of the biggest challenges so far. "Limited knowledge, and many girls think they still have to wrestle the boys," Gibson said. "Additionally, a number of girls are used to focusing on one or two sports year round." Wrestling is a longer season, with OHSAA allowing training to start towards the end of November and running until the first or second week of March because of the meets and tournaments. Many students have other commitments as well, and sometimes are unable to commit to the full season, especially if they are involved in volleyball (fall) or track and field (spring), which traditionally ends about the time that wrestling training starts. For Columbian, the support for the Tornado athletes is one that doesn't go unnoticed. "The community of Tiffin always embraces and supports our students," Beaston said. "Whether it's athletics or academics. We are blessed to have a community that is so supportive." Having a girls wrestling program that is community supported opens avenues for students that can excel in both and out of the classroom, which in turn, benefits Tiffin. Columbian's student section is well known to cheer their classmates on, and shows support to the athletes that participate win or lose."We have great students who do great things outside of the classroom," Beaston said. "Having another avenue for our students to potentially demonstrate the great things they do will only make TCHS stand out even more."