‘More opportunity’: The growth of girls wrestling continues as Idaho adds another division to the state tournament

IDAHO FALLS – The sport of girls wrestling continues to grow in Idaho.

In order to keep up, the Idaho High School Activities Association recently voted to add another division to the girls state championship tournament. Instead of one overall girls division, there will be two divisions broken down by enrollment.

Schools with 1,200 or more students will compete in Division I, while schools with less than 1,200 enrollment will compete in Division II.

The change takes effect next season.

The growth of the sport has been a national trend, and that includes Idaho. According to the IHSAA, the first year girls wrestling was sanctioned by the state in 2021, 361 girls participated. This past season there were 869.

“I think it’s a really good move,” said Thunder Ridge coach Jody Webb, whose program has been among the best in the state and already has a state championship and earned a runner-up trophy last season. “I think it opens up more opportunity for girls to place at state.”

Thunder Ridge joins Highland, Pocatello, Hillcrest, Idaho Falls, Madison, Rigby and Skyline as District 5 and 6 members in Division I.

All other area schools from District 5 and 6 will compete in Division II.

One concern was that by essentially doubling the number of state wrestlers the competition would be less formidable.

“It might be watered down for a while, but it needs to happen to grow,” Webb said of the overall competition. “Eventually it will add more participation.”

That’s the reason for adding the new division and expanding the state tournament.

“It goes back to if you build it, they will come,” Chad Williams, the executive director for the Idaho High School Activities Association, told the Idaho Statesman. “We want to provide opportunities for kids to participate. And we do anticipate that if we’re building it, they will come.”

Webb noted there might be some logistical issues for the state tournament with the addition of another girls division.

He said the ICCU Dome in Pocatello, site for the state tournament the next two seasons, could handle the additional mats while keeping the tournament in its current two-day format.

The Kibbie Dome in Moscow also has enough space to handle the expanded tournament, he said.

The issue might be trying to squeeze a two-day tournament into the smaller Idaho Center in Nampa.

Those details are yet to be worked out, but Webb said he thought the overall consensus among the wrestling community was positive.

“This is going to help the smaller schools,” he said.