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Swain wrestler Layla Alonzo grapples on the mat at the Maroon Devil Invitational, taking place Nov. 18.
Larry Griffin
lgriffin@thesmokymountaintimes.com
As of this year, high school girls’ wrestling is officially sanctioned by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA), which Swain head coach Ian Roper thinks is a boon for the sport.
That means there will be more funding for schools to put on girls’ wrestling programs as well as paid head coaching positions established, which Roper said will encourage more schools to start their own programs.
“Girls’ wrestling is the fastest-growing sport in the nation,” he said. “I’ve been coaching high school wrestling for years, and I always had girls who wanted to be on the team. But the competition was not really equitable, because they had to wrestle boys. So, it’s exciting to see things becoming more equitable, with the same funds available as for the boys.”
Swain has had a girls’ wrestling team for the past four years, but without being sanctioned, they’ve only been playing a few scattered other teams – there simply haven’t been enough teams for them to play more than that. The matches played until now have been governed by USA Wrestling, which could recognize team and individual state champions.
Roper said they’ve played North and West Henderson’s teams for years, as well as one from Hoke County, all of which have had unsanctioned teams for around the same length of time as Swain.
He said the Lady Devils wrestling team has “never lost a dual match” and has a 20-0 record for them. Now sanctioned by the NCHSAA, more teams may begin all over the state and the Lady Devils wrestling team will have more opportunities.
They’ve already been playing some matches in the past few weeks – they played Madison, whom they defeated 48-18, and then Smoky Mountain, winning 37-36, and finally defeated Clyde A. Erwin High School 66 to 0.
They also held the Maroon Devils Invitational event on Saturday, Nov. 18, in which they placed second overall among 16 teams participating. Several Lady Devils placed high in the ranks at the event’s close.
Roper said by email that the girls’ team won the first ever girls-only high school wrestling match in 2020, as they played West Henderson.
Their next game coming up is this Thursday, Nov. 30, an away match against Mitchell County.