I started wrestling when I was four years old because my father and my brother both wrestled.

And I've continued to wrestle over the past decade because wrestling has provided for me more than any other sport.

Wrestling provides me with a sense of discipline and confidence.

And it also allows me to be a role model for all four of my younger siblings.

My athleticism, my friends, my personality and my support system have all come from wrestling.

Wrestling is a great sport for girls because it pushes you to your best self and it pushes to your limits.

I love wrestling because it brings out confidence in girls and shows that we can do anything.

Brooke Zumas: So today is the girls' high school wrestling state championships at Central Dauphin High School.

We are just 15 minutes down the road from Hershey, PA in the Giant Center, where the boys had their state championship the past few days.

And today is an opportunity for all the girls to compete for their state championship.

Girls wrestling has been growing for decades, but there were no official high school teams in Pennsylvania until March 2020.

And on February 14, 2023, we hit our 100th school.

And so that made us eligible for a vote for sanctioning.

Our hope is that when the PIAA sanctions girls wrestling, that they will do so for next year for the 2023-2024 season.

And so the girls will have their first-ever PIAA state tournament next year at this time.

Matt Lackey: I am Matt Lackey and I am the head women's wrestling Coach at Lock Haven University in Central Pennsylvania.

Today we are watching the next crop of female recruits that will be trying to get in touch with and recruit to the college level here in the next few years.

So we're here to scout, to talk, to recruit.

Terry Steiner: My name is Terry Steiner.

I'm currently USA Wrestlings Women's National Team Coach, in charge of our world and Olympic teams.

So I am here today really to support the growth that the state of Pennsylvania has already had.

Pennsylvania's tradition is rich in wrestling, right?

It's part of the fabric and the culture of being Pennsylvanian.

The growth has been unbelievable.

So when Pennsylvania does sanction the sport, those numbers will double or triple.

Theres been a lot of growth, It's been a great ride and right now it's a great time to be a part of the sport of women's wrestling for sure.

Brooke Zumas: The attitudes around girls in the sport have changed drastically just in the past decade or so and even the past few years.

Matt Lackey: When I was a father for the first time, you know, I probably wasn't sitting around wondering what wrestling tournaments my kids were gonna go to because I have all girls.

And now three out of my four wrestle, the sport is really dear to my heart and I have a lot to share.

But the caveat is always that they don't listen to me, so it doesn't really matter.

So- [LAUGHTER].

Terry Steiner: It wasn't people outside the sport that was holding our sport back.

It was people with inside the sport.

Coaches have been our biggest assets and sometimes our- our biggest detriment because of change- change of mindset, change of heart, and maybe fear- fear of how do I coach a girl?

They're not used to that.

Rob Waller: I'm Rob Waller and I run the All-American Wrestling Club in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

I've been coaching for 50 years.

I have four daughters and two granddaughters, one of which wanted to wrestle.

I was reluctant at first, I'm an old time guy.

But my daughter said, you coached all these years and you won't coach your granddaughter.

I just feel- anyway, I'm coaching her and now a bunch of girls.

Girls you are extremely coachable and they work hard.

I have an athlete here today, her name is Jael Miller.

Announcer: At 170, this girl is a three times state champ, three time Fargo All-American, three time freestyle state champ from Punxsutawney, Jael Miller [APPLAUSE].

Rob Waller: Shes just a dream to coach.

I put her with my best boys and she makes them better.

That's the way it should be.

Matt Lackey: You have to make sure that you are on point when you're coaching women from an organizational standpoint, from a communication standpoint.

And they also, which- I love this by the way- They tell you what they feel.

So if there's something that they don't like, we're gonna have a conversation about it.

Brooke Zumas: I think it was just a matter of people, kind of, opening their minds and just being able to see that, oh yeah, girls belong here too, and oh yeah, girls are wrestlers and this makes sense.

Terry Steiner: We have a room full of pretty tough girls.

And they've succeeded and theyve come into the sport maybe in spite of us.

We never opened the doors for them.

We never welcomed them so gracefully.

But they said we're gonna do it.

We wanna wrestle.

We fell in love with the sport, just like you did as a young boy.

And we fell in love with it because our dads were coaches and our brothers were wrestlers.

Wrestling struggles for corporate sponsorship, it struggles for attention, it struggles for time, it struggles for everything.

Now we invite another half the population into the sport, it can only enhance our sport.

Brooke Zumas: We all love this sport and know what it can do for young people.

But I think to still see how fast everything has grown, and just the incredible explosion and uptick that there's been, it really is almost hard to comprehend.

Rob Waller: Look at this.

Look at all these girls.

I mean, there are some athletes out there.

They mean business.

Matt Lackey: Wrestling teaches hard work, it teaches discipline, it teaches grit.

It teaches a lot of self-confidence.

If ladies can get out there at an early age and prove to themselves that they can do this sport, right?

which society has largely told them that they cant, if they can overcome that barrier, there's nothing that they can't do.

Scott Martin: Pennsylvania, and I say this with great pride, is the epicenter of wrestling in this country and around the world.

And there was one component that was missing from that equation.

And I'm so happy to say today that that piece of the puzzle is now complete and we are now going to have sanctioned PIAA girls wrestling in Pennsylvania.

I have waited 10 years to see this sport sanctioned and now we're nearly at the finish line.

It's really great to see all the hard work that we've put into the sport finally get recognized.

It makes you feel seen and it makes you feel heard.

PA has definitely grown a lot with wrestling and girls.

And I'm very excited for the opportunities that girls are gonna get.

Having wrestling officially recognized by the PIAA goes to show that we're serious as female athletes in a male-dominated sport.

We're not going anywhere.

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