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On Tuesday, Hanover Area High School announced that it will be starting a girls varsity wrestling team. The Hawkeyes will become the 21st girls wrestling team in Pennsylvania and the first in the Wyoming Valley Conference.
Hanover Area athletic director Mike McCree remarked about his excitement to get a jumpstart on a girls wrestling team.
“It’s going to take some time to get a sanctioned team going,” McCree said Wednesday night. “(Coach Dave Griffith) is the most organized coach I’ve seen, and he has a strong sense of tradition for the wrestling program. He came to me with the whole idea from the start.
“Not only that, but it makes me feel confident with support from our superintendent (Nathan Barrett), who is another big fan.”
McCree cited the success of Lake-Lehman’s Lexi Schechterly, who competed on the boys varsity team last year as a freshman, reached the District 2 finals and qualified for regionals.
“Lake-Lehman had a girl make it to regionals last year, and I think that’s what caught momentum,” McCree said.
McCree said that only five to eight girls were expected to show up to the first open mat practice Wednesday evening, but 15 came out.
Griffith was impressed by the commitment and excited to give the girls new chances to participate in sports.
“There’s not too many sports offered during the winter time, so it’s a great opportunity for girls to try something new,” Griffith said. “I want to be seen as a pioneer in this area. Last year we had a weak showing on the guys’ side and the turnover rate has been good, but to be able to start a women’s varsity is a good sign.
“With everyone fully supporting this, and boosters able to get funding for uniforms and fees is a good feeling.”
Griffith noted that building a strong foundation this year will be a great investment with some experienced junior high wrestlers coming up next year.
Though Hanover Area will be the first WVC wrestling program to field a girls team, the region as a whole has been ahead of the curve.
Wyoming Seminary, which also boasts one of the country’s best prep wrestling programs for boys, founded the state’s first girls team, which began competing in 2017-18.
According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), there were 21,124 girls participating in wrestling at 2,890 schools across the country as of May 2021.
The PIAA has provided a guide emerging sports, including support for girls’ involvement in the wrestling community.
The presentation can be viewed online here.