South Dakota becomes the 25th state in the nation to sanction a division of girls high school wrestling. Last week, roughly two years since discussions began, at the South Dakota High School Activities Association Board of Directors meeting, a second reading of a girls wrestling proposal was approved.
“In every other state that has implemented girls wrestling, they’ve seen tremendous growth in participation numbers over the first several years,” said SDHSAA Assistant Executive Director John Krogstrand. “We anticipate the same in South Dakota and will adjust the weight classes accordingly to growth as we move into future years.”
Girls wrestling will start off with four weight classes under a single classification umbrella. The top eight competitors of each weight class will qualify for the state wrestling tournament in February. As the number of participants increase over time, so will the number of weight classes.
This new rule change will go into effect for the upcoming 2020-21 school year. Surrounding states such as Montana, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, and Missouri have also adopted a division of girls high school wrestling.
