Girls are Wrestling in Southeast Minnesota—and Loving It!

SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA — High school wrestling has a long history as one of the most popular and closely watched sports in our local high schools. For decades that has meant boys versus boys pairing off in spirited competition.

But that world is changing. In Minnesota high schools, including our local schools in southeast Minnesota, the popularity of girls wrestling is growing at an amazing rate.

The Minnesota State High School League sanctioned girls’ wrestling programs in 2023 and now governs the girls’ programs by the same rules and standards as the boys’ programs. Girls no longer need to compete against the boys; they have a program of their own.

Since 2023 the number of girls competing in grades 7-12 has gone from 541 athletes to more than 1,500 — an increase of nearly 300 percent! 

Looking ahead for these young athletes, changes are taking place on the college-level as well. The NCAA has sanctioned women’s competition in college Divisions I, II and III, and the first national tournaments will be held in 2026. 

“Young women’s wrestling is not just a sport, it’s a movement,” Reagan Hill, Chairperson of the NCAA Committee on Women’s Athletics, recently said. “It showcases these athletes’ strength and limitless potential.”

Undoubtedly, many young high school-age girls in Minnesota will soon be recruited to wrestle in college as they continue their education. 

Competition

I am a former wrestler. I participated in the sport in high school and college and later was a volunteer coach. But until recently I had not watched any high school girls’ competitions. I had never talked to any of those athletes.

Wrestlers get pre-tournament instructions at a recent meet. (Photo by Tom Brudvig)

That all changed recently when I attended a Triangular match with FCLMC (Fillmore Central, Lanesboro, Mabel-Canton), Dover-Eyota, and Chatfield. I also attended a 375-participant tournament in Pine Island, and a practice session in Harmony with the FCLMC team.

To say I came away impressed is an understatement. 

I didn’t find inexperienced girl athletes awkwardly grappling on a mat. These are disciplined, well-coached and skilled athletes executing difficult moves and strategies. And this was all happening in front of venues filled with enthusiastic supporters.

At Dover-Eyota the bleachers were packed. The Pine Island tournament had more than two thousand spectators. High school girls’ wrestling in Minnesota is big, and will only get bigger.

A Chatfield Gopher wrestler (left) grapples with a FCLMC Wolves wrestler. (Photo by Tom Brudvig)                                  

Shared enthusiasm

At the triangular competition at Dover-Eyota, the host team fielded seven girls, FCLMC had five, and Chatfield, a local powerhouse, had 13 girls on their roster.

Why so many athletes from Chatfield? The fact that the Chatfield boys’ wrestling team won the Class A State Championship last year may have provided some motivation. Another contributing factor was the school’s recruitment of Savannah Vold, a former Rochester Mayo and Augsburg wrestler, to coach the girls’ team. 

“My father is a former Mixed Martial Arts fighter,” Savannah told me. “He inspired me to pursue wrestling.” Her enthusiasm for the sport and the Chatfield team she’s coaching is evident. 

A spirit of contagious enthusiasm has also infiltrated the girl wrestlers at FCLMC. Coach Blaise Sass has assembled five young women athletes who take what they’re doing very seriously: Kylie Knutson (106 pounds), Gwen Lieb (112 pounds), Sydney Barth (118 pounds); Vivienne Hoeltze (124 pounds), and Charlotte Ferrie (130 pounds). 

FCLMC coach Blaise Sass supervises a recent wrestling practice in Harmony. (Photo by Tom Brudvig)

Safety comes first

Girls and boys’ programs have 13 different weight classes; all competitors (both boys and girls) are examined and certified by a physician pre-season to establish the lowest weight at which they can wrestle without endangering their health. Any size or body type can wrestle.                                        

Safety is always stressed. Wrestling coaches and referees are trained to recognize potentially dangerous moves that might lead to injury. Tucking long hair under the required headgear that provides ear protection seemed the only uniform-related challenge they faced.  

Watching the girls practice and compete, I see no difference between their skills, fitness and determination and that of the boys I’ve seen and coached over the years.

I did notice a difference in the spirit of camaraderie and sportsmanship they shared between competitors. Every girl I talked with said they enjoyed the bonds of friendship created with their teammates. At the Pine Island tournament there was even friendly discussion between opponents after a match, something I’d never witnessed with male wrestlers. 

Why wrestle?

“…It’s fun, teaches discipline, builds confidence and mental toughness,” I was told. That’s why high school girls choose wrestling. To a girl they told me they do it because, “It makes me feel strong. I’m proud when I succeed.” 

Vivienne Hoeltze, a wrestler for FCLMC, says wrestling has changed her personality. “Competing has helped me become more of an extrovert,” she says. 

Two girls told me they had fathers or older brothers who wrestled. (“It must be in the blood!” both said with big smiles.)

Ellie Rossman, a seventh-grader wrestler from Zimmerman, attending the Pine Island tournament with her father, admitted that she often “gets scared” before a match. “But then my adrenaline kicks in, and I really enjoy competing.”

These young women athletes practice hard, normally five days a week, and have tournaments on the weekend.

I watched Head Coach Blaise Sass and his several volunteer assistants at FCLMC run their team through a two-hour practice session that included running, stretching, drilling and “live” wrestling. Not easy stuff.

But these young women were smiling and having fun. I think of it as “controlled aggression,” therapeutic in a sense, providing a release from the stresses and trials of a changing and challenging world.

Minnesota high school girls competitive wrestling is a relatively new, but certainly growing, opportunity for young athletes. The challenge to fund those programs at the same level as male wrestling programs is real, too — one that needs to be faced. 

The benefits are obvious. Take in a local tournament and see for yourself—girls wrestling, the very best and most positive kind—is here to stay!