Girls’ high school wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports in America, according to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame website. The Lancaster High School girls wrestling team is following that national trend. The team only has five female wrestlers, but has grown since last season. In addition, a new coach has been thrown into the mix. Head coach Melanie Toronto is a former LHS wrestler herself. The current team may be small but appears to be mighty as they placed in multiple tournaments this year, including the Whitehall tournament in which all five girls placed third or higher.
“From even a few years ago when it was just myself and another girl here or there; now we have multiple girls. I would love to see our numbers continue to expand in the future,” Toronto said.
According to the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), in the 2024-25 school year, “girls wrestling topped 74,000 participants for the first time, jumping 15 percent from a year ago and adding nearly 1,000 schools with a girls wrestling program” (USA Wrestling and NFHS).
“I remember when I would go to tournaments and be the only girl there and now there are only girl tournaments that are completely full. The sport has definitely grown respect, as well. Often girls would get bashed for doing a ‘boy’ sport, but now it has grown into a boys and girls sport and girl wrestlers are now being respected mostly the same,” said Toronto.
In the past, girls who wanted to wrestle at LHS were placed on the boys team. Now, as a separate team, they have some challenges to overcome.
“We have to not only learn the technique and work on the physical part of wrestling we also have to work on the basics and learn the rules. Which can set us behind compared to teams who have girls who have been wrestling for years,” said Toronto.
Because the lady wrestlers do not yet have a full team, they also have had to accept forfeits at meets and have limited practice options. Challenges aside, a couple of the female wrestlers said that they are already reaping the benefits of being on the team.
LHS junior Te’azah Berry is a first year wrestler at LHS. She said that experience so far has motivated her to use wrestling to help her in the future.
“This season I’ve faced the challenge of calming my emotions down after a loss because sometimes I will forget it is my first year of wrestling. However my goals for the season is to get offers and my varsity letter,” said Berry.
LHS sophomore Ariana Ryan is in her second year of wrestling for the Gales and said that the season has been one of growth and development.
“My season so far has gone really well, I’ve had lots of wins and majorly improved as a wrestler and a person in general,” Ryan said.
At her most recent tournament, Ryan wrestled two weight classes and got first and second place with a 4-1 record that day. Ryan’s goal for this season is to stay dedicated and to make it to states. She also said that having Toronto as a coach has made a major difference for the team.
“She has shown us girls that we can do whatever we put our minds to and has kept us dedicated throughout the season,” said Ryan.
According to USA Wrestling, as of 2024, all but four states in the country have sanctioned high school girls’ wrestling and the number of collegiate opportunities for women’s wrestling continues to grow, with nearly 200 programs across NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA divisions (“Women’s Freestyle Wrestling”). Additionally, USA Wrestling is anticipating a successful experience for the women’s team in the upcoming 2028 Olympics. As the sport continues to gain momentum for women, the Lady Gales expect to continue to make their presence felt.
