Girls wrestling now an officially-sanctioned sport in VHSL
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Girls wrestling is now an officially-sanctioned sport of the Virginia High School League (VHSL).
On Wednesday, May 7, the VHSL Executive Committee voted in favor of sanctioning girls wrestling as an official league sport.
A spokesperson for VHSL said this decision was made due to a sharp increase in participation, with the sport growing from 273 participants to 631 in just three years.
"Now that girls wrestling is sanctioned, we fully expect those numbers to grow as we continue to provide opportunities for female wrestlers in the state to compete for championships," the spokesperson said.
8News previously spoke with Ciyanna Okocha, a Louisa County High School 10th-grader who won the 2025 VHSL State Wrestling Championship in the 165-pound weight class. At the time, she was advocating for this very outcome.
“I think we’re all super dedicated to the sport and I think we deserve as much limelight as the
boys do,” Okocha previously said.
Girls wrestling will now have six classifications starting in the 2025-26 school year, with team championships to be determined at a later date.
