Women’s wrestling has steadily become more recognized and is gaining popularity across the United States, including at the high school, collegiate, and international levels. While the sport is still smaller compared to the men’s wrestling domain, its growth is large yet delayed. Changes have been driven by increasing opportunities for female athletes, supportive organizations, and the inclusion of women’s wrestling in large worldwide events such as the Olympics. For many young women athletes, wrestling is a unique sport that provides a combination of physical and mental challenges and personal empowerment that is hard to find in other sports. Beyond high school and college programs, the future of women’s wrestling is expanding on a national scale. Organizations such as USA Wrestling and the National Wrestling Coaches Association have pushed for more visibility and support, helping solidify girls’ divisions at major tournaments and advocating for women’s wrestling to be recognized as an official championship sport across more states. These efforts show how the movement is not just in a few schools or regions—it’s part of a broader push to create foundations for long-term stability for female athletes in the sport. As more states sanction the sport for girls, participation continues to rise, and the culture surrounding wrestling shifts toward inclusion.

  At Grand Ledge High School, Hailyana Smith-Abron has been wrestling for two years, and last year, she was the only women’s wrestler at Grand Ledge. While she wrestles outside of school during camps and other training opportunities, she is constantly around a majority of men and a minority of women. This wrestling season at Grand Ledge High School, coaches have been hired for women specifically, and other accommodations will be met. While the changes being made are needed, more still need to be satisfied as well, Smith-Abron said, “The only things we’ve been given are women’s only tournaments and stuff like that, which is great; I had none of that last year.”

  The mention of sexism is found to be relevant in topics such as women’s sports, especially in one so dominated by men as wrestling is. But changes are being made, for the better. Women’s singlets and shoes are emerging more, but that doesn’t mean wrestling is now fully accepting of women and free of sexism, “The sport isn’t at the level it can be to not experience any sexism yet… It’s disappointing, but it’s getting better,” Smith-Abron said. While boys aren’t explicitly opposed to the changes and have been accepting, the support for women’s wrestling is illuminating the point of focus on women in men’s sports, being not only overlooked but also underappreciated. The difficulty of wrestling is constant throughout both sexes’ participation. 

  Collegiate wrestling is another area of growth. While not all schools have women’s wrestling teams, several universities now offer varsity programs or competitive programs, providing female wrestlers with an opportunity to compete at a higher level and earn scholarships to open doors for college careers.  Yet, despite the progress, female wrestlers often find themselves at the forefront of changing the culture within the sport. Many, like Smith-Abron, have become advocates simply by being present and persistent. Their involvement has challenged outdated assumptions and encourages younger athletes to be driven and feel comfortable in their own skin in a place where they might be the minority. The improvements taking place—from better coaching resources to more competitions—reflect their resilience and the growing recognition of their talent. As this sport continues to evolve, the voices of these athletes will play a central role in shaping what the next generation of women’s wrestling looks like. The changes not only strengthen women’s sports but also helps normalize women’s participation in what has traditionally been a male-dominated field, Smith-Abron said, “I think that people think that girls cannot do hard things… It’s too rough of a sport, it’s too masculine, too this, too that. But that’s not the legitimacy of it at all.” Women have continued to question this status quo, as Smith-Abron shows, “Girls are allowed to do hard things.”