South Dakota High School Activities Association Approves Girls High School Wrestling Division

The South Dakota High School Activities Association has approved a new proposal to add a girl's division to high school wrestling.

South Dakota will become the 25th state in the country to sanction girl's wrestling. After two years of discussion, the SDHSAA Board of Directors approved the division at the June 11, 2020 Board of Directors meeting.

SDHSAA Executive Director Dan Swartos stated “I am very proud of our member schools for embracing this concept, and I am excited to provide this opportunity to student-athletes in South Dakota,” in a press release sent out to all media members.

The wrestling division will include one classification and four different weight classes. The top eight wrestlers in each weight class will advance to the State Wrestling Tournament. TrackWrestling's criteria will be used to determine the top eight wrestlers to qualify.

Assistant Director of the SDHSAA Dr. John Krogstrand added that participation numbers have spiked in states that have a girls wrestling division.

“In every other state that has implemented Girls Wrestling, they’ve seen tremendous growth in participation numbers over the first several years. We anticipate the same in South Dakota and will adjust weight classes according to growth as we move into future years.” - Dr. John Krogstrand

Those that want to participate won't have to wait long either. The SDHSAA has approved the division to begin during the upcoming 2020-2021 school year.