On March 7, 2024, the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) Individual State Tournament kicked off, but this year, something was different. For the first time ever, 87 years after the first PIAA boys wrestling state championships were held, the PIAA sponsored a State Championship for girls. The historic moment was a culmination of years of work and support by people in Pennsylvania to ensure the growing number of girls in the state had access to the same opportunities that boys did. For many years, Joe Stabilito of PAUSAW and the PA Chapter of the NWHOF, hosted a state championship to ensure the girls would have an end-of-season event. After years of advocacy, Joe’s efforts in combination with others, led to the historic first PIAA championship for girls.

The road to PIAA sponsorship of a girls state championship was not easy.  PIAA by-laws require 100 schools form a team in a sport before it can be considered for PIAA sponsorship and a state championship. This is one of, if not the highest bar, of any athletic association in the country. Up until March 2020, no girls teams existed in Pennsylvania, although girls were wrestling throughout the state. With a concerted effort kicked off in March 2020 by SanctionPA to educate schools about forming girls teams, the number of teams grew steadily and quickly. On February 14, 2023, the 100th PIAA girls high school wrestling team formed. By May 2023, the PIAA voted to approve girls wrestling as a sport they sponsor on the junior high and high school level, and on July 1, 2023 the PIAA took jurisdiction of girls wrestling.

The 2023-2024 girls wrestling season started as the first under PIAA jurisdiction. Throughout the season, girls competed in girls tournaments and held duals across the state. There were tremendous competition opportunities which girls were able to take advantage of. For the post-season, the PIAA built a model that looked much like the boys – the girls advanced through Districts, Regionals, and then to States, which the PIAA decided to hold on the same dates and in the same location as the boys state tournament. The girls tournament saw 16-girl brackets across 13 weight classes. For scheduling, instead of alternating between AA and AAA boys rounds throughout the entire tournament, beginning with semifinals, all three groups – girls, AA boys, AAA boys - were brought together and competed in the same sessions in front of the same fans. Three mats were used for the finals – one for AA boys, one for AAA boys, and one for girls. Girls finals matches were placed on the center mat as the AA boys and AAA boys were running their finals on either side. The national anthem prior to finals was sung by Eliana White-Vega of Cumberland Valley, just mere minutes before she took the mat to compete in her 124-pound finals match (which she won). Canon McMillan took home the first ever first place team trophy and Jordyn Fouse took home the first OW.

The state championship truly showcased girls in this sport and the girls showed how long they’ve been waiting for this moment.  The metaphor couldn’t have been clearer than on day one of the PIAA State Tournament – the first round of boys competition was about to end, and the girls were next, so they all lined up in the tunnel and on the floor of the arena, watching the boys do something that they never were allowed to do up to that point, literally waiting to be let onto the Giant Center mats for the first time. As security made them wait, finally, they were told they could take the mats. And they did… with excitement, smiles, and cheers from a crowd who understood the history in the moment.

It wasn’t just girls in the girls bracket that were welcomed to the Giant Center – as girls were competing in the first ever PIAA girls state championship, one girl was making history in the boys bracket. In Pennsylvania, girls can still wrestle even if their school has not started a girls team. In those cases, the girl can wrestle on the school’s boys team and can opt into the girls post-season if she so chooses. She can also elect to compete with the boys for the post-season. On March 7, while 208 girls began competing in the first ever PIAA girls bracket, one girl was also at the Giant Center, but competing in the boys bracket. Sierra Chiesa, a junior at Northwestern High School in Albion, chose to compete at boys districts, where she qualified for Regionals, and from there qualified for States. Last year, Chiesa was the first girl to ever qualify for the PIAA boys state championship, where she lost in the blood round. This year, Chiesa again reached the State tournament and although she fell short of placing, just a few days before on March 1, she made history by becoming the first female in Pennsylvania high school wrestling history to win 100 PIAA matches.

Whatever road a girl chooses to take for the post-season, one thing is for sure – there is now a path for her.  The first PIAA State Tournament with girls, as well as the 2023-2024 season as a whole, is one that will not soon be forgotten. The season saw many “firsts,” unforgettable moments, long-awaited opportunities, and momentous growth. Participation numbers doubled at the JH level (to over 1000 girls) and nearly doubled at the HS level (to over 1900 girls) compared to last season. Team numbers went from 100 HS teams last spring to over 180 for the season and from 0 JH teams to over 110.  PA proved that the old adage is true – “if you build it, they will come.” With girls now being sent the clear message that they belong in this sport, they are walking through open doors in droves and showing all of us that girls wrestling in PA is here to stay.