National Scope

Four states, California, Hawaii, Texas and Washington, have state athletic association sanctioned state wrestling championships.  In 2014 328 schools sent 983 girls to state athletic associations sanctioned state tournament.  California and Texas, of course, have populations that may make the task of holding a state championship more feasible, but Washington, with a population only about 50% larger than Louisiana, and Hawaii, with a population of only about 1/4 of Louisiana's, prove that it is organization and determination, not numbers, that make such things possible.

State High School Programs State Tournament Participants
California 62 288
Hawaii 47 216
Texas 120 287
Washington 99 192

The National Wrestling Coaches Association estimates that just over 8,600 girls competed on high school teams across the nation in the 2013-14 high school wrestling season.

The states in pink are those recognized by the NWCA and the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) as having female high school wrestlers.

Note that Louisiana is not among the above pink-shaded states, although Louisiana currently has several female wrestlers and have had many more in the past.  Currently as many as ten young ladies venture onto the mats against their male counterparts.  Some do extremely well, and those who do not fare as well as they would like agree to a girl that what they learn about the sport and about themselves is what keeps them coming back to practice.

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