Girls Wrestling Hit 88,771. Talea Guntrum Finished 45-0.

Girls high school wrestling reached 88,771 athletes. On October 1, 2026, the NFHS participation release put the 2025-26 count there, up 19.9 percent from 74,064 the year before. In the first post-pandemic survey, 2021-22, the figure was 31,654.

Ohio already has a podium for that growth. On March 13-15, 2026, at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Massillon Perry scored 83 points and won its first girls team title. The OHSAA recap says Perry had three state qualifiers, and all three won. Steubenville’s Talea Guntrum finished 45-0.

Schools moved with the athletes. The NFHS said 8,853 schools now sponsor girls wrestling, up from 4,802 in 2021-22, and that every state reports some participation. Forty state associations conduct a championship. A Columbus basketball gym that adds a mat night is looking at the same floor the state final just filled.

How many girls wrestle in high school?

88,771 in the NFHS 2025-26 survey, released October 1, 2026. That is a 19.9 percent rise from 74,064.

The four-year rise is from 31,654 to 88,771. The NFHS paired that jump with girls flag football in the same release. Flag reached 102,360 and entered the top 10 by participants. Wrestling entered the top 10 by the number of schools offering it, at 8,853. The flag count and this mat count are the two emerging sports in one survey. A Cleveland basketball weeknight and a wrestling practice often want the same door.

Who won Ohio’s 2026 girls wrestling team title?

Massillon Perry, with 83 points. Harrison was second with 71. It was the fourth OHSAA-sanctioned girls tournament, and Perry’s first team title.

• 1. Massillon Perry, 83. Three qualifiers, three champions.
• 2. Harrison, 71.
• 3. Olentangy Orange, 70.5. Orange was the two-time defending champion.
• 4. Marysville, 59.
• 5. Gahanna Lincoln, 47.5.

Perry’s champions were Mia Forberg at 105, Carolyn Geckler at 130, and Emma Shephard at 140. Forberg pinned Walsh Jesuit’s Isabella Thiel in 5:41. Geckler pinned Oak Hills freshman Eleanor Polking in 1:47. Shephard beat Bishop Hartley’s Nora Johnson 15-11. Geckler had won at 115 the year before. Three mats produced a team title. A rec meet can publish three mat numbers the same way.

Who won Indiana’s second girls wrestling title?

Whiteland, with 99.5 points, on January 16, 2026, at Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis. Crown Point was second with 78.5.

The IHSAA recap calls it the school’s first state title in any sport, and the second year of a sanctioned girls final. Whiteland sent eight qualifiers, crowned two champions, and placed six. Hobart finished third with 64.5. Defending champion Columbus East was fourth with 63. Kaitlynn Fouty won at 100 by a 5-3 decision and finished 27-0. Mikayla Perkins won at 120, 13-8, and finished 40-1. Kendall Moe of Indianapolis Cathedral finished 37-0 and won a fourth straight title at 115 by technical fall, 17-1 in 2:24, over Whiteland’s Moriah Morphet. Aleksandra Bastaic of Highland finished 41-0, pinned Madison Consolidated’s Maylie Skinner in 1:57 at 155, and became a four-time champion. Pendleton Heights junior Maddie Marsh finished 23-0 and won a third straight title at 140 by technical fall, 15-0 in 1:49. A Fort Wayne basketball gym and an Indianapolis basketball floor are the rec version of that Friday: one building, several mats, a posted start.

Who finished undefeated at the Ohio girls final?

Talea Guntrum went 45-0 and pinned at 135 in 2:53. Bella Graziani went 40-0, and Deionna Borders went 38-0.

Guntrum, a Steubenville junior, pinned United’s Auston Brown. She had won titles in each of her first two seasons at 120, and the OHSAA said she is on track to become the first four-time champion in the sanctioned girls tournament. Graziani, a Tinora senior, pinned East Cleveland Shaw’s Aniya Polk in 3:08 at 100 after finishing runner-up the year before. Borders, a Berea-Midpark senior, pinned Archbold’s Gabby Oregon in 3:17 at 235 and defended her title. Loveland senior Elizabeth Madison also finished unbeaten, with a third title, pinning Austintown Fitch’s Reghan Koch in 1:24 at 170. A 45-0 season still happened on one mat, at one clock. A Cincinnati basketball building that hosts a youth dual should name that mat.

Which finals ended in under two minutes?

Three pins: Elizabeth Madison in 1:24 at 170, Carolyn Geckler in 1:47 at 130, and Michaela Stork in 1:54 at 190.

The rest of the podium is just as specific. Kayla Moroschan of Chippewa pinned East Liverpool’s Paige Cowen in 1:59 at 125 and finished 51-1. She had won state as a freshman at 120. KyLee Tibbs of Gahanna Lincoln pinned Archbold’s Vivienne Legato in 2:42 at 155, finished 44-2, and had won at 140 the year before. Ashlynn Brokaw of Mount Vernon beat Warren’s Emma Gorrell 13-4 at 110 and finished 44-2, defending her title. Mackenzie Carder gave Olentangy Orange its first individual champion of the meet, beating Marysville’s Cami Leng 14-4 at 120 and finishing 46-2. Naomi Gearheart of Ashland Crestview edged Jonathan Alder freshman Reese Thomas 12-11 at 145 and finished 47-3. Barnesville freshman Ladyn Hines was the only freshman champion, beating Little Miami’s Kaylee Vera 4-1 at 115 and finishing 39-4. Port Clinton’s Michaela Stork, who had won a discus title the previous spring, pinned Carrollton’s Riley Alborn in 1:54 at 190 and finished 39-4. The OHSAA said Geckler was one of six wrestlers leaving with a second title.

How many schools added girls wrestling?

The NFHS count rose from 4,802 schools in 2021-22 to 8,853 in 2025-26. Forty state associations now run a championship.

That is 4,051 more schools in four surveys. Every state reports some girls wrestling participation. Ohio’s tournament is the fourth year the OHSAA has sanctioned the girls event, and Perry’s 83 points are a first team title inside that window. A new school program pulls club and rec wrestlers onto the same mats the following winter. Dallas basketball, Houston basketball, and Chicago basketball gyms already stack a school practice and a rec game. A wrestling night is another line on that permit.

What should a rec gym copy from the Schottenstein Center?

The weight, the opponent, the mat, and the result. A rec dual can publish age group, mat, and start before anyone drives.

Perry’s title was three names and three weights, not a single “wrestling” block. Forberg at 105, Geckler at 130, Shephard at 140. A youth meet can use the same habit: Mat 1 at 9:00, Mat 2 at 9:00, and the next wave at 10:30. Put that line in the league dashboard before a coach texts a room change from the hallway. The gym-time post is the basketball version of the same door. Indianapolis basketball and Atlanta basketball families already know what a posted score looks like.

Which cities should treat 88,771 as a mat problem?

Any city whose gym already hosts basketball and is being asked for a wrestling night.

Columbus had the Schottenstein Center for three days. Massillon had Perry’s first team title and Guntrum’s 45-0 a short drive away in Steubenville. Cincinnati had Polking in the 130 final and Oak Hills on the bracket. A rec league in Columbus can have the same overlap on a Tuesday: a basketball practice, a youth dual, one lobby. The Ohio basketball finals showed seven games in one arena. Wrestling’s version is fourteen weights on a set of mats. Phoenix basketball gyms have the same floor plan.

What should a director check before adding a wrestling night?

The new mat needs a clock and a roster. The floor still needs its own reservation.

• Wrestling and basketball are separate lines, each with a start and an end.
• The mat number is visible from the lobby.
• A 45-0 athlete and a first-year novice are separate bouts, on a posted mat.
• The door matches the mat, so the family is using this week’s pin.
• A family with two athletes can tell which whistle is which.
• If you cite demand, cite the source: NFHS for 88,771, OHSAA for 45-0 and 83 points.

Guntrum’s title was a pin in 2:53 and a 45-0 season. Perry’s title was 83 points from three champions. The state wrote both down. A rec league can write the mat down. Brands that want to be on that night can sponsor a game. Directors can request a demo. Coaches Pick stays free for league owners, including the home page families already use to find a league.