Wrestling has deep historical roots and is considered by many to be the oldest competitive sport in the world. Women's wrestling was introduced to the World University Championships in 2001 and to the 2004 Olympics in Athens. The sport has been steadily growing since the 2004 Olympics as high schools, colleges, and universities in the U.S. have developed clubs and sanctioned programs. Penn Manor High School (PMHS) is one of them.

On Nov. 17, Penn Manor School District (PMSD) announced that the board of school directors approved the addition of a girls' wrestling team for Penn Manor students in grades seven through 12. This addition will make PMSD the second school district in Lancaster County and the 23rd in Pennsylvania to sanction a girls' wrestling team. In the early stages of the girls' season this winter, most of the competitions will be through tournaments, said Steve Kramer, PMSD athletic director.

A group of high school girls contacted the athletic department and sent letters to superintendent Mike Leichliter expressing their interest for a girls' wrestling team. Leichliter then contacted Kramer and told him to prepare a presentation for the school board to show how the program would work and explain why the district should sanction the program. The girls' first practice took place on Nov. 30, and Penn Manor's head wrestling coach, Brandon Vernalli, oversees the team.

"I think the girls' wrestling program is just another opportunity for our female students to become involved in a co-curricular activity, and it also gives them the chance, if they choose, to continue their academic and athletic careers at the next level," stated Kramer. Currently, there are more than 85 collegiate women's wrestling teams in the U.S., six of which are in Pennsylvania.

Freshman Trinity Mowery has been on the boys' varsity lineup for the past two years. She said she is very excited that PMHS has sanctioned a girls' team. "I'm looking forward to getting more people into the sport because a lot of people don't understand wrestling and don't know what it's about," she said. "If you want to give it a try, you can't give up because after the first two weeks of it, you're going say, 'I'm ready to go.'" In addition to wrestling, Mowery is also involved in chorus, softball, and track and field.

"It's just been great to see the support we've gotten from our school board, the administration, our faculty and staff, and just the community as a whole for this program," commented Kramer. "Once it was approved, we've got nothing but positive feedback, and we're just very excited to get these girls out on the mat and give them the chance to represent Penn Manor and just show what they have."