High School Insider: Girls wrestling momentum 'incredibly strong' after Georgia, Oregon announce plans to sanction state tournaments
High School Insider: Girls wrestling momentum 'incredibly strong' after Georgia, Oregon announce plans to sanction state tournaments
Andy Hamilton
Trackwrestling

02/14/2018
High School Insider: Girls wrestling momentum 'incredibly strong' after Georgia, Oregon announce plans to sanction state tournaments


Wrestling latched onto Andrea Yamamoto three decades ago during her daily wait for basketball practice to begin as a high school freshman in Washington.

She would sit each day and watch the start of the Richland High School wrestling squad’s workout under the tutelage of coach Dave “Doc” Bennett, who years later would become USA Wrestling’s National Freestyle Developmental coach, until Yamamoto found herself captivated enough by the sport to give it a shot.

“I just thought wrestling was so challenging, so fun and I actually thought I’d be good at it,” she said. “But I really liked the language that was being spoken inside the wrestling room about hard work, dedicating your lifestyle to this, your every waking moment in some form or fashion — your nutrition, your cardio, your weight training, your weight management, working on your technique — to basically pour yourself passionately into something that would become your lifestyle. I really took to that picture that Mr. Bennett painted and I’m really grateful because wrestling, in so many ways, has so positively and continues to positive impact my life.”

Wrestling took Yamamoto around the globe as she competed in five World Championships and it put her on the crusade she’s on now — one that this week produced one of her most rewarding days in the sport.

Yamamoto, who co-chairs USA Wrestling’s girls high school development committee, has been beaming since officials in Georgia and Oregon announced they will sanction girls high school wrestling next season. That means eight states — Alaska, California, Hawaii, Tennessee, Texas and Washington are the others — will hold an official girls state high school championship next year.

Georgia and Oregon are the first states to sanction girls wrestling since Tennessee joined the pack in 2015.

“It was really hard to focus on anything else the rest of the day,” Yamamoto said. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a state sanction girls wrestling. For these two to come out and, bam, right now, it’s hard to find the words. I know the people in these states have been working tremendously hard. Sometimes it doesn’t come as fast as you want it.”

But girls wrestling is picking up steam perhaps faster than ever before. Yamamoto said NFHS participation numbers for 2017 included 14,587 girls — numbers that would have been higher if 12 states had reported their figures — which is an increase of nearly 1,100 from the previous year.

“The momentum in girls wrestling right now is so incredibly strong,” Yamamoto said.