THE TOURNAMENT: The first-ever WIAA State Girls Individual Wrestling Tournament is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 29 at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wis.
TICKET INFORMATION: Ticket prices for tournament session are $11 for an all-day ticket and are only available to be purchased on-line on the WIAA website through GoFan, the WIAA ticketing partner, at: https://gofan.co/app/events/498888?schoolId=WIAA2.
THE SCHEDULE: Weigh-ins for competitors are at 7:30 a.m. Doors will open for spectators at 8 a.m. with competition starting with the preliminary bouts at 9 a.m. Wrestling will begin with the 100-pound weight class and continue through the classes on a “next available mat” basis on five mats through the semifinals to be concluded at approximately 4 p.m. The championship matches as well as the third- and fifth-place matches will begin at 6:30 p.m.
9 a.m.-4 p.m. – Preliminaries through semifinals
6:30 p.m. – March of Champions, Championships, Third-Place & Fifth-Place matches
FINALS ON BALLY SPORTS WISCONSIN: The championship final matches of all 12 weight classes will be aired live on Bally Sports Wisconsin. Please check local cable listings for the Bally Sports Wisconsin channel in your area. The live programming aired on Bally Sports Wisconsin will also be streamed live on the Bally Sports app with registration and cable system authentication.
PRE-FINALS; THIRD & FIFTH-PLACE MATCHES STREAMED LIVE: All mats of the pre-finals and the third- and fifth-place matches will be streamed live on WIAA.TV with a subscription to the NFHS Network. To purchase a subscription to the live programming for only $10.99 per month, log-on to www.wiaa.tv or www.nfhsnetwork.com and click on the subscription button at the top right of the page.
THE WEIGHT CLASSES: The girls State Tournament features 12 weight classes. The weights of the classes and the number of competitors entered in the bracket at each weight class in parentheses are 100-pounds (21), 107-pounds (32), 114-pounds (31), 120-pounds (26), 126-pounds (23), 132-pounds (27), 138-pounds (20), 145-pounds (19), 152-pounds (17), 165-pounds (21), 185-pounds (15) and 235-pounds (9).
2022 TOURNAMENT BY THE NUMBERS: There will be champions crowned in 12 weight classes in a single division. There are 261 wrestlers entered in the tournament representing 115 programs. Milwaukee Reagan has entered the most wrestlers in the tournament with 19. Holmen is next on the list with 14. Martin Luther has the third-most competitors with nine; Muskego has eight; and Merrill and Oregon have six.
GROWTH OF GIRLS WRESTLING: This is the first year the WIAA has sponsored a separate girls tournament. According to an article published in the High School Today by the NFHS, at least 31 state associations sponsor a separate girls State Tournament, most of them since 2018. Participation statistics indicate 4,975 girls participated in wrestling nationwide in 2005, and the number had increased to 28,447 during the 2019-20 season based on data collected by the USA Wrestling Girls High School Development Committee.
TITLE IX 50TH ANNIVERSARY RECOGNITION: The WIAA launches a year-long celebration commemorating the 50th anniversary of Title IX legislation with the first-ever State Girls Individual Wrestling Tournament this week. Identified pioneers in the growth of girls interscholastic sports opportunities were invited to attended the tournament to mark the launching of the celebration. A complimentary commemorative program will be available at all State Tournaments throughout the year. Participants in all girls’ State Tournaments this year will receive a commemorative bag tag, and recognition of the campaign will be promoted on tournament signage, t-shirt giveaways, stories and facts on the WIAA website and social media platforms.
NEED THE ENTRIES?: State Tournament brackets and tournament schedule are available in the Girls Wrestling Tournament page of the WIAA website or by accessing the TrackWrestling.com site.
COVID-19 GUIDELINES: For the health and safety of media personnel and all attending the State Girls Individual Wrestling Tournament, the following guidelines have been established. Fully vaccinated individuals with booster shots should consider wearing a mask in areas of high likelihood of transmission. Masks are strongly encouraged for individuals not fully vaccinated.
ORDER STATE MEET APPAREL ONLINE: WIAA licensed apparel for the 2022 State Girls Individual Wrestling Tournament will be available for purchase at the La Crosse Center during the tournament and is available online prior to and after the tournament. Please access the link to the online store on the Girls Wrestling Tournament homepage.
NEED LIVE RESULTS?: Access results through the WIAA website by navigating to the wrestling homepage and selecting the Tournament Information option in the right column or by accessing the Trackwrestling.com website.
FOLLOW STATE MEET ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Receive updates of the State Girls Individual Wrestling Tournament on the WIAA State Tournament Twitter account @wiaawistate with the hashtag #wiaawr. Also follow daily recaps on Facebook.