October 19, 2022 at 10:57 a.m.
SDR board approves 'standalone' girls' wrestling team
SDR board approves 'standalone' girls' wrestling team
The team's formation was approved in a unanimous vote by the School District of Rhinelander Board of Education Monday night.
While the program will still work closely with the Hodag boys' wrestling team, establishing a new girls' team gives the school the ability to hire a girls' head coach and participate in more girls-only invitationals throughout the season.
"I think it's only fair if we have a girls' coach to be our representative. We're one of the first schools that has a girls' varsity coach and I'm sure there will be teams to follow," RHS boys' wrestling coach Scottie Arneson told the River News on Tuesday. "I want to thank the school board for allowing us to grow the sport of wrestling."
The Hodags had four female wrestlers on their roster last season, including Abby Swanson who placed fifth in the 185-pound weight class as a junior at the inaugural WIAA girls' state tournament in La Crosse. During Monday's meeting, RHS activities director Brian Paulson stated a recent survey he conducted polling females at RHS and James Williams Middle School indicated six individuals would for sure join girls' wrestling, six more would likely join and another seven would consider joining.
"We're looking to get some numbers, be able to fill a Suburban and get these girls enjoying an opportunity that the WIAA's provided," Paulson said, noting that the team would use district-owned vehicles when traveling to standalone events as a cost-saving measure.
"We're going to try to get as many girls out as we can," Arneson added. "Now with the girls' state tournament, we want to try to grow girls' wrestling in Rhinelander as much as we want to grow the love for the sport with the guys."
SDR superintendent Eric Burke, who has previous experience as a wrestling coach, underscored the growth of women's wrestling in his remarks to the board.
"This was born out of interest not only in Rhinelander but in the state," he said. "Women's wrestling is getting stronger and stronger at the college level, but the USA team is also very strong worldwide. We have some interest."
The WIAA held its first ever girls' high school state tournament this past January in La Crosse, with 261 athletes competing in 12 separate weight classes.
As the women's side of high school wrestling grows, more and more girls-only tournaments are taking place around the state. Many of those take place on weekends while other boys' and co-ed tournaments are taking place.
Paulson noted the RHS wrestling program did not have enough coaches to simultaneously cover boys' and girls' tournaments at separate venues last year. He said hiring a separate girls' coach will alleviate the issue.
"Last year we had one individual mom take a girl with (to girls' tournaments) because the other coaches had duties with the boys' team," he said. "This will allow to be able to have a coach and allow those athletes travel to all-girls tournaments."
Approval of a separate girls' team took place exactly four weeks prior to the first day high school wrestling teams are allowed to begin practice in Wisconsin. Paulson said the coaching position would be posted immediately. He and Arneson both indicated there are candidates who are interested in the position.
"Talking to Scottie, there are a couple of people we have interested," he said. "It might be someone on staff, but them we have to fill that void. Scottie's the guy I'm leaning on to figure out where we can put the puzzle together."
Girls will still be allowed to participate on boys' and/or co-ed wrestling teams during the regular season. For instance, the RHS boys' wrestling team could use females in its lineup during a Great Northern Conference dual meet. However, for postseason competition, females must choose to participate in either the girls' state tournament series or the boys/co-ed state tournament series.
"During the week, they're still part of the boys' program," Paulson said. "They'll probably practice at the same time still. However, we need another coach to be able to take them to all-girl tournaments."
Burke noted that the Rhinelander wrestling invitational that will be held in the Hodag Dome Dec. 22 will have separate brackets for female wrestlers. Paulson said he will look to enter Rhinelander into more girls-only tournaments now that support for a standalone program has been secured.
The WIAA has moved the girls' state tournament to be held in conjunction with the boys' state tournament at the Kohl Center in Madison this February. There will also be an enhanced qualifying format with sectional tournaments for the girls this year.
Girls' sectionals locations have not yet been announced, leaving open the possibility that Rhinelander may have athletes in boys' and girls' sectional tournaments at separate venues on the same day.
David Holperin, chairperson of the board's Operations and Strategic Planning Committee, noted while there was some discussion regarding logistics, the plan passed through the committee unanimously.
"At the end of the day, Brian indicated there was definitely some interest. We already have other girls' sports dedicated to hockey and volleyball and everything else, so we agreed that this deserves a shot," he said. "We do want to monitor it and see how it develops over the next few seasons."
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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