There are currently two styles of women’s wrestling: Folkstyle and Freestyle. We wrestle Folkstyle in Pennsylvania at the Junior High and High School levels, and our school team competes in Folkstyle events against other High School Girls Wrestling Teams in Pennsylvania. (There are opportunities for us to wrestle Freestyle in the Spring.) Freestyle is the style women wrestle at the college and the international levels, in events like the Olympics and the World Championships.
The Folkstyle Season (when we compete as a school against other school teams) is a winter sport that runs from mid-November to mid-March. We will mostly wrestle in tournaments with multiple teams, but will have some dual meets where we compete against one team at a time.
There are 13 Weight Classes for High School (Folkstyle) Girls Wrestling in Pennsylvania: 100-106-112-118-124-130-136-142-148-155-170-190-235. There are also 13 Weight Classes for Junior High (Folkstyle) Girls Wrestling in Pennsylvania: 71-77-83-89-96-103-110-117-125-135-148-165-200.
The Freestyle Season (run by clubs and administered by PA USA Wrestling) runs from April to July, and culminates at 'Fargo:' the National Freestyle Championships for 16U and 18U administered by USA Wrestling (our national olympic governing body) and held in Fargo, North Dakota. To qualify for Fargo and make Team Pennsylvania, you must place in the top 4 at the PA USAW State Championships on May 19-21, 2023 at Alvernia University in Reading.
How to Win: Wrestling is a contest between two athletes. The purpose of the sport is to turn your opponent onto her back and hold her shoulder blades on the mat. This is called a “pin” or a “fall” and when it happens, it terminates the match. As you will find, not every wrestler can “pin” her opponent, so in that event, points are awarded for technical achievements and whoever has the most points at the end of the match wins. The names for these scoring maneuvers are relatively easy to remember and understand.
These are the Folkstyle Scoring Rules:
(You can easily search in Google for “Folkstyle wrestling scoring rules” to find easy explanations and videos to learn more.)
A fall or pin is awarded when a wrestler holds her opponent’s shoulder blades to the mat for one second. This terminates the match, and in a dual meet the team is awarded 6 points.
A technical fall occurs whenever one wrestler’s score is 15 points greater than her opponent’s score. This also terminates the match and is worth 5 team points in a dual meet.
A major decision does not end the match but if the victory is by 8 points or more, the team earns 4 points in a dual meet.
A decision by 7 points or less and is worth 3 team points in a dual meet.
Scoring Points in the Match:
A near fall, also called back points, is almost a pin, but not quite. It occurs when you put your opponent on her back for two seconds or more, where she is in danger of being pinned. Two, three or four points may be awarded for a near fall, depending on the length of time you hold their shoulders closer than a 45- degree angle with the mat.
A takedown is a movement from the standing position where you take your opponent off her feet and gain control of her. This is worth 2 points.
An escape means getting up and out from underneath your opponent when she was in control of you. This is worth 1 point.
A reversal happens when the wrestler who was underneath her opponent reverses the position and gains control. This is worth 2 points.
Penalty warnings, points or disqualifications are also possible.
High School Girls Wrestling in Pennsylvania:
As of August 26th, 2023, there are over 125 Pennsylvania High Schools that have an official girls wrestling team, including 38 in the District 3 Area. The PIAA took jurisdiction of Girls Wrestling as an official sport in the 23-24 season, effective July 1st, 2023, for both High School and Junior High Girls.
Women's Wrestling in College:
There are 164 colleges and universities nationwide with women's wrestling teams, including 11 colleges in Pennsylvania alone, including:
-Lock Haven University
-East Stroudsburg University
-Gannon University
-Delaware Valley University
-Ursinus College
-Alvernia University
-York College of Pennsylvania
-Cedar Crest College
-Lackawanna Junior College
-Misericordia University (2024-25)
-Penn State University-Altoona (2024-25)
Overall, there are 91 NCAA programs across all divisions (D3: 56, D2: 31, and D1: 4) as well as 43 NAIA programs and 23 NJCAA programs.
The opportunities to continue competing in women's wrestling in college abound. There are 10 weight classes for women's wrestling in college: 101-109-116-123-130-136-143-155-170-191.
In the 2024-25 Season, the weight classes for women's wrestling in college will be: 103-110-117-124-131-138-145-160-180-207.