As next year’s budget begins to take shape, Upper Adams School Board is considering the possibility of starting a separate girls wrestling program.
Currently, six girls wrestle on the boys’ teams, with three in middle school and three in high school, though athletics director Anthony Graham said more signed up initially. He predicts more Upper Adams girls would be interested in the sport if they were able to wrestle other girls.
“A girls wrestling team would increase the strength of the wrestling program, athletics department and school community by engaging more student athletes and providing them valuable, social, physical and academic opportunities,” Graham said at Tuesday’s board meeting. “If you’ve lived in Biglerville or been in Biglerville for any period of time, we know how serious the Upper Adams community takes their wrestling.”
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association recognized girls wrestling as an emerging sport in 2022 and officially sanctioned the sport in 2023, according to Graham. Of the 243 schools in the PIAA that sponsor girls wrestling, 61 schools are in District 3, where Canners compete. Among those are local school districts such as Gettysburg and Bermudian Springs. At a collegiate level, Graham said there are more than 120 women’s varsity wrestling programs, 10 of which are in Pennsylvania.
“Currently, our girls are rostered on our boys team because we do not have a girls wrestling team, and what that means is there are girls opportunities during the wrestling season, but our girls are not allowed to compete in those opportunities because they are rostered on our boys team,” Graham said. “If we were to allow them to compete in those girls opportunities, that would count as competition points for our boys team.”
Creating their own team could provide more opportunities for girl wrestlers.
“Not knowing how many girls will come out, the idea of girls wrestling in the beginning, based on numbers, would be more of a tournament team, not a duals team,” Graham said.
Starting a girls wrestling program at Upper Adams could cost an estimated $35,000, Graham said. That would include uniforms, transportation, and four paid coaching staff. In some districts, some staff coach both the boys and girls teams, Graham said, so the cost could vary depending on the number of coaches.
Creating a girls wrestling team would give girls more winter sport options, Graham noted. Currently, female athletes have basketball and cheerleading available to them.
The school board recommended director of business operations Shelley Hobbs include the cost of starting a girls wrestling team in the fiscal year 2026 budget. This decision does not guarantee a team will be formed, as the board is early in the budget planning process and can make changes in the months ahead before adopting the final budget in June.
Other items being considered for next year’s budget include:
– Permits to begin the process of installing a turf field in the stadium
– Wrestling room wall pad and practice mat replacement
– Roof restoration at the intermediate school
– Middle school wheelchair lift replacement
– Replacing the dust collector system in the shop classroom
– Increasing the pay of translators from $20 to $30 per hour
– Hiring additional assistant coaches for softball, baseball and cross country
– Moving a speech language pathologist position from a contractor position to an Upper Adams employee position
– Hiring crossing guards for the high school campus
– Supporting the elementary school summer enrichment program
The school board will next meet Feb. 18 at 7 p.m.
Mary Grace Kauffman, freelance reporter, worked six years as a full-time reporter for newspapers in Pennsylvania and Maryland. She has covered topics including business, crime, education, government and features. Mary Grace has a bachelor's degree in communication/journalism from Shippensburg University. She resides in Adams County.