Holtville is the newest Elmore County school that is adding a girls wrestling program. The development of this new team will be undertaken by second-year wrestling coach Connor Blakely, who is excited about the expansion of the sport.
Girls wrestling has been an AHSAA sanctioned sport since 2024 and it has grown quickly. Wetumpka, Stanhope Elmore and Tallassee all compete in girls wrestling; now it has spread to Holtville.
“I had some girls come to me and tell me that they were interested,” Blakely said. “I think it’s just the growth of the sport, and (the girls) seeing an opportunity that’s out there. They brought it to my attention and said they wanted to do it. So we did it.”
With the recent addition of girls wrestling, most AHSAA tournaments and competitions have expanded to include girls as well as boys. Whether they are held simultaneously or subsequently depends on the teams and tournament hosts.
“It really does help with it being new,” Blakely said. “A lot of coaches are in the same situation as me. I think that the wrestling community putting together tournaments and doing it with the girls in mind, and trying to make it as easy a process for everyone.”
As far as the coaching and day-to-day organization, things are staying largely the same just expanding further. Now, girls that are interested in wrestling will be able to compete against other girls rather than having to go up against boys.
“There’s truly no difference in the wrestling itself,” Blakely said. “It’s just the fact that it’s girls competing against girls and boys against boys. In the past we’ve had a girl wrestler or two at Holtville High School, but they had to wrestle boys. It’s really beneficial that they have added this and I know a lot of colleges have started to add women’s wrestling programs as well.”
This summer the team has started to come together, with about four girls already participating in summer practices. Blakely hopes to build the team up to around 10 girls to give them a chance to fill all the weight classes.
“If we could fill every weight class, that would be great as well,” Blakely said. “But I’m just excited that there’s girls that want to do it and I’m trying to build the program as a whole, so having girls in there also helps.”
