Eagle crowned first Idaho girls wrestling state champ. IHSAA already weighing expansion
Idaho made history Saturday, crowning its first official high school girls wrestling state champions at Holt Arena.
The separate girls state tournament came after years of growth and multiple pushes from advocates to recognize it as a separate sport. Previously, girls had to compete against boys at the state meet. Only three ever placed.
But with a stage to themselves, the first batch of champions left Pocatello proving the sport is here to stay.
“It’s amazing,” Caldwell senior Marissa Jimenez said. “Not only did girls before me pioneer and pave the way for me, but here I am finishing it for the next generation to become a normal thing.
“Girls can do this sport, too. It’s not only male dominant.”
EAGLE TAKES FIRST STATE TITLE
The Mustangs ran away with the team trophy, finishing with 111 points, 45 ahead of second-place Columbia.
Senior Liv Wieber (36-4) headlined the group, topping Minico’s Frankie Graham (33-4) for the first time in her high school career with a 3-0 decision in the 132-pound finals.
Junior twin sisters Reese Woods (182, 18-3) and Olivia Woods (heavyweight, 22-2) also climbed atop the podium. And sophomore Jordynn LeBeau (18-9) finished second in an all-Eagle 182-pound final that showcased Eagle’s dominance in the growing sport.
“I hope it means that more girls will come join,” Olivia Woods said of the state title. “We have eight girls, but it’s always exciting to see more girls coming in. People think it’s a guy sport. When people start to see that it really is for girls, and girls can start doing things guys can do, it’s exciting.”
Eagle also won the third and final unofficial state tournament last season. But Saturday’s came with a spot in IHSAA history and a championship banner to display at the school.
“I just can’t say enough about their tenacity and their grit,” Eagle coach Mike Stone said. “... As soon as they sanctioned it, I thought, ‘Hey, we’ve got a shot.’”
Mountain Home (third place) and Caldwell (fourth place) also brought home team trophies from the meet.
MORE LOCAL STATE CHAMPS
Marissa Jimenez, Caldwell: The senior (34-0) capped her second straight undefeated season with a 6-1 decision over Post Falls’ Abigale Piper in the 138-pound finals. Including the unofficial state meets, it’s her third straight state championship.
Clare Waite, Boise: The sophomore (26-2) scored a 6-5 decision over Columbia’s Maria Sifuentes for the 145-pound title.
Hallie Campbell, Columbia: The junior (29-4) pinned Boise’s Ornella Kero in 3:55 for the 160-pound crown.
STATE TOURNAMENT EXPANSION TALK
Idaho is already considering expanding the girls state tournament next year, IHSAA Executive Director Ty Jones confirmed Saturday.
He said the state activities association will survey wrestling coaches, asking them to rank their preferences for expansion between more weight classes, larger brackets or an additional classification.
Jones said the IHSAA office plans to recommend at least adding more weight classes.
The girls tournament was smaller than the boys’ in several ways, from the number of classifications (one vs. four), the number of weight classes (10 vs. 15), the size of the state brackets (8 vs. 16) and the number of medals awarded (four vs. six).
“I hope I can say without offending anybody: We need to keep growing it,” Stone said. “They gave us 10 weight classes. We need more. They only gave us eight-man brackets. We need more.
“I think we need to show Idaho wrestling that there’s room for the girls to come in that want to come in, and not make it so competitive that they’re discouraged and thinking well, ‘I can’t make the top eight, so I’m going to quit wrestling.’”
The first-year differences largely reflected the disparity in turnout between the genders. Idaho saw 388 girls complete their weight certification this season while 3,141 boys did. That means 20% of the girls who started the season qualified for state vs. 30% of the boys.
Jones said the goal is to narrow those gaps.
“A standalone tournament with hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands, of girls is the ultimate goal,” Jones said earlier this month. “I think we’ve made a step in the right direction, and we’re working toward that.”
This story was originally published February 26, 2022 at 10:31 PM.
