The Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) is pleased to announce the creation of a Girls Wrestling Tournament starting next year in the winter of 2018-2019. Female wrestlers will continue wrestling for their school teams during the traditional winter season, but will be given the option before the MIAA Sectional Tournament to declare which MIAA post-season tournament they’ll compete, either the traditional mixed gender tournament or the girls tournament.

Allie Maitland, a Bristol County Agricultural High School student-athlete happily stated, “I am extremely excited about the newly approved Girls State Tournament. When I started wrestling I did it to step out of the standards for women and be different. Lately I’ve been questioning if I’m doing the right thing, but this opportunity proves to me I’m following the right path and keeping true to myself.”

The inaugural Girls Wrestling Tournament is slated for Saturday, February 23, 2019, which coincides with day two of the All-State Tournament. There will be no assigned weight classes for the Girls Tournament, instead using the Madison Grouping format. The MIAA Wrestling and Tournament Management Committees are pleased to offer this exciting opportunity for female wrestlers across Massachusetts, as it becomes only the 10th state in the country to offer a Girls Wrestling Tournament.

“We are thrilled to provide an opportunity to showcase the tremendous female wrestlers that work tirelessly throughout the season. We look forward to the continued growth of Girls Wrestling in the state of Massachusetts,” added Phil Napolitano, MIAA Wrestling Liaison.