COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The number of girls hitting the wrestling mats continues to rise for Oregon according to a recent study released by the USA Wrestling Girls High School Development Committee.

The report, released July 13, states high school wrestling among females stood at 1,209 participants in Oregon, up from 923 wrestlers just one year ago. In 2014, 10 years ago, only 136 high school female wrestlers participated in competition.

Numbers are increasing across all ages of girls wrestling in Oregon as 1,412 females of all ages are involved in organized wrestling. In 2014, that number stood at a mere 272.

The growth in our home state follows national a national trend. Across the nation, 34,281 high school girls were on the mats in 2023, up from 16,112 in 2019 and 25,290 just one year ago.

California leads the nation in female high school wrestling with 3,806 participating. Kansas sits in second with 2,390 high school girls on the mat.

Oregon’s surrounding states also saw increases in numbers. Idaho bumped up over 100 wrestlers from just one year ago, going from 405 to 508 wrestlers this past season. Washington saw a jump of over 500 girls going for the pin as 1,790 females competed in high school wrestling last season compared to 1,230 one year ago.