In their first year as a part of the OHSAA State Wrestling Championships, girls got the rock-star treatment during introductions and the lead-up to the championship matches on Sunday, March 12, 2023. Photo by Brian S. Peterson.
Girls took center stage during the title matches of the OHSAA State Wrestling Championships on Sunday, March 12 in Columbus. Here, Clermont Northeastern’s Jesse Foebar (top) takes on Lebanon’s Lexi Fornshell in the 145-pound title match, won by Foebar. Photo courtesy of Tom Donahue/Clermont Northeastern.
You could see it in the crowds. And you could feel it, too.
Yes, this was a different Ohio High School Athletic Association state wrestling tournament than ever before –
for the first time, a girls division was added to the OHSAA State Wrestling Championships, March 10-12 at the Jerome Schottenstein Center on the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus.
Adding the girls to the mix with the usual Division I, II and III competitions on the boys side made an obvious impact right from the start at the Schottenstein Center. Opening-day attendance was 13,560 – reportedly a record for the first day. And when official attendance numbers are eventually released for the second and third days and overall, those totals could very well be records, too.
“I am not sure what the attendance was overall for this year, however, I do believe that the addition of the girls tournament could only help the attendance,” said New Richmond Coach Greg Minor. New Richmond was represented at state by Charley Jones at 110 pounds in the girls division and Bill Foster at 285 pounds on the boys side. Both placed 7th in their respective classes/weights. “It seemed to me this year the OHSAA opened up more seating in the arena so they could accommodate the larger fan base.”
Even on the floor, the difference was evident this year. The addition of the girls division brought 224 more wrestlers to the tournament, and the result was three consecutive days of nearly non-stop wrestling, from early in the day to well into the evening each day. All those wrestling fans were in heaven.
“I loved it,” Clermont Northeastern coach Tom Donahue said of the girls’ inclusion in the OHSAA state tourney. “I think it’s good for the sport – the girls are very deserving and the champions need to be celebrate with the boys (champions).”
From 2019-2022, the OHSWCA sponsored and ran the Ohio Girls State Wrestling Tournament. Hosted at Hilliard Davidson High School in the Columbus suburbs, it was a considerably smaller gathering than at the nearly 19,000-seat Schottenstein Center, a major site for concerts and OSU basketball and hockey games.
“We tried to prepare them a little – we showed them videos of the parade of champions and told them that it was totally different going from the darkness of the tunnel to the bright lights (on the floor),” Donahue said of his four-girl contingent at state, which included eventual state champion Jesse Foebar. “All of them seemed to get over their nerves.”
But, even for a soon-to-be state champion, it took some time.
“Competing alongside the boys was pretty nerve-wracking,” said Foebar, who won the girls 145-pound title Sunday night, March 12, “A lot of them had been in this position before and they knew what to expect. None of the girls knew what we were getting into. None of us had ever done anything like this.”
In the OHSWCA state tourney, Foebar was sixth at 150 pounds in 2021 and third at 145 pounds last year. She won three of her four matches by pins over the weekend, including in the final. You wouldn’t know that, on the inside, she was a bundle of nerves.
“I had a lot of anxiety being in front of all those people,” she said. “Coach just kept telling me that there were 10 mats and not everyone was focused on just me. But it was still nerve-wracking walking out … and seeing thousands of people.”
According to the OHSWCA website, the girls state tournament grew from an open format in 2020 to a fully-functioning state tournament with four qualifying districts. “This was accomplished in just three years and was a vital cog in OHSAA’s adoption of girls wrestling as their 27th sponsored sport,” the website said. And so, in this year’s tournament, girls wrestled in 14 weight classes – contested on the same mats as the boys – with one division regardless of school enrollment.
“Coaches around the state of Ohio saw the need for a girls wrestling program,” Minor said. “Due to more girls wanting to participate in wrestling and some very motivated coaches, the sport has taken off. This program will only continue to grow and will be a positive addition for the sport of wrestling.
“I think the combination of the boys and girls at the state tournament has been a wonderful experience,” he added. “The fans were excited and came out in large numbers, not only to watch the boys, but also the girls. You could tell how excited the crowd was to be a part of history being made.”