Girls wrestling to become sanctioned high school sport in Nevada

Girls wrestling will become an officially sanctioned high school sport in Nevada beginning with the 2026-27 school year.

The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association voted unanimously to sanction the sport on the first day of the summer Board of Control meetings Tuesday in Reno.

Currently, girls wrestling is offered as a division under the four classes of boys wrestling (5A, 4A, 3A and 2A), and the state meet is called the girls state invitational.

Nothing will change for the upcoming school year, but in 2026-27, a separate Class 4A for girls will be created with an official state meet.

According to participation numbers from the NIAA, 577 girls wrestled this season. That’s a jump from 509 in 2023-24 and 388 in 2022-23.

The 356 wrestlers who competed in the postseason this year represented a 19% increase from the 300 participants in 2024.

Girls wrestling is one of the fastest-growing sports in the country. According to participation numbers from the National Federation of High School Sports Associations, 64,257 girls wrestled in high school in the 2023-24 school year, a 102 percent increase from 2021-22 (31,654).

5A baseball grows

Also at the meeting, the board approved spring sports realignment proposals and postseason formats.

Among the notable changes is the Class 5A Southern Region expanding to 17 teams for baseball. The original proposal from a May meeting had 12 teams, but Bonanza, Foothill, Green Valley, Legacy and Sierra Vista all had their appeals to move from 4A to 5A approved.

The teams in the 5A Southern Region will be Arbor View, Basic, Bishop Gorman, Bonanza, Centennial, Coronado, Desert Oasis, Durango, Faith Lutheran, Foothill, Green Valley, Las Vegas, Legacy, Liberty, Palo Verde, Sierra Vista and Shadow Ridge.

Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.