By Chris Hulsart

One of the fastest growing high school sports in the state of Pennsylvania will officially become a varsity sport at York College of Pennsylvania after official approval from the athletic department.

Women’s wrestling has steadily made a name for itself in the past few years across the country and after much demand will be implemented into York College in the fall of 2023. The first class of women will join a wrestling program that has been making strides in the past few years and has gotten a lot of recognition.

Head coach Duane Bastress said a women’s squad is “something [he] has been pushing for over the last few years” and that the addition to the existing team “will elevate our wrestling overall for both the men’s and women’s teams.”

All the excitement does come with a lot of work to be done for the start of a new team. The coaches will have to integrate a lot of new wrestlers into an already big team and this may come with an addition to the coaching staff. However, the most important part is actually getting new athletes on the mat.

Spartans Athletic Director Matt Day says, “Our coaches are already working on our first recruiting class as this is the most important part of starting the program off on the right foot.”

While women’s wrestling has come into the forefront, those participating will be missing a conference tournament until there are five teams in the Middle Atlantic Conference. As of fall 2023, York will be the third team to have this sport.

However, Megan Morrison, the executive director of the MAC, remains hopeful. “I was thrilled to hear about the addition of women’s wrestling at York,” she says. “The MAC values gender equality, especially NCAA emerging sports.”

Chris Hulsart is a freshman and a Sport Media major.