FORT THOMAS, Ky. — For the first time, girl’s wrestling is an official high school sport in Kentucky. Many would say it’s long overdue.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t girls who’ve been wrestling for years, sometimes even against the boys. Members of one team in Northern Kentucky say it’s about time they’re officially sanctioned, and they hope it inspires more girls to hit the mat.

Emma Hood never expected to be hitting the mat herself. “My mom actually mentioned it to me, and I was like absolutely not. I definitely don’t want to do that. I don’t want to wear a singlet. That sounds terrible,” Hood said. “But as I thought about it more, I thought that might be cool. And I joined. I love it. From the first practice, I was like, ‘this is gonna be my thing now.”’

A freshman at Highlands High School, Hood is only in her second year wrestling, but she’s caught on very quickly. She won eighth place at a state tournament her eighth-grade year, and has continued to pile up wins her freshman year. However, as recently as last year, her wins wouldn’t have gone into the official record books.

“Now it actually matters. Now it’s actually considered a sport,” Hood said. “And it’s growing a lot. So it’s pretty much the best time for me to have started.”

In February, the Kentucky High School Athletic Association voted to sanction girls wrestling, starting with the 2023-2024 season. The first official state tournament will take place early in 2024.

Previously, girls have had to wrestle in unsanctioned tournaments and even against boys.

That’s something Abigail Berling, another Highlands freshman wrestler, won’t miss.

“I am so happy about it. Because, I mean, wrestling guys was okay last year. But it was also pretty difficult, because you had a very big disadvantage, depending on who you were going against,” Berling said.

She said she can see why attracting girls to take part in the sport has been a challenge in the past.

“When you’re trying to recruit girls, they’re a little iffy about it, because they don’t know what everything’s about and how everything works,” Berling said. “It’s gonna be so much better now. Because more girls will not be scared or iffy about wrestling guys. They’ll be able to wrestle girls.”

While Hood and Berling come in as part of the first class of sanctioned girls wrestling, their teammate Emily Heilman, a senior, has watched the program come a long way during her wrestling career.

“This will be my third season wrestling,” Heilman said. “I just came to a practice, and I immediately fell in love with the environment. When I got to actually put my hands on somebody and wrestle people, it lit up my whole world, because I never felt so empowered before. I felt so powerful in that moment. These girls have gone from these shy, subtle, impressionable young women to these powerhouses that will kick anybody’s butt.”

Heilman said KHSAA’s decision to sanction girls wrestling felt validating.

“I am so happy that girls wrestling is finally sanctioned. It was interesting to wrestle guys my first year, but I did win a couple matches, so it obviously felt really good,” she said. “There are so many more girl opportunities, and it’s not just all about the guys anymore. We get our own things, we’re treated like a normal sport. So it’s really nice that we’re not just hidden in the back corner anymore.”

Their coach, Dakota Riley, who started as a volunteer, is now official as well. Riley said he’s proud of both his team’s progress, and the progress of the sport.

“My hope is that other people take notice of the girls and realize hey this is a girls sport. I can come give it a try, and it takes off,” he said.

Hood said her goal in high school is to win state. After that, she might continue wrestling into college. Either way, she hopes she can inspire other girls.

“The more girls that want to do it, the better. I think it’s an amazing sport,” she said.

Kentucky’s first ever sanctioned girl’s wrestling state tournament will take place in Feb. 2024.