Girls used to be a rarity on the wrestling mat, and many girls were wrestling boys in a similar weight class. But times, they are a-changin’! Girls wrestling is considered an emerging sport by the IHSAA, and it is believed that next school year (2024-2025) the sport will become fully sanctioned. In anticipation of the rule change, many local schools are putting forth girls wrestling squads.
Central Catholic added three new female wrestlers this year and had their most competitive season, yet.
In 2018, Dorinda Andrews, was the first girl to ever compete in Varsity wrestling for Central Catholic. In her one-year career, she made a splash being the first CC wrestler to compete in the Girls State Wrestling Tournament where she placed 6th–even with a broken foot.
Dorinda went on to wrestle in college for the University of the Cumberlands, and she is in her third year as head coach at Lafayette Jefferson High School.
Dorinda said, “Girls' wrestling has grown exponentially just in the few years since I started. When I started, there were only about 300 girls total competing in the state. This year, there were more than a thousand girls competing across the state. I love seeing these girls get the opportunities I only dreamed of in high school. From having girls only open tournaments to an official sanctioning in the very near future, wrestling has presented numerous opportunities for girls to participate and thrive in the sport. I loved being part of it as an athlete and now even more as a coach.”
Wrestling is part of the Andrews tradition. In fact, Dorinda’s mom, Chrissy (Facemyer) Andrews ‘94 was a wrestling manager while at Central Catholic. Dorinda’s sister, current CC sophomore Addy Andrews, is continuing the tradition. The Lady Knights Wrestlers are coached by Randy Andrews and Cisco Alivar.
Addy said, “It was great to have more wrestlers to compete against this year and to have two freshmen participate. It was nice to have teammates to work with.” She is excited to see the future of the program and looks forward to the sport moving to full-sanction next year.
According to “Meet the Newest College Wrestling Team,” women’s wrestling is one of the fastest growing college sports. There are close to 150 programs nationwide. Girls Wrestling will continue to grow at Central Catholic, and maybe we’ll see a few Lady Knights take to the mat at the collegiate level soon.