SPRINGFIELD ― The growth of high school girls wrestling has been on a steady incline over the past few years and Springfield Central is making strides to help continue its growth.
On Sunday, the Golden Eagles will host their first all-girls wrestling tournament in school history at the MIAA level.
The meet is set to begin at 9:30 a.m.
The Springfield Central girls wrestling team is only in its second year as program but its coach, Anna Ernst, was key in organizing the upcoming tournament not only for the Golden Eagles wrestlers, but for girls wrestlers across the Western Mass. region and more.
“Back when I was in high school, you would be lucky if you got one girl in a whole gym and the fact that we’re having an all-girls tournament is amazing,” Ernst said.
“My goal as a coach is just to be like the coaches that I knew when I was younger and to create spaces that didn’t exist for women when I was younger. So that’s what Sunday’s about and I’m really excited about that,” Ernst added.
Ernst also noted they have received interest from 12 to 14 schools and although registration has not yet closed, she expects an amount in that range to show for Sunday.
“It’s not going to be the biggest thing in the world, but it shows a start and each year, hopefully it grows,” Ernst said.
