How the fastest growing high school sport in Nebraska continues to break down barriers heading into state

Girls wrestling is the fastest growing Nebraska high school sport in the last four years, according to the Nebraska School Activities Association.

Tuesday’s state tournament is more evidence of that growth. It’s the first time girls have their own championship event, separate from boys wrestling, at the CHI Health Center in Omaha.

State qualifier Bristol Prado is a sophomore at Chadron High School and reflected on when she decided to try wrestling. Her grandfather, who coached boys wrestling for 40 years, wasn’t so sure about that choice.

“I'm not gonna lie, my grandpa wasn't really a big fan of me wrestling. He didn't think I was gonna stick it out. I don't think he thought I was tough enough,” Prado said, “But here I am, four years later, and I think he's really proud of me and really proud of how much I've opened up.”

Now Prado’s grandfather, Ed Planansky, has grown into an advocate for the sport. He recalls an experience at a recent competition.

“The girls wrestled the first duel. Then the announcer said, ‘Now for the main event, the boys will wrestle.’ I wanted to go over and strangle him,” Planansky said. “The girls, their skills are improving dramatically.”

Participation in girls wrestling has risen by 200% since it was sanctioned in 2021. Prado said that matters for a variety of reasons, including changing the minds of those who doubted how successful the sport could be.

“I think that's a big part of it,” Prado said. “We can show older generations that might have more of a negative opinion on women's wrestling, that we're resilient, we're strong, and we belong here.”

Prado’s grandpa will be cheering her on this week, as she competes for the 120 lbs. state championship.

Her teammate, senior Addie Diers, has seen a lot of change in her six years of wrestling.

“I remember literally having a losing record all the way up throughout middle school, because I just wrestled boys all the time,” Diers said. “I really enjoy having female wrestling around. It's a big community. I deeply enjoy it.”

She finished the season 34-5 and earned her 100th career win this year.

For a recent tournament in West Point, Diers and her teammates traveled six hours to compete.

“It's kind of like we're paving the way for western Nebraska teams to be able to come here and do this,” Diers said.

Diers said Chadron High has made several trips of five or six hours to the eastern part of the state this season.

In the state’s largest metro, Millard South senior Rowyn Wiltgen is ranked No. 3 in the state at 155 lbs. She said she didn’t consider wrestling before high school.

“I was a big softball player,” Wiltgen said. “I just quit this last year to go full-time wrestling. I had played it since I was in third grade. So it was a long, long journey with softball. And then, I fell in love with wrestling.”

At the time it became an official NSAA sport, Wiltgen was one of the first wrestlers at Millard South. She caught COVID-19 and dislocated her elbow in her first year. Four years later, she’s competing for a state title.

“My health, mentally, physically, all my confidence has gotten so much higher just because of wrestling,” Wiltgen said. “I don't know what I would have done if I didn't have wrestling.”

Many high schoolers are hearing that message.

Since 2021, the number of girls competing in wrestling ballooned from about 700 to more than 2,100.

Millard South head coach T.J. Bickford said there’s still more room to grow. He wants to see more opportunities for girls to wrestle in college.

“To be honest, with the number of girls on our team, I would say over half of them are interested in going to wrestle at that next level. I would love to help them get there,” Bickford said. “Ultimately, that's my goal is to get these girls to grow up and to get to college, get through college, and if they can have something that's going to help them pay for their school and stay competitive, I'm all for it.”

One of his student athletes found a way. Wiltgen will attend Chadron State College next year on a wrestling scholarship.

“It means I’ve gone a long way,” Wiltgen said. “I didn't think that I would, even freshman year, be going to college and wanting to go to college for wrestling. To be considered by schools and offered a scholarship at all and opportunities like I have now, it's amazing.”

In the high school ranks, the foundation is still being built for girls wrestling in Nebraska.

Athletes and coaches agree better facilities are needed to accommodate the growing sport, and more female athletes trying out will help increase competition.

But for now, the bright lights shine on the state tournament in Omaha, as Wiltgen, Prado and hundreds of others will look to etch their names into the first few chapters of the Nebraska high school girls wrestling history books.