Home Sports Le Mars Community School District Sanctions Girls Wrestling for 2022-23

Le Mars Community School District Sanctions Girls Wrestling for 2022-23

A new sport is coming to Le Mars Community schools in the winter. The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union (IGHSAU) approved the sanctioning of the sport of girls wrestling back in January, and, in Monday’s school board meeting, Le Mars Community School committed to sanctioning a team of its own for 2022-23.

Le Mars Community Athletic Director Karlton Hector talked about the new sport with KLEM Radio this week. He says the process for getting the sport sanctioned at Le Mars has been a process that started well before the IGHSAU sanctioned it statewide.

Participation has been high among the non-sanctioned girls wrestling in the past. Once the IGHSAU gave the green light for schools to officially sanction a program, Hector says it was a no-brainer decision.

The season is slated to begin with the first practice date on October 31st and the first competition date on November 14th. When competition comes around, it is still to be determined whether or not the Bulldogs will have an MRAC-based schedule of opponents or a schedule of opponents from other conferences.

This first year of girls wrestling will look a bit different to people used to the structure of the boys wrestling season. Hector says the initial season of girls wrestling will focus on individual competitions rather than team duels due to the state not sponsoring a team state tournament.

The LCHS school board also approved the hiring of two coaches for the program in their regular meeting on Monday night. The school district has already started advertising the positions and hopes to have at least one of them filled before the start of the school year. Hector says there are plenty of great wrestling connections in the area to find the first head coach of the program.

While the Bulldogs don’t have a head coach for the girls program yet, that doesn’t mean girls wanting to wrestle can’t start preparing for the season. Hector says boys wrestling coach Shane Hessenius has been instrumental in getting this started and will welcome anyone to work out with other wrestlers during the summer.

While all the details are being ironed out at the administrative level, Hector is quick to point the credit for the creation of the program to boys coach Shane Hessenius. The foundation he laid early on, Hector says, is invaluable.

The girls wrestling season will begin on October 31st with the first practice date and runs through the state tournament to be held in Coralville on February 2nd and 3rd.