The Raccoon River Girls Wrestling program was a brand new addition to the Iowa High School Girls Athletic Union last fall. The program had brought multiple Dallas County schools together including ADM, Waukee, Waukee Northwest, and Van Meter.

As the second year approaches, there are plenty of things we can look forward to. The team will be attending a new tournament, The Clash, on January 5th-6th up in Wisconsin. ADM will also be hosting its first girls wrestling meet at home on December 16th. Aleah Johnson from ADM was a part of the 2022-23 RRW team where she had a 41-9 record and qualified for the state tournament. When asked what does more girls joining mean for the team, Johnson replied with, “There are lots of more opportunities like more drilling partners and different weight classes. It also helps spread the word and grow the program.” By combining four schools, the RRW program has given lots of girls in Dallas County more opportunities to go out and try something new.

What does this mean for girls wrestling in the future? “I think girls wrestling will be more popular in the future because younger girls are seeing older girls going out, and will be inspired to get out of their comfort zone and try something new,” said Johnson. The 2023-24 season kicks off with the first practice on October 30th, and the first meet begins on November 13th. Girls wrestling has experienced exponential growth not only in Iowa, but nationwide. With over 100 schools hosting meets this year, we hope to see girls wrestling continue to be more popular in the future. Be sure to come out this year and support the RRW team and cheer them on their road to state.