HAVELOCK, N.C. — A coach who champions girls wrestling says he's seeing more girls than ever join the sport, and he's pleased that the North Carolina High School Athletic Association has approved its inclusion.

What You Need To Know

  • A high school coach in Havelock says he's seeing more girls than ever participate in wrestling

  • Havelock High School went from three girl wrestlers last year to 19 at the start of the semester

  • The school will host the NCHSAA Women’s Eastern Regional on Thursday

Havelock High School wrestling coach Chase Holleman said his team had only three girls last year. This semester they have 19 and formed their own girls wrestling team.

He said they're also competing against more girls than ever. 

Holleman had been working for five years to get the sport recognized.

He said he and his team were overjoyed when the athletic association made the announcement last March.

"If they were anything like me, then they wanted to have a party as soon as they sanctioned it," Holleman said. "I remember texting some of the girls as soon as we got the announcement. We put it all over social media and called the principal and the athletic director at the time. We were already putting plans in place," Holleman said.

Havelock High School will host the NCHSAA Women’s Eastern Regional next Thursday.

Then teams across North Carolina will meet at the state competition on Feb. 16.