As high school girls wrestling is rapidly growing amongst the Commonwealth, Apollo High School is continuing to push the sport forward by hosting an all-girls tournament this weekend.
Apollo Head Coach Courtney Johns is excited to bring programs from all over Kentucky and Indiana, as there will be 28 teams competing in the Apollo Field House. Along with Apollo, Daviess County and Owensboro will be in the tournament.
Johns hope with this tournament is to not only allow girls to compete in the sport they love, but hopefully continue to grow girls wrestling in the Owensboro community.
“Girl’s wrestling is the fastest growing sport in America right now,” Johns said. “Currently there are over 400 females in Kentucky that are on high school wrestling rosters. I think by hosting an all-girls tournament it will bring awareness to girls wrestling in the area. Daviess County, Owensboro, and Apollo all have females on the wrestling roster.”
Despite this being the first local all-girls wrestling tournament in the area, Johns said he didn’t face too much trouble putting it together. Having a team that has competed for years along with some help from an old friend, Johns was able to get the green light.
“Apollo has been participating in girls wrestling for the last four years,” Johns said. “So, a lot of it was just from what I’ve seen over the last few years. But former OHS coach Kenny Stone has been a big help in setting this tournament up and will be running it on track wrestling for us.”
The tournament will run all day Saturday at the Apollo Field House, starting at 10 a.m. Johns and company have had a relatively good start to this season with an inexperienced roster, but are looking to continue to improve this weekend at home.
“I tell my girls all the time it’s not about winning or losing, but about the mat time and getting the experience,” Johns said. “All of our girls have won matches and we have placed in the top half of all the tournaments we have wrestled in this year. Newcomer Hadleigh Johnson is a surprise this year. She is currently 6-3 and has placed as high as second in tournaments this year.”
On top of the hope that competing in this all-girls tournament will help them improve and motivate each and every wrestler, Johns is also excited to give them a chance to compete in front of their loved ones.
“The most exciting thing about this tournament is that we are able to put it on,” Johns said. “We currently have nine girls on our roster who have been working hard all season and these young ladies deserve to have their time in the spotlight, where their family and friends can watch them in action.”
Johns is hoping that the tournament can become an annual event, as he hopes that the KHSAA sanctions girls wrestling for 2023-24 to help the cause. But for now, Apollo and it’s wrestlers will battle it out on the mat starting at 10 a.m. at the Apollo Field House.
