2025-26 Winter Sports Preview: Girls wrestling in Greater Spokane League expands; most member schools to participate in new dual meet schedule

Jalisca Holmgren still remembers her freshman year at Cheney High School, being one of the only girls in the wrestling room.

“I was unsure if I would be able to be in any tournaments, what my schedule would look like or if I was basically just there to practice,” Holmgren said. “I just knew I wanted to have the same chances that the boys have.”

Now, getting ready to start her senior campaign, Holmgren will have that opportunity.

Although girls wrestling is nothing new in the region, this year will mark the first season that the majority of Greater Spokane League schools will field complete girls wrestling teams. This explosive growth in interest also means that girls wrestling will have a dual meet schedule for the first time this season.

“There has always been success with girls from our area at state, or in national freestyle tournaments, just kind of offseason stuff. But now we get the chance to see how we can perform as a team for really the first time,” Rogers coach Whitney Bowerman said. “It’s not just a couple girls here and there anymore. This league has girls numbering in the hundreds and a huge middle school pipeline ready to keep growing.”

Bowerman, who is in her seventh year running the Pirates program, has been envisioning this step happening for several seasons.

Two years ago, the Pirates were the first GSL team to host a girls dual against Othello. Then last year, Rogers hosted the GSL’s first girls double dual with Cheney, Quincy and Eastmont.

“We’re now in a situation where we need to think about not only the girl at 100 pounds, but also at 235, because we are trying to fill this roster out and be as competitive as we can,” Bowerman said. “And everyone is buying into that. The community is involved, you see coaches like Phil (McLean) at Mead who is out here with his girls and they have a huge boys tradition as well. It’s amazing.”

Of the 17 GSL schools, 15 are scheduled to participate in dual meets this winter, and the plan is for the matches to take place between the junior varsity and varsity boys matches. This scheduling gives the girls the same crowds and spotlight as the boys duals have had for years.

“Our girls are just super pumped to get this stage because they care just as much as the boys do when they get on the mat,” Cheney coach Jeremy McGee said. “You’re starting to see the girls circle things on calendars and start to look at matchups a little more instead of just a tournament every other weekend.”

McGee also believes adding these duals, which some of the bigger schools throughout central and western Washington have done for several years now, will also benefit the girls when it comes to the postseason.

“I think more exposure and mat time will make our girls less of a mystery to the rest of the state now,” McGee said. “The schools on the east side will have a better idea of where we stand and our girls should benefit more when it comes to seeding and that kind of stuff as well.”

Another change coming into this season will be a new WIAA rule that keeps girls from wrestling in boys duals throughout the season. The message sent out to districts from the WIAA Wrestling Weight Management Program Staff stated “Due to the rise of numbers in girls wrestling, the boys and the girls will stay in their separate seasons and will not be allowed to compete against each other.”

More girls also means more chances for state qualifiers to February’s Mat Classic in Tacoma. Girls team scoring hasn’t been a strong suit for GSL teams in recent years, but Bowerman believes the added numbers and a more complete schedule should change that quickly.

“I think you’re going to see as soon as this year a GSL team or two leave state with a trophy of some sort,” Bowerman said. “That’s the benefit to really making this a team thing for the girls and not just individual.”

It’s that ability to create a legacy moving forward that excites Holmgren so much going into her final season.

“We work so hard every day and then we haven’t had the chance to celebrate that as much in front of our fans. But that changes now,” Holmgren said. “And then just getting to see all of these girls grow alongside me as teammates, it’s honestly a better feeling than winning.”