Girls had competed on boys teams for a number of years before the Board of Control approved the establishment of the State Girls Individual Wrestling Tournament at its meeting on June 24, 2020 to be implemented in 2022.
The first-ever State Girls Individual Wrestling Tournament was held on Jan. 29, 2022 at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wis. There were a total of 261 wrestlers entered into the tournament in 12 weight classes with a nonqualifying invitational participation format. The tournament moved to the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis., to be conducted in conjunction with the State Boys Individual Wrestling Tournament in 2023.
The 12 weight classes approved for the single-division tournament were 100, 107, 114, 120, 126, 132, 138, 145, 152, 165, 185 and 235 pounds.
Girls are able to continue their participation on boys teams for sectionals and the State Team Tournament.
One girl advanced to the individual tournament’s championship match prior to the implementation of the girls tournament. Alyssa Lampe of Tomahawk was a three-time State qualifier and finished runner-up at the 103-pound weight class in Division 2 in 2006 after finishing fourth at the same weight in 2005.
There is one girl that has won a State title in each of the first three years of the tournament. Hailie Krueger of New London won the 145-pound titles in 2022 and 2023, and the 152 championship in 2024. There have been eight two-time individual champions.
Badger and New London are the programs that have won the most number of titles through the first three years of competition with three. Ashland, De Pere, Florence/Niagara, Horicon, Mineral Point and Sun Prairie have won two.