Photo by Kim North Steubenville’s Talea Guntrum celebrates after winning her second Ohio state wrestling championship last winter in Columbus.

WHEELING — The Ron Mauck Wrestling Championships have always been considered one of the ‘crown jewels’ of the OVAC. The 72nd edition will have some extra sparkle.

After several years of surveying schools and coaches, the OVAC announced Wednesday morning that the Executive Board unanimously approved adding a girls tournament to this year’s upcoming event scheduled for Jan. 15-17 inside WesBanco Arena.

“Everyone is definitely on board and are really excited about bringing a separate girls tournament to the boys tournament,” OVAC Wrestling Commissioner Dan Doyle said in a telephone interview following the meeting.

Girls wrestling is an Ohio High School Athletic Association-sanctioned sport and holds its state tournament in conjunction with the boys’ state tournament at Ohio State University’s Jerome Schottenstein Center. West Virginia also holds its state tournament at the same time as the boys’ inside Marshall Health Network Arena in Huntington, however, the girls’ tournament is not sanctioned by the West Virginia Secondary Schools Activities Commission.

“I wouldn’t say it’s overdue, but it is time to bring the girls onboard,” Doyle said. “We’ve had some girls compete in the boys tournament over the past few years, but after doing a survey of the coaches at our workshop in November, we have now reached the ‘critical mass’ numbers that warrant a separate tournament.”

Shane Shaffer, Ron Mauck OVAC Wrestling Championships Director, agreed with Doyle.

“We’ve had our finger on the pulse of this decision for some time now,” Shaffer noted. “It’s time for us to start offering the girls a tournament of their own.”

According to Shaffer, girls wrestling is the fastest growing sport among NCAA schools. The trickle down effect has reached the Ohio Valley as Bethany College and West Liberty University both have a women’s program in 2025-26.

In the most recent survey conducted in November, 17 OVAC schools indicated they would be having a girls team this winter, with two others answering maybe.

“We are looking at anywhere from 140 to 170 girls competing,” Doyle acknowledged. “Those are good numbers.”

While the boys’ tournament will still have an Olympic-style opening ceremony on Thursday night, the girls’ tournament won’t begin until Friday at 4:30 p.m. and wrestle preliminary and quarterfinal matches before joining the boys on Saturday.

“Instead of using six mats on Saturday, we’ll use eight,” Shaffer said.

According to Doyle, the inaugural tournament will place the top four finishers in each of the 12 weight classes, with plans to expand the placers to the top eight — like the boys — in following years.

Shaffer said the girls will use eight-line brackets, and there will be no unattached wrestlers since it is a championship event.

As far as seeding goes, Doyle said returning state placers would be the first criterion, then wins and losses.

The girls division will have one team champion and a runnerup.

There is a difference in Ohio and West Virginia when it comes to weight classes. The Buckeye State wrestles 14 different divisions, while the Mountain State has two less.

“Of course, with us holding the tournament in Wheeling, we go by West Virginia rules, so we’ll have 12 weight classes,” Doyle added.

Those weight divisions are 106, 113, 120, 126, 132, 138, 144, 150, 157, 165, 175, 190, 215, and 285 pounds.

“The girls deserve it, and the OVAC and Wrestling Coaches Association will make it happen. The magnitude of a girls’ wrestling tournament this size will be a great primer for girl wrestlers to make a deep run into the state tournament,” OVAC Executive Director Dirk Decoy said. “Not only will it help the conference keep the member schools it presently has, but it will also attract new schools and new competition.

“Our OVAC Ron Mauck Wrestling Tournament is one of the best high school tournaments in the country. It is also the longest running event in WesBanco Arena history,” Decoy added. “The same people who run that tournament will now be running the girls tournament alongside the boys tournament; they will make it happen.

“We are excited about this opportunity, and very proud of all female student-athletes who compete in OVAC sports.”

Last winter saw one Ohio female win a state championship, that being Steubenville’s Talea Guntrum who defended her 120-pound title from 2025.