ICCC Will Begin Women’s Wrestling Program Next Year

Iowa Central Community College has announced the addition of women’s wrestling beginning with the 2022-23 school year.

Approved at a school board meeting yesterday, the Tritons will follow in the footsteps of the University of Iowa, which recently announced the same decision. 

Iowa Central Director of Athletics Kevin Twait said they plan to hire a head coach by the middle of November with the goal to be building a squad of between 20-and-25 wrestlers for the first year before expanding to 30-to-35 the following season.

The Tritons are one of the top junior college programs in the nation, winning nine national championships. As a school, Iowa Central has won almost 70 national championships, including 30 in female sports. 

Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest-growing sports in the United States. 

Iowa had over 600 high school girls participate in wrestling during the 2020-21 year, holding a non-sanctioned state tournament sponsored by the Iowa Coaches Association that featured over 450 girls from more than 100 different schools. A total of 32 states have sanctioned state championships.

Fort Dodge Senior High and St. Edmond High School both sent qualifiers to the state tournament, as did Humboldt, Algona, East Sac County and South Central Calhoun from the surrounding communities. 

At the Don Miller Invitational hosted by Fort Dodge Senior High this past December, 65 girls competed in 16 weight classes. 

The NCAA recognized women’s wrestling as an emerging sport in 2020 at all three levels, while Grand View, Waldorf and William Penn all boast NAIA programs. NCAA Div. III school Iowa Wesleyan also has women’s wrestling, as do two Iowa Community College Athletic Conference schools.