Walking down the streets of Penn State, on April 19th and 20th there was a buzz in the air that was not just focused on the annual senior send-off bar crawl. Between townies and people traveling from far and wide, the Olympic trials for wrestling is a topic creeping into everyone’s mind. But wrestling, real or fake has been creeping into the minds of Pennsylvanians for the last few years now and VALLEY is here to bring you up to speed.
The trials and tribulations
So what are the Olympic trials? The trials are a time for the best of the best in those sport’s respective fields to come together and compete against each other for a spot in the U.S. team of their choosing. This year the trials consisted of specific sports, artistic gymnasts, track-and-field athletes, swimmers, divers, and most importantly wrestling. They all will compete for a chance at Paris 2024!
So where does Penn State merge in this story? Well as the reigning 11th NCAA National Champions, wrestling has become a dominant sport at Penn State. Given the opportunity, the Bryce Jordan Center was given the prospect of hosting the trials here in Happy Valley. On the mat, some familiar Nittany Lion faces were there fighting for their right to a chance at Paris 2024. Three members of the PSU team made it to the final round as well, sending pride back onto our campus. The wrestling portion of the Olympics runs from August 5 through August 11.
Women in wrestling
But what about locally how is wrestling changing here as a state? Men’s wrestling in middle school and high school has always played a major impact on the PA sporting system. But what about women wrestling? PA statistics have showcased a 200% increase in girls’ interest in wrestling due to a rise in women-led sports teams.
Between State College High School petitioning for a girl’s wrestling team:
And the organization SanctionPA… girls are finally being able to get their voices heard and share their support for girls’ wrestling.
SanctionPA is a nonprofit organization working to support and advance growth and participation opportunities for girls in the sport of wrestling. The SanctionPA campaign includes advocacy efforts, education resources, promotional materials, and collaboration with schools. SanctionPA worked tirelessly towards getting the sport sanctioned by the PIAA and continues to advocate for girls and grow the sport
Quote from Sanctionpa.com/about
To learn more about the cause follow SanctionPA through their Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/pennwomenswrestling/
The Bloodline did a number
So we’ve seen the national and local impact of wrestling, but what about the artistry of it? Since Wrestlemania came to Philly a few weeks ago, talks about the WWE on the rise for the last few years have been had. But this is due to many different factors.
One is the Bloodline and the Samoan dynasty being showcased on a high scale. Roman Reigns’ legacy in the WWE is something to be unpacked on a large scale as his reign during his title position as Universal Champion was the fourth-longest title reign in WWE history with 1,316 days.
Another factor is the platforming of new stars. New and old faces of wrestling coming together during events like Wrestlemania allow the audience to see storylines come together and create a future for these characters to have a resurgence. For example, the “Big 3” Bianca Belair, Naomi and Jade Cargill coming together during that lineup caused mayhem in the arena.
The final way that has created a change within the WWE is the new avenues to watch the shows. Some of their programming like Smackdown going to Fox and their Peacock/Hulu deal is an accessible way for the younger audience to watch through streaming services and rewatch older shows they may have missed.
Whether you’re watching WWE or Penn State Wrestling, the sport has been on the rise in the last few years dominating the entire State of PA. Whether you are a fan or not, VALLEY hopes this small rundown can help you start to deep dive into the sport itself. Tweet us on X @VALLEYmag with your thoughts on the sport.
