Jens Hammer, who now lives in Banks, Oregon, co-founded the girls team and in their very first season led them to a state title
Front row from left to right: Lorelei Weeks, Alexis Buxton. Middle row, from left to right: Abbi Veis, Madi Callender, Reagan Maxwell. Back row, from left to right: Aubree Buxton, Kamilah Robles, Jens Hammer, Addie Madison, Ezhmee Foresman and Riley Kemper. Banks Middle School Girls Wrestling won the state championship in their inaugural season.
As of 2024 and according to Fox 10 Phoenix, the fastest growing high school sport in this country is girls wrestling. The number of participants surpassed 74,000 in 2024-25, according to data from the National Federation of State High School Associations. This was a 15% increase with roughly 1,000 schools adding programs, a huge jump compared to only 11,498 girls a decade ago, according to NFHS.
One of the biggest reasons for this recent growth is states sanctioning girls wrestling, allowing them to compete in their own state tournaments instead of only against boys, according to Associated Pr...
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