Girls’ wrestling has become the fastest-growing high school sport in the nation, and it is now impacting Cuesta College.
Women’s wrestling has historically been a sport with minimal numbers and recognition, but the trend has flipped over the past few years. All across the country, programs are acknowledging women’s wrestling as an “emerging sport.” The sport is projected to be the NCAA’s newest championship in 2026 and Cuesta’s own association, the 3C2A, is entering year three of its “emerging sport” status.
Community colleges within the 3C2A have been building their respective programs to compete through either club or official team status since the association began to offer women’s wrestling during the 2022-2023 school year. While Cuesta does not have an official program yet, wrestling Head Coach Joe Dansby has been heavily involved in building a club team to compete in the upcoming season.
“We actually did a little bit of recruiting this year because we know there’s a lot more local girls on high school teams,” Dansby said. “So we could stretch the word that we were having a club and hopefully in a couple of years, we can become an official team at Cuesta.”
Local is the key word here, as Dansby’s reach over wrestling extends past Cuesta. Dansby also coaches Nipomo High School’s girls’ wrestling team, and Cuesta’s assistant wrestling coach, Albert Garza, also coaches Morro Bay High School’s wrestling program. This has led to the majority of Cuesta’s new club team members coming from local high schools, which have been expanding rapidly.
“It’s crazy growth,” Dansby said. “I know at Nipomo High we have over 30 girls on our team this year. And that was 23 last year and I think 18 the year before that. It seems to just keep compounding.”
While Dansby has stayed well-versed in the programs around the area, the start of the Cuesta women’s wrestling club team can be an additional reason for non-locals to join the school looking to continue their passion. First-year pre-nursing student Aubree Kooren came to Cuesta from Bakersfield looking for a place to fulfill her scholastic and athletic needs.
“We just wanted to be able to offer an opportunity, especially with our nursing program, that girls can go to after high school,” Dansby said. “So we offer something in state, get some competition and looks, and then maybe get your AA and move on to the next level.”
Cuesta has about seven women working out in preparation for the upcoming season, which starts in January and ends in April. These numbers are expected to go up for Cuesta’s program as well as the competition within the state.
“We’re having this club year, maybe two club years, and if we can get the curriculum passed to have a women’s team, I think we can go to 20 pretty quickly,” Dansby said.
Cuesta, along with the other 3C2A programs, will have two more years to make their teams official until women’s wrestling becomes a recognized sport. While Cuesta’s team is only in “club” status this year, it will get the opportunity to compete in the 3C2A Women’s Wrestling State Championship unofficially.
“It’s still cool because I think we have more girls now than Cuesta has ever had,” Kooren said. “So it’s nice to be a part of that team and that they are just starting it this year.”
