Homewood-Flossmoor girls wrestling will host a summer invitational Saturday, July 19, in the school’s fieldhouse at the North Building.
Registration is open online with trackwrestling.com and walkups will be welcome. Early registration is $30 per wrestler. It will cost $40 the morning of the tournament, beginning at about 7:30 a.m. Wrestling is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.
The event will be open to the public. General admission is $5 or $3 for students. Concessions will be available. All proceeds benefit the Vikings wrestling program.
“This is the start of something that I’d like to continue to do,” coach Scott Aronson said. “Our athletic director (Matt Lyke) supported me 100%, all the way. I’m really happy about that. He knew that it could be a flop but he decided to do it, anyway. He believes in the program. He believes in the cause and I think that’s awesome.”
It’s an open invitational and girls will wrestle in individual brackets. The tournament format will be determined when the final total of participants is tallied. Round robin matches could be necessary.
The folkstyle event is open to girls from seventh grade through graduated seniors. Coach Aronson said as of Thursday, 67 wrestlers representing 30 clubs were registered. He expected over 100 to participate.
They include multiple girls from Indiana and one from Iowa, Aronson said. Girls wrestling will be a sanctioned high school sport in Indiana for the first time in the next school year.
“I’m pretty excited that we’re tapping into Northwest Indiana,” Aronson said. “Overall, I think this is just an awesome opportunity to grow the sport. That’s what it’s really about.”
It’s the culmination of the first girls-only six-week summer schedule for H-F. Previously, the Vikings boys and girls wrestlers would meet to train together during summers. Aronson said separating was an important milestone for the program.
The team met in June and July on Tuesdays and Thursdays at H-F and Oak Forest High School. The aim was to get wrestlers as many girls-only matches as possible.
“Some of the days were better than others but overall, I see it as a win,” Aronson said. “I think this is great for the program. This is the first time that I’ve tried to host. We had other girls from other schools coming to H-F on a weekly basis.”
One of the parents suggested capping the summer with an invite, Aronson said. He thought it was a great idea in line with his long-term plan for his team.
“What I’m trying to do is make H-F a hub for girls wrestling,” Aronson said. “I want to put our name on the map. I want to try to sponsor this stuff and promote the growth of it through our program.”
