Gretchen Schaible admits to lacking self-confidence before joining Palmerton Area High School’s wrestling team.

Once the rising Blue Bomber senior hit the mat however, she became a different person both physically and mentally. Now Schaible hopes she can be an inspiration for other girls after Palmerton’s school board on Tuesday unanimously approved the creation of a girls’ wrestling team beginning with the 2023-24 athletic season.

“I’m just really excited,” Schaible, Palmerton’s only current female wrestler, said after the meeting. “Wrestling has 100% changed me as a person. Before I wrestled, I had no confidence. I didn’t like who I was and now I do. I feel mentally stronger with more courage and willpower. I’m looking forward to sharing that with some of the other girls who are looking to join the team.”

Girls wrestling is sweeping the state with the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association recently sanctioning it as an official sport.

Advocates including Palmerton wrestling coach Justin Petersen told board members in recent months that the number of girls participating in wrestling would increase if they knew they would not have to compete against the boys.

“I’m proud,” Petersen said Tuesday. “We have been working hard for a long time for something like this. Gretchen has been a great ambassador not just for girls wrestling here at Palmerton, but the sport in general. It’s something we want to grow and this is a great step in the right direction.”

In Pennsylvania, 111 schools have approved a girl wrestling team including 12 others in District XI. Those schools include Easton, Executive Education Academy, Parkland, Palisades, Pine Grove, Bethlehem Catholic, Bethlehem Freedom, Bethlehem Liberty, Tamaqua, Lehighton, Pocono Mountain East and Pocono Mountain West.

Petersen said last month he envisions 5-8 tournament competitions for Palmerton’s girls should the program be approved with the opportunity to compete in dual meets against other schools with a girls team.

“A lot of hard work went into getting here, but now the hard work really starts,” he said. “We don’t want to just get it and have it flop. We want to build it the right way, work hard and get as many girls out as possible, but also help them become great wrestlers. We’re not here just for participation, we want to compete.”

District officials said the cost to implement a girls’ wrestling program would be minimal. While the team will initially be under Petersen’s supervision, the board approved an assistant coach position with a yearly stipend of $4,200.

A survey of 6-11 grade females in Palmerton showed 21 of them would highly consider coming out for an all-girls team.

“I want to really be a teacher on my team,” Schaible said. “I want to help the girls learn as much as they can. And I want to be more successful myself as far as wins and losses and how far I make it this season. I’m really excited for everything to start.”

Tuesday’s program approval was a culminating moment for all of those involved with Palmerton wrestling, but Petersen said Schaible played a particularly important role in the campaign for a girls wrestling team.

“Gretchen was put in a position where she was the face of the girls wrestling movement in Palmerton,” he said. “Not many people would embrace that or be comfortable, but Gretchen was. She doesn’t realize it yet, but there are a lot of girls who are going to have opportunities now because of her.”