Joliet Junior College Athletics to Add Women's Wrestling

Joliet Junior College is excited to announce the addition of women’s wrestling as a competitive sport, which will begin competition with the 2023-24 school year. The announcement comes after approval from the Board of Trustees at the April 12 meeting. 

“We are excited to announce the addition of women’s wrestling to our sports offerings,” JJC director of athletics, Gregg Braun, said. “We look forward to expanding opportunities for women in the sport of wrestling. The sport has been on our radar for some time, and we want a positive experience right out of the gate when adding to an already robust athletic department." 

Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest-growing sports at the scholastic and collegiate levels. According to the National Wrestling Coaches Association, the number of girls who wrestle in high school has grown from 804 in 1994 to over 31,000 in 2022. In Illinois, the number of high school teams sponsoring girls wrestling has grown from 180 teams in 2022 to 256 teams in 2023. The Illinois High School Association held its first girls state championships in February. 

Additionally, the National Junior College Athletic Association recently added women’s wrestling as an emerging sport. A national invitational tournament was held concurrently with the men’s national championship tournament this March with 14 teams participating from across the country. 

“We want JJC to continue to grow and align with the trends in athletics not only on a national level but a local level,” Braun said. “Adding women’s wrestling gives prospective student athletes another reason to consider the Wolves and make JJC their first choice in academics and athletics.” 

With the addition of women’s wrestling, JJC’s athletic programs increase from 13 in 2022-2023 to 18 in 2023-2024. Women’s wrestling will join men’s and women’s bowling, men’s and women’s golf and competitive cheerleading in making their competitive debuts at JJC next school year. 

For media inquiries, please contact Communications and Media Manager Katie Smith at 815-280-2844 or katherine.smith@jjc.edu.