How York County female wrestler became first commit for college's new women's program
Years ago, Brian Gross would bring his three daughters to the youth wrestling practices he was coaching and let them try the sport.
He didn't think anything was going to come from it. He just thought it would be a good way for the girls to play together.
But one of his girls did seem to show a knack on the mat.
"I was just trying to make the playing field a little more even at home, but Carly always ended up on top anyhow," said Gross, who is now the head wrestling coach at West York. "I never thought she was going to actually wrestle."
Middle daughter Carly has done more than just become another wrestler.
The West York senior became the first wrestler to join the Lock Haven women's wrestling team's first recruiting class. One of the top men's wrestling schools in the country, Lock Haven launched its women's program this year.
The Bald Eagles compete at the Division II level and are coached by former Lock Haven wrestler and NCAA tournament finalist Ronnie Perry.
The YAIAA has had plenty of wrestlers commit to colleges since the signing period opened Nov. 13. A number of them have committed to Division I programs.
Gross' accomplishment is significant in a different way.
Women's wrestling is considered one of the fastest-growing sport in the United States. Over the past 25 years, the number of girls' wrestlers at the high school level has multiplied by 20 (more than 800 to more than 16,500) and there are now 63 colleges that sponsor a college wrestling program. It's been recognized as an Olympic sport since 2004.
York and Adams counties recently have produced a number of upcoming stars in the sport, including national freestyle champions Montana DeLawder (Gettysburg junior) and Tiffani Baublitz (Kennard-Dale junior).
Gross might be the first female wrestler from the York-Adams league to compete at the next level. And she's doing it for a school known for its wrestling. Four-time PIAA champion and York County legend Chance Marsteller wrestled in the Lock Haven men's program, finishing third in the 2019 NCAA tournament.
"It's great that it's at a wrestling school," said Carly, who will likely compete at 109 or 116 pounds in college. "I'm excited to see what they have to offer and how it's going to be. I'm just super excited."
Gross said her college decision was affected just as much by her ambition to work in special education as it was by wrestling.
Still, she was driven to keep her wrestling career going. Other schools she looked into attending (and wrestling for) included Ferrum College (Virginia), King University (Tennessee) and Fontbonne University (Missouri).
Her dad was the one who explained to her the significance of becoming the first wrestler to commit to an upstart women's program in Pennsylvania.
"Years ago there weren't opportunities like this for girls," he said. "For her to have the chance to compete at the next level is pretty awesome."
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Trying something new
While Brian Gross is a wrestling guy, he never pushed his daughters to try the sport.
Yes, Carly showed some potential for it when she went to those youth practices. But when she started organized wrestling for the first time as a seventh grader, she just wanted a new sport.
Swimming was starting to get old to her. And her exposure to wrestling through her dad made her curious.
"I just wanted to try something else," said Gross, who also played field hockey in high school. "It was different so I wanted to try it. It was exciting."
She caught on quickly and by the time she was in eighth grade, she was competing in national tournaments.
In the spring of her eighth-grade season, she earned All-American status with a fourth-place finish in her division at the Body Bar Women’s National freestyle championships in Texas.
Since then, she's frequently traveled to major girls' wrestling tournaments across the country, with stops in New York and Oklahoma. She went 2-2 at the U.S. Junior Women's Freestyle Wrestling Championships in Fargo, North Dakota, this past summer.
Carly is a proponent of girls' wrestling and (like many wrestlers) prefers freestyle competition to the folkstyle used at the high school level. She reached the 115-pound final of the PA High School Girls State Championships last year at Gettysburg High School, losing to Gettysburg junior Montana DeLawder. She said she'd like to see the PIAA sanction girls' wrestling as an official sport.
At the high school level, Gross entered her senior season with a career varsity record of 15-28. However, she said she actually prefers wrestling against boys since it makes her stronger for girls' competition she'll get in the offseason and in college.
Gross is off to a 3-2 start this season at 113 pounds but said at YAIAA media day that she plans to drop to 106. She hopes to make a run to the District 3 Class 3A tournament. The only female wrestler to accomplish that feat is DeLawder, who has done it the past two seasons.
"I'd rather wrestle boys because they're stronger and it makes it easier when I wrestle girls," Gross said. "If I lose to a boy and it was even (competition), I think about it like it will help me when I'm wrestling a girl."
She said she was initially worried about being judged by her friends and classmates when she started wrestling, but has come to embrace being a minority in a male-dominated sport.
"I was excited to try it but it bothered me because I didn't want people to say things," she said. "I don't really care anymore. I don't care what people think.
"I think it's great that the sport is growing. Other girls should do it and just try it. You never know how it's going to turn out."
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Family bond
When Carly first started wrestling, her father never expected she'd end up competing in college.
"I didn't know if she was going to stick with it or not," Brian Gross said. "Once she got to ninth grade I knew she was going to stick with it."
Carly admitted it's not always easy competing for her father. She entered high school used to training with him in her spare time, but things obviously changed when he became her head coach.
Still, the two have a strong relationship and bond over their shared passion for the sport.
"It gets annoying sometimes because I don't want to listen to him because he's my father," Carly said. "But since he's my coach I have to."
Added Brian: "I treat her just like everybody else. She doesn't get any favoritism. I kind of ride her a little more because she's my kid, but I get on the other guys, too. I expect a lot out of them."
Both Brian and Carly said they'll hold off on getting too emotional until after the season and when she's preparing to leave for college. But as girls' wrestling continues to grow, Brian is proud his daughter has played an instrumental part in growing the sport locally.
"She is growing every day in this sport. I think she still has a lot to do," Brian Gross said. "I think the sky is the limit for her. She has a lot of room to grow but I see growth from her every day."