Watch inaugural, statewide all-girls wrestling invite hosted by Montague

MONTAGUE — Girls high school wrestling continues to grow in Michigan and Montague is doing its part.

Today (Dec. 30), Montague High School will be the site of the inaugural Lady Mat Cat Wrestling Invitational, an all-girls event featuring wrestlers from as many as 30 schools across the state.

Like Montague, CatchMark SportsNet is doing its part by offering a free, live-video stream of the historic event. The action begins at 10 a.m. Watch the feed on our CatchMark SportsNet YouTube channel by clicking the video above.

One of the invitees to the Lady Mat Cat invite is Clinton, which captured the girls team state championship last season and has been a pioneer in the movement. Montague placed fifth in the state as a team during the 2020-21 season.

This season, the Michigan High School Athletic Association is sponsoring a girls wrestling individual state finals tournament for the first time. The plan is to host it at Ford Field in Detroit at the same time the boys tournament is held.

“This tournament is a showcase one for the state,” Montague athletic director Jay Mulder said. “Women’s wrestling is a fast-growing sport … Our goal is to make this a showcase event for these female wrestlers.”

The Lady Mat Cat invite is an individual event with the following National Federation weight classes: 100, 105, 110, 115, 120, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145, 155, 170, 190 and 235. The bracket format for each weight class will be determined by the number of wrestlers per weight class. Medals will be presented to those who finish in the top four. with wall charts going to the champions.