High school wrestling in Pennsylvania — compared to other states — has been stellar.

All one has to do is look at the NCAA national tournament every year and see how well-represented the Keystone State is, almost every time.

Girls wrestling?

Different story.

And that's a hard one to figure out.

Many states across the country are well ahead of Pennsylvania in terms of girls wrestling at the high school level.

A group of concerned parties on this subject organized a year ago and formed SanctionPA, with the goal of getting some girls teams started on the mat. Even in this pandemic year, nine Pa. high schools debuted girls wrestling teams this year.

Many more need to follow suit.

Wrestling is such a unique sport.

It promotes self-discipline.

It emphasizes physical conditioning.

It rewards work ethic and teaches responsibility and humility.

When you're competing, it's all you.

This is a sport where, undoubtedly, a kid gets out of it what he's willing to sink into it.

Valuable life lessons, to be sure. Female athletes deserve to experience wrestling and all that it offers, without having to square off against a boy on the mat.

Butler freshman Ana Malovich is on the Golden Tornado team and deals with male opponents. She readily admits she is at a disadvantage strength-wise in those matches and has to compensate in other ways.

Frankly, it's unfair.

Malovich has also said she knows other girls in school who would be wrestling right now — or would have gotten into it years ago — had there been a high school girls team awaiting them.

Look how far girls basketball, soccer and volleyball have come. Girls lacrosse is getting better and better. Since the pitching circle was moved back in girls softball, that sport has flourished.

No one can expect girls to invest time in wrestling as youths if they know that opportunities aren't there to fairly stay with the sport in high school.

Seneca Valley wrestling coach Kevin Wildrick says as much. He believes you have to provide a team before girls will aspire to join it.

He's right.

Butler wrestling coach Scott Stoner envisions a time when Golden Tornado girls and boys wrestling teams can compete in duals simultaneously, on mats laid out right next to each other.

Even a girls-boys wrestling doubleheader — similar to what you occasionally see in soccer and basketball —would be fun to see.

We need to continue working on gender equity in sports.

SanctionPa's efforts need to be rewarded.

Sooner, rather than later.

John Enrietto is sports editor of the Butler Eagle