Among the missions of the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference should always be expanding the opportunities for student-athletes to compete. The OVAC scored a big win this past week when it announced it will hold a separate girls tournament at its Ron Mauck Wrestling Championships.

“I wouldn’t say it’s overdue, but it is time to bring the girls on board,” OVAC Wrestling Commissioner Dan Doyle said. “We’ve had some girls compete in the boys tournament over the past few years, but after doing a survey of the coaches at our workshop in November, we have now reached the ‘critical mass’ numbers that warrant a separate tournament.”

Doyle said that anywhere form 140 to 170 girls from programs around the conference are raring to go for their own championships. That fact alone makes it high time to give them their space in the spotlight.

Girls wrestling is a rapidly growing sport. For years, they have been battling through boys brackets to be able to compete on the high school level. Now both Ohio and West Virginia hold girls state tournaments.

It’s great to see the OVAC join in the momentum by establishing its own girls tournament. Hopefully it will spur more girls to join the sport and more schools to start fielding teams. As long as the sport continues to grow, the conference should play its part in enriching its soil.