The Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) announced on May 22 that it was considering adding girls wrestling as an official sport on the high school level in Michigan. The Michigan High School Athletic Association is the governing body for high school sports in Michigan.    A press release from the MHSAA included the following information:    "The MHSAA's plan also commits the association to starting four new post-season tournaments for girls before adding any new tournaments for boys. Two new tournaments would be initiated each year for two years, with the association choosing the four sports that serve its membership best from the following list of 12 sports: bowling, crew, equestrian, field hockey, figure skating, ice hockey, indoor track & field, lacrosse, powerlifting, synchronized swimming, water polo and wrestling."    Women's wrestling is the newest sport in the Summer Olympic Games, making its debut at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. There are two states that already host official high school girls state wrestling championships, Texas and Hawaii.     "The wrestling community, if it is to be selected as one of the four new sports from this list, will need to aggressively lobby the MHSAA to add girls wrestling," said Tricia Saunders, a four-time Women's World Wrestling Champion who was a high school athlete in Ann Arbor, Mich. "We have had many Michigan girl wrestlers go on to make the USA National Team in wrestling. By adding girls wrestling to the high schools, Michigan could be one of the best girls wrestling states in the entire nation."    Michigan has already been a leader in the development of youth girls wrestling programs. Interest in girls wrestling in Michigan goes back more than 20 years. Among the star women wrestlers who attended Michigan high schools are Saunders plus World silver medalist Jackie Berube, five-time World Team member Lauren Wolfe Lamb and college wrestling star Katrina Betts.     "I'm excited about the possibility of Michigan adding girls wrestling with the other sports in their program," said USA Wrestling National Freestyle Coach Kevin Jackson, an Olympic Champion who was a high school star in East Lansing, Mich. "Now that it is an Olympic sport, more girls from Michigan could have an opportunity to be Olympians. If women's wrestling were in the Olympics sooner, Tricia Saunders would have been an Olympic Champion. We could produce more champions from Michigan like Tricia if girls wrestling is added in the high schools."    The largest girls wrestling event in the nation, the USGWA National Championships, is held in Michigan each year. The USGWA, based in Michigan and directed by Kent Bailo, is a national organization that has tremendously helped develop girls wrestling.    Four of America's current top high school girl wrestlers are from Michigan: Brandy Rosenbrock of East Detroit High School, Alaina Berube of Escanaba High School, Gina Heinzelman of Heritage High School and Keristen Labelle of Lapeer West High School.    "We would be very excited if girls wrestling was added," said Al Kastl of Clinton Twp., Mich., the USA Wrestling State Chairperson for Michigan. "We have the numbers that merit this. Based upon existing interest in girls wrestling youth programs, this would be a very logical addition for Michigan state high schools."    USA Wrestling encourages the wrestling community in Michigan, as well as those involved in the sport across the nation, to contact the MHSAA and encourage them to select wrestling as one of the new girls state championships.    Contact information for the MHSAA follows: Michigan High School Athletic Association, 1661 Ramblewood, East Lansing, MI 48823-7392, Telephone 517-332-5046, FAX 517-332-4071. Emails should be sent to John Johnson at jjjohnson@mhsaa.com or Executive Director Jack Roberts at jroberts@mhsaa.com    The proposal for the new state championships for women's sports was included in a plan submitted to a Federal District Court that would also change the scheduling of its tournaments in three sports. This plan is part of the MHSAA's response to a Title IX lawsuit filed against the association.    According to the release, the proposed changes are dependent upon the approval of the U.S. District Court in Kalamazoo later this summer. The MHSAA indicated that none of the changes will occur if the MHSAA's appeal of the District Court's decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals is successful.     "We have gone beyond the Court's Order to demonstrate further the intent of this organization and its member schools to promote opportunities for girls in athletics," said MHSAA Executive Director John E. "Jack" Roberts. "Decades ago, schools scheduled sports seasons for girls in order to facilitate the fastest growth possible in girls' athletic opportunities, and their efforts have proven successful. In every one of the sports at issue in this case, Michigan's girls high school sports participation rates are better than its eighth rank nationally in population for high school age girls."