High school wrestling is continuing to grow in some categories, according to statistics released for the 2001-02 school year by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS).    The number of boys wrestling teams showed growth from the previous year, as did the number of girls competitors, according to statistics released this week. In addition, the total number of boys and girls participating in high school wrestling also increased.    The number of boys high school wrestling teams was 9,578 for the year, an increase from the 9,404 teams in the 2000-01 season. This increase of 174 teams represented a 1.9% increase in teams from the previous year.    Wrestling moved up to a No. 8 ranking in the number of boys programs, up from a No. 9 ranking for the last three years. It was the 10th straight year that the number of boys wrestling teams had increased. Only basketball, outdoor track and field, baseball, football, golf, cross country and soccer had more programs than wrestling.    Girls wrestling continued its growth trend of recent years as well. According to the survey, the number of girls in high school wrestling grew to 3,405 participants, up from the 3,032 participants in the 2000-2001 season. This increase of 373 girls participants represents an outstanding 12.3 percent increase.    The number of boys wrestlers dropped just slightly, going from 244,984 participants a year ago to 244,637 participants in 2001-02. This drop of 347 wrestlers accounts for just a decrease of just 0.1 percent.    Wrestling remained ranked No. 6 in the number of boys participants. Only football, basketball, outdoor track and field, baseball and soccer had more participating boys than wrestling.    When combining boys and girls wrestlers on the national level, the number of high school wrestlers grew slightly, with 248,042 in 2001-02 in comparison to 248,016 in 2000-2001. This was an increase of 26 total wrestlers.    Based on figures from the 51 state high school athletic/activity associations, participation in all high school athletics during 2001-2002 was 6,767,515 participants, an all-time record for high school participation. Total participation increased for both boys and girls during the year.    The NFHS has compiled the survey since 1971 based on figures from its 51 member state associations. With the exception of a slight decrease from 1987-88 to 1988-89, total participation has risen each year since the 1983-84 year.    In the listing of total athletic participants by state, Texas remains No. 1 with 773,850, followed by California (656,245), New York (338,248), Illinois (301,626), Michigan (301,196), Ohio (299,351), Pennsylvania (243,765), New Jersey (214,870), Florida (211,936) and Minnesota (211,693).    The top 10 states for boys wrestling participation were California (24,326), Illinois (14,205), Ohio (13,319), New York (12,646), Michigan (11,705), Minnesota (8,622), New Jersey (8,389), Pennsylvania (8,388), Florida (7,987) and Washington (7,896). All states, except Arkansas, reported boys wrestling participants.    A total of 30 states reported girls wrestlers to the NFHS. Texas had the highest total (941), followed by California (752), Hawaii (267), Florida (200), Michigan (180), Georgia (123), Washington (112), Ohio (96), Arizona (91) and Alaska (70).