GREAT MILLS, Md. — The St. Mary’s Wrestling Club announced the competition debut of the St. Mary’s Stingrays Wrestling Club at Great Mills High School on Wednesday, expanding youth wrestling opportunities in St. Mary’s County for the 2025-26 winter season. The program, led by Great Mills High School varsity wrestling coach Chris Williams, aims to increase participation among athletes ages 5 to 14, building on the club’s long-standing base at Leonardtown High School. The team started at Great Mills last January with a practice-only season working with primarily first year wrestlers and competing only in Novice Tournaments.
The year Stingrays will join the Southern Maryland Junior Wrestling League, competing in co-ed divisions through mid-March. Practices begin in December 1 at Great Mills High School’s wrestling room, held twice weekly on Monday and Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. Registration remains open through December 1, with fees of $130 for practice-only, or $200 for full League Participation and includes a team shirt, athletic shorts and insurance through USA Wrestling. The club anticipates 50-60 participants in its second year, drawing primarily from communities in Southern St. Mary’s County such as Great Mills, Lexington Park and Ridge
Williams, who has coached the Great Mills varsity team since 2018, emphasized fundamentals in his program outline. “Our focus is on technique, conditioning and sportsmanship to prepare wrestlers for high school levels,” he said in a club statement. The initiative addresses a gap in local access, as the Leonardtown-based club previously served as the county’s sole option for structured youth training. By adding a second site, organizers seek to accommodate growing interest, particularly from families in southern St. Mary’s County facing 20- to 30-minute drives to Leonardtown.
Wrestling’s appeal lies in its blend of individual accountability and team support, with sessions incorporating drills on takedowns, pins and escapes alongside strength exercises like bodyweight circuits. Matches follow folkstyle rules, standard for youth levels, with weight classes starting at 40 pounds for the youngest group. Tournaments, hosted at venues in St. Mary’s, Calvert, Charles and Prince George’s Counties, occur weekly on Saturdays starting in January through early March. The team will also send wrestlers to select Future Champions (Novice) tournaments and MSWA State Qualifiers.
Girls’ involvement stands out in the expansion. Nationally, high school girls’ wrestling participation rose 250 percent from 2018-19 to 2024-25, reaching 21,124 athletes across 74,064 wrestlers, per the National Federation of State High School Associations. In Maryland, the sport’s co-ed format aligns with Title IX growth, offering scholarships at rates comparable to softball or lacrosse for women—up to 80 percent of Division I spots filled by recruits. Locally, St. Mary’s County Public Schools reported 15 girls on combined high school rosters last season, with Williams noting increased inquiries from female athletes at Great Mills and Leonardtown this year
For beginner wrestlers, the Maryland State Wrestling Association’s Future Champions Series provides beginner-friendly meets in December and January at sites such as Huntingtown High School in Calvert County. USA Wrestling’s Maryland chapter also sanctions all-girls regional tournaments, such as the February 2026 event in Gaithersburg, open to kindergarten through 12th graders. These pathways complement the Stingrays’ inclusive model, where mixed practices foster mutual respect and technique sharing.
The St. Mary’s Hawkeyes Wrestling Organization, the parent group for both clubs, oversees operations under guidelines from USA Wrestling and St. Mary’s County Rec and Parks. Equipment needs are minimal: athletes supply wrestling shoes and headgear, available for $30 to $60 at local outlets like Dick’s Sporting Goods in California. The team supplies singlets for competitions.
Beyond competition, the program promotes off-mat benefits. Wrestling demands quick decision-making under fatigue, honing focus that translates to classroom performance—studies from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research link the sport to improved executive function in adolescents. In St. Mary’s County wrestling offers a low-equipment alternative for indoor fitness, burning up to 800 calories per hour per session data from the American College of Sports Medicine.
Local tournaments rotate through Southern Maryland facilities, including the SMJWL’s season opener on November 16 at La Plata High School in Charles County. The league, formed in 1992, includes eight clubs and hosts 12 events annually, emphasizing fair play with dual referees per mat. Past seasons saw St. Mary’s wrestlers place in the top three at four meets, with alumni advancing to state championships at the MPSSAA tournament in College Park.
Registration details appear on the club’s website, including a parent orientation on November 10 at Great Mills High School. Contact Coach Williams at Greatmillswrestling@gmail.com for tryouts or scholarships, available for qualifying families through donations from the public. As winter sets in, the Stingrays provide a structured outlet in St. Mary’s County’s, keeping youth engaged through March when spring sports like baseball resume.
The expansion reflects broader trends in Southern Maryland youth athletics, where participation in non-traditional sports like wrestling grew 15 percent countywide from 2020 to 2024, per St. Mary’s County Recreation and Parks data. Programs like this one partner with schools to share facilities, reducing costs and integrating with physical education curricula that now include mat-based units at elementary levels in Great Mills and Esperanza Middle Schools.
St. Mary’s County’s wrestling success trace to the 1970s, when Great Mills High School dominated the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference (SMAC), winning the SMAC Championship 9 years in a row from 1972 to 1980. The club hopes to help continue recent St. Mary’s County High School success, with both Leonardtown and Great Mills High School wrestlers winning individual State Championships last year.
As practices ramp up, the club encourages trial sessions—no commitment required for the first week. With winter break approaching, early enrollment secures spots before holiday tournaments fill. The initiative not only channels energy into positive pursuits but also forges connections in a county where community sports draw 5,000 youth annually across disciplines.
