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The Mountain Home Flyers youth wrestling program brought 11 girls to the Arkansas Youth State Wrestling Tournament this past weekend.
All 11 made the finals. Ten were crowned state champions. The 11th finished as state runner-up.
The Flyers, a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has operated for nearly two decades, earned Team Runner-Up honors in the Girls Division, finishing just behind a significantly larger program from Northwest Arkansas.
Unlike high school athletics, where teams compete within classifications based on school size, youth wrestling has no such divisions. Every club in the state competes against every other, regardless of program size or enrollment.
The showing caps a rapid rise for girls wrestling within the Mountain Home program. When Arkansas first introduced a dedicated girls youth state division in 2022, the Flyers brought three girls to compete. That number has more than tripled, and on many practice nights there are now more girls on the mats than boys, according to the program.
Women’s wrestling is currently the fastest-growing women’s sport in the United States, and the Flyers’ results suggest Mountain Home is riding the front of that wave.
The team has earned State Champion honors in the Small Club Division in each of the past three years. This year, the state tournament restructured its team scoring into separate classifications for Novice, Girls and Open divisions.
While the Flyers operate independently from the Mountain Home School District, the program serves as a feeder for Mountain Home High School wrestling on both the boys and girls sides. The athletes winning at the youth level are the same ones who will eventually compete as Bombers at the varsity level.
Katie Williams, who serves as the Flyers’ treasurer and as the Arkansas USA Wrestling Youth Committee’s Region 2 director, said the success reflects steady growth and dedication across the entire program.
The Mountain Home Flyers practice and compete year-round. More information about the program is available by contacting Williams at 320-420-9878.
