10th Annual Women's West Coast Tournament of Champions in Roseville - Dec 19-20, 2025

ROSEVILLE, Calif. – More than 1,300 girls and women wrestlers, including college athletes eligible for the first-ever NCAA championship in the sport, will compete Friday and Saturday (Dec. 19-20) during the 10th annual Women’s West Coast Tournament of Champions at the Roebbelen Center in Roseville.

Almost 200 college, high school and middle-school teams – from as far away as Indiana and Nebraska – will participate in the two-day tournament, the largest not connected to a national event. Dozens of Sacramento-area teams and hundreds of local wrestlers will compete, from Bear River High School in Grass Valley to regional powerhouses Del Oro in Loomis and Tokay in Lodi.

High school matches open the tournament at 4 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19, with college and middle-school wrestlers starting 9 a.m. Saturday at the Roebbelen Center located @the Grounds, 700 Event Center Drive in Roseville.

Tickets are $15 a day for adults and $10 for students, cash only. Parking is $15 per day.

“You get some great competition, the best against the best,” said Don Martinez, tournament director and wrestling coach at Sierra College in Rocklin. “We’re giving girls and women the opportunity to wrestle at this level.”

The Roebbelen Center will feature 18 mats – two more than last year – and an environment with thousands of fans that “can be a little overwhelming” but good preparation for the season, said Jim Medeiros, wrestling coach at powerhouse Birmingham Community High School in Van Nuys.

“There’s going to be a lot of top-rated girls,” said Medeiros, who has about 40 girl wrestlers at his school, with half planning to participate in the tournament. “It will be interesting for fans to watch.”

About 5,000 people, from athletes and coaches to fans, will attend the Cliff Keen-sponsored tournament, generating more than $1.5 million to the Placer Valley economy, filling hotel rooms, restaurants and stores.

“The tournament is a big boost for the economy, especially during what is often a slower period for tourism,” said Kim Summers, CEO of Placer Valley Tourism and @the Grounds, home of the Roebbelen Center. “We never dreamed a women’s-only wrestling tournament would expand so fast and be such a huge success.”

Women’s wrestling – thanks, in part, to the tournament – has become one of the fastest-growing sports during the past decade. The California Interscholastic Federation says about 8,825 girls wrestle in high school in California, more than double the number in 2015, when the West Coast Tournament of Champions started at the Hardwood Palace in Rocklin.

“I had high hopes, I knew it would explode,” said Jeremy Arsich, athletic director and girls’ wrestling coach at Foothill High School in Sacramento. Arsich will have about 10 girls wrestling in the tournament. “When we started the idea of the tournament, it was basically to get girls’ wrestling on the map.”

Now, girls’ wrestling is all over the map, from California to Connecticut.

More than 65,000 girls wrestle in high school nationwide, compared to 17,000 in 2016, according to Wrestle Like a Girl. Almost every state has sanctioned high school girls’ wrestling.

“We are witnessing one of the most exciting moments in the history of women’s sports,” said Sally Roberts, co-founder and CEO of Wrestle Like a Girl. “The rapid growth of girls’ wrestling at the high school level has been nothing short of extraordinary, as we are seeing thousands of young women stepping onto the mat, proving strength, grit and resilience every single day.”

Girls battled for a few decades, often wrestling against boys, before the sport grabbed more interest during the past several years, thanks to the exposure of women’s wrestling through the Summer Olympics and the UFC.

“The first group of girls were fighting for their role in the sport,” Medeiros said. “Today, girls’ wrestling has become the norm. They don’t have to prove their worth.”

Wrestling is the same, from the demanding practices to the hard-fought matches, regardless of gender. The equality has helped attract more girls – some who have brothers in the sport – to wrestling, with many starting in middle school and even elementary school. About 200 middle-school girls will participate in the tournament, compared to only 40 just a few years ago.

“What has ballooned up is the middle school division,” said Martinez.

As more high school and middle-school students are embracing wrestling, more opportunities are possible through the sport. About 100 colleges and universities, from Arizona Christian University to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Iowa, have women’s wrestling teams.

“There are so many scholarships for girls’ wrestling,” said Arsich, who has daughters that wrestle. “The colleges have money to spend now.”

And championships to win. The NCAA added women’s wrestling as its 91st
championship sport this season. About 20 college and junior college teams, including Snow College of Utah and UCLA, will keep working towards a national title at the Women’s West Coast Tournament of Champions.

“With women’s wrestling advancing toward full NCAA championship status, we are entering a new era of visibility and opportunity,” said Roberts of Wrestle Like a Girl. “When girls wrestle, they discover what they’re truly capable of and that power follows them into every part of their lives.”

Arsich agrees, adding that girls’ wrestling attracts “a different kind of kid, a different kind of athlete.”

The Women’s West Coast Tournament of Champions is about going up against other athletes -- some who may end up at the state tournament – improving skills and looking at new opportunities with the sport, such as a full-ride athletic scholarship to a university.

“It gives them confidence,” Medeiros said of the two-day tournament. “There are no surprises, no doubts. It’s just the top programs producing the top girl wrestlers.”

About @the Grounds

@the Grounds is a multipurpose event facility on 61 acres in the heart of Roseville, California. @the Grounds includes the Roebbelen Center, a 160,000-square-foot event center that can accommodate major amateur sports competitions, large meetings, trade shows, concerts and other events. For more than 80 years, @the Grounds has been the home of the Placer County Fair – an annual celebration of the diversity of the community – along with countless other community, family and corporate gatherings. @the Grounds is the business entity of Placer Valley Sports Complex, a 501(c)3. For more information, please visit https://www.atthegrounds.com/.

About Placer Valley Tourism

Placer Valley Tourism is a Business Improvement District that serves South Placer County and the cities of Roseville, Rocklin and Lincoln. The BID operates to help generate incremental room night stays in hotels within Placer Valley Tourism’s geographic footprint through various conferences and youth and amateur sports events. PVT aims to coordinate community and sports events with the best hospitality options in the region. Placer Valley Tourism is a nonprofit and classified as a 501(c)6. For more information, please visit https://www.placertourism.com/.