After a nearly 17-year absence, South Fayette wrestlers will once again compete in green and white.

Board members voted 7-2 Monday night to reinstate the school's wrestling program, which cannot cost more than $15,000.

Members had the option of forming a co-operative agreement with Fort Cherry High School after the partnership with Chartiers Valley ends.

Before voting on the issue, board member Alan Wood said it's up to the community to decide if the program will be successful.

"We're not going to see what it can do until we throw it out there for the community to decide," he said.

But wrestling parent Jackie Carr wished board members would have considered the Fort Cherry agreement.

"They're wasting their time and money," she said. "They should have accepted the two-year co-op with Fort Cherry and then revisited the issue then."

Carr is concerned that the new team will not have enough athletes on board.

"Having a varsity team does not bring in wrestlers."

Still, other parents welcome the school's wrestling program.

"I'm ecstatic," said J.M. Manion. "The school board used forward thinking."

While it remains an option, both Carr and Manion are concerned that, given the potential shortfall in South Fayette's budget for the next fiscal year, the middle school sports program could be cut.

But Manion believes private donations could keep the wrestling program afloat. Some $30,000 could help fund the program, including a $20,000 donation from Spectrum Group, a California-based company.

Additional money has been promised from township resident Edward Lewis, co-owner of Bruschetta's Restaurant, and Stephen Weinberger, president of Muscle Power in Syosset, N.Y.

School district officials were unavailable for comment.