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SISTERHOOD OF WRESTLING
Similar stories are common theme among Junior Women

By W.I.N. Staff

The old adage of never hit a girl goes right out the window when it comes to young women wrestling these days … and that’s fine with Deanna Rix and her father, Matt.
“Guys will slap her right in the face and she’ll give them one right back,” smiled Matt, the head wrestling coach at Marshwood High School in South Berwick Maine, where he first introduced his daughter to the sport at the age of 4.
“I was substituting for someone who was missing at 46 pounds,” recalled Deanna, shortly after she won her second straight ASICS/Vaughan Junior Women’s National championship at 128 pounds. “I’ve wrestled ever since then.”
And in the 13 years that have followed, she has learned to take plenty of tough moments from her opponents, most of whom are boys.
“I find they are wrestling her ten times harder than they would against anybody else,” Matt said. “They know if technically they make a mistake, it’s all done. Their only saving grace is that they may have an overpowering move.”
And those moves also mean a few pops in the forehead, which also leads to equal response from this 17-year-old high school senior who hopes to be a team captain for her father’s high school team.

“She’s been called for unsportsmanlike conduct,” admitted Matt. “It doesn’t go both ways, which is irritating because the ref won’t see the first one but will see the retaliation.”
The Rixs, like many of the girls and their families who were in Fargo, N.D., recently for the nationals, don’t mind the physical abuse that many of them face in being the only girls in what used to be a “boys” sport.
That’s a lot better than being disrespected for being a girl.
“When I first started in junior high, it was kind of tough,” said Ali Bernard, the native of New Ulm, Minn., and the two-time Junior women’s championat 150 pounds who was named the girl’s Wrestler of the Year by Asics. “Where ever you go, there will be guys who forfeit to you. They don’t want to wrestle a girl. But I’m sure every girl you talk to here has had that happen to them.”
In fact, most of the young women who took part in the nationals have developed a sisterhood with each other after realizing that they share similar stories:
• they were introduced to the sport near the age of five by either a father or brother who wrestled. (“My dad and brother were high school wrestlers,” said 138-pound Junior women’s champ Na’Tasha Umemoto of Portland, Ore. “I just thought it would be kind of fun. I used to wrestle around with them in the house so I said I’m going to sign up for wrestling.”);
• they received plenty of negative reactions after being the first girl to compete in a boy’s sport. (“A lot of people don’t like it but the people who know me, love me,” said 165-pound Junior women’s champion Melissa Simmons.);
• now, they are receiving some of the fruits of their labor. (“We have a good shot at winning the state championship this year and she’s a big part of that,” said Matt Rix, whose team finished second last season.).
(You can read the rest of this article by subscribing to W.I.N. Magazine. Either contact our office at 1-888-305-0606 or subscribe through this website by selecting the “Subscribe” section on our front page.)

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HIGH SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT
Boy or girl, she may be best

By C.J. BETIT Sports Assistant

Copyright © 1/20/2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

Winning.
What more motivation is needed?

For Deanna Rix of Marshwood, who is breaking new ground for female wrestlers in Maine, there´s more to motivation than just winning. But being the last person standing does help.

"She did so well so quick, she stayed with it," said her father, Marshwood Coach Matt Rix. "That´s a big part of the success she´s had.

"I don´t know what keeps driving her. After our practice she´s going to the gym. . . . I´m getting ready to take a little time off in the summer and she´s asking what tournament we´re heading to this weekend."

Four wins from her 100th career victory and unbeaten in Maine this year, Rix is on target to win a state title at 130 pounds next month.

And much bigger plans are in store for Rix, who has won two straight junior women´s national titles at 128 pounds.

Rix has been accepted into the resident program at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., where she´ll train this summer.

And in the fall she´ll be in the university resident program at the United States Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Mich.

Why do you like to wrestle?

I like winning.

Do you wish there was enough competition to just wrestle girls?

I think I like competing against the boys more because it´s more competition than if I was just competing with girls.

Have you ever tried to get one of your girlfriends to try wrestling?

One of my friends came out in junior high but she only wrestled in one tournament.

Do you think boys are intimidated to wrestle you?

I think some of them are because they don´t want to lose to a girl. I think it helps me. Sometimes at tournaments they kind of laugh, it´s just a girl. Then I come out as hard as I can and they´re relaxing. The guys who know me get psyched to try to kick my butt.

How´s your younger brother, Matt, do against you?

We wrestle for fun sometimes around the house. He´s gotten better. He´s only 105 pounds so it´s hard. When we learn something new at practice we come home and try them on each other.

What´s your training consist of?

Off-season, I´ll practice two days a week so I´ll have to go to camps. I run two hours (10-12 miles) a day on my own to keep my weight down. I lift a little but light enough to keep my weight down and not gain muscle.

Is it a battle to make weight?

It´s one of the hardest parts about it. I´ve missed weight twice this year and just had to sit and watch.

Your coach says the boys have an easier time making weight. That must be frustrating when you´re out there running all the time.

They lose 5 or 6 pounds just at practice. I´ll lose a pound if I´m lucky. I just think about winning states the whole time I´m running.

What´s your style on the mat?

I´m a defensive wrestler. I wait for people to make mistakes and catch them, usually. I´m trying to shoot more and be more offensive.

Even though you´re the same weight, are the boys stronger?

Usually they are stronger than me and outmuscle me. I think I´m more aggressive when I wrestle girls because I´m stronger than them.

When was the last time you were pinned?

I got pinned in Massachusetts a month ago. He hurt my arm and I just stopped wrestling. That was my only loss this year. My arm wrenched right back. I thought I had popped it out of my socket.

What´s it feel like to be pinned?

Not good. That´s one of the worst things.

How does it feel to pin someone?

It´s better.

Who´s your role model?

My dad´s old high school wrestlers. I´d watch them practice, Dan Whelan, Scott Holton, and think they´re so good.

How long have you been wrestling?

I started when I was 4. I was filling in for someone at the 46-pound weight class in a meet in New York. I never had wrestled before. I got a tooth knocked out.

What´s your favorite movie?

I like "Vision Quest." That´s a wrestling move.

What´s your favorite food?

Chicken fingers when I can eat them.

Your least-favorite food?

Seafood.

When´s the last time you laughed?

I don´t know. I laugh all the time.

What´s your least favorite thing?

I don´t like homework.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Probably back here coaching for Marshwood. And I want to be a personal trainer.

Between now and then?

I want to win states and get my 100th win. I want to make it to the Olympics.

Chat online or talk on the phone?

Talk on the phone.

Where´s your favorite place in Maine?

Howland, where our camp is. It´s very pretty up there.

Favorite place to shop?

Abercrombie & Fitch.

What´s the most important thing you´ve learned so far?

Never give up.

Best TV network?

MTV.

Program?

Real World vs. Road Rules: Battle of the Sexes.

What´s your favorite class?

I like English. I like to write a lot. I like writing stories.

What type of music do you like?

I like rap and country.

What do you do in your spare time?

I like to hang out with friends. I don´t usually have a lot (of free time). Go shopping and dancing and stuff.

Does your family have a pet?

We´ve one dog, Rocky.

How has wrestling for your father been?

I like it. It helps me. If I have a question or something we can go over it at home. But it´s hard sometimes.

Any advice for other girls who would like to try wrestling?

I would say, give it all you´ve got. Don´t let people talk you out of it because they don´t know what they´re talking about.

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Rix in the spotlight with SI for Kids

By MARK QUIRK
Staff Sports Writer

SOUTH BERWICK, ME, Sept. 30 - Deanna Rix has taken down some of the
toughest opponents on the mat with ease, but dealing with Sports Illustrated was
a totally different story.

For the first time in a while Rix, a two-time U.S. Girls Wrestling
Association champion, was a little intimidated. Numerous articles have
been written about her in the area papers, but being called upon by a
well-known national publication was a bit overwhelming at first.

"I was a little bit nervous. I was definitely nervous," Rix said.
"But it was pretty cool, I was really excited about it."

Rix, a junior who competes on the boys wrestling team at Marshwood
High School, is featured in the Faces in the Crowd section of this month's
Sports Illustrated For Kids.

The process for the article began almost eight months ago when a
reporter for SI who writes about boating in northern Maine saw a
segment on a local news station about Rix. He went to a couple of the Marshwood
meets and saw Rix win the Western Maine Conference Championship in the
119-pound weight class in March.

That was followed up with a two-hour photo shoot at Ocean Exposure
in Kennebunkport during which a photographer took about 200 pictures of
Rix. One was used for the article.

The reporter continued with follow-up interviews until early
September to wrap up the story.

"It's pretty overwhelming," said Deanna's father Matt Rix, who is
also the wrestling coach at Marshwood. "She's earned every bit of the
publicity she gets."

The impact of the article has extended all the way to the West
Coast and beyond. Since the issue came out, Rix has received calls from
coaches at both the University of Hawaii and Menlo College in California.

"They called letting her know they saw the article and their still
interested," Matt Rix said.

As is the U.S. Olympic Team, which is trying to get Deanna Rix to
fly out to Colorado Springs, Colo., and work out at the national training
center. She is committed to cheerleading right now, and has wrestling
beginning in November, so it's not likely that she'll make it out there
until the end of the winter.

"She won't be going until after high school season," Matt Rix
said. "She's made a commitment to do the cheering."

She's also passing up on a national tournament she was invited to
in Wyoming. The decision not to go was an easy one because Deanna Rix has
her priorities and she doesn't want to let down her teammates on the
cheering squad.

"I'm on a team now," Deanna Rix said. "I'd have to miss games and
practices to go out there."

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Ladies Night at Ken Cole

Brady Aymond 1/22/05
baymond@theadvertiser.com

Friday's opening day of the 29th annual Ken Cole Invitational could have easily been dubbed "Ladies' Night" as a Ken Cole record six girls participated in the tournament's opening round action.

Included in that list is Comeaux's own, Mariah Boutte.

All six of the female wrestlers were eliminated from competition Friday, but all six proved that wrestling isn't just a guy's sport.

Boutte dropped a 16-0 decision to Rayne's Brice Laurents in the first round, then lost a tough 17-4 decision to Lafayette's Brad Webb.

Benton's Sharon McDonald fell in the first round to Mandeville's Troy Ocmond by a 10-3 count, then lost to Central's Tyler Pate by pinfall in an elimination contest.

Riverdale's Mary Whipkey had a bye in the first round, but lost to Jesuit's Joe Cobena by pinfall in the second round. Whipkey lost to Airline's Larry Airline by pinfall in the loser's bracket.

Andrew Jackson's Hope Schenck also had a bye the first round, and lost to Jesuit's Christian Rabito by pinfall in the second round. Schenck was eliminated in the consolation bracket by Basile's Tray Ortego.

Riverdale's Ashley Ferrell fell to Rayne's Aaron Arceneaux by pinfall in first round action, then dropped a 22-14 decision to Benton's Paul Lougino.

And Northshore's Allison Lanier fell to Catholic High (BR) Tyler Harvey by pinfall in the first round and lost by pinfall to Bonnabel's Bryan Enamorado in the consolation round.

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Grizzy girls setting a trend in Oregon

Published: January 22, 2005

By ALLEN MOODY
Of the News-Register

There's a new look to McMinnville High School wrestling this year, at least for one of the teams, as the Grizzlies are the first school in the state of Oregon to field an all-girls team. Sixteen girls are on the team, which isn't a bad turnout for the first year.

"The first day of practice we had about six girls and they all recruited friends," said Sherry Hall, coach of the girls team. "I think having girls wrestle in the Olympics helped advertise the sport."

The primary draw for a number of the girls was the fact that they get to compete against other girls — something that doesn't usually happen for girls that wrestle in Oregon.

"I've wanted to wrestle for a long time, but I didn't feel comfortable wrestling against guys," said Malia Unrath, one of the members of the team. "When I found out this year they were going to have a girls team I joined, because I really like wrestling."

Currently, girls high school wrestling takes place in Texas and Hawaii and the Grizzlies are working hard to see Oregon join their ranks.

"What I would like to see happen is that there would be as many girl wrestlers as there are boy wrestlers in the other schools," Hall said. "I'd like to see it like we have girls basketball and boys basketball. That's what we want to happen."

Mac wrestling coach Trent Rollins said the concept of an all-girls team has been well received.

"When we were at the Westview Tournament a couple of coaches said, ‘I like what you're doing. We're going to start a girls team next year,' " Rollins said. "Pacific University has a girls team. It's time we bring it to the high school level."

Hall, whose son David wrestles at 119 pounds for the Mac varsity team, was a natural choice to head the girls team, as she's been involved with the local USA Wrestling program for the last three years.

"The Rollins', Trent and Ty, asked me if I'd be interested in helping out and coaching the all-girls team, because you have to have a woman coach for the girls team, and I was all for it," she said. "I went to school in Newberg, so wrestling's in my blood. I just like it."

One of the biggest obstacles for the girls team is the lack of competition from other schools, so often they will wrestle each other in matches following the boys junior varsity matches, and just prior to the start of the boys varsity matches.

"If the wrestling teams have girls on their team we can wrestle them," said Jessica Brown, a junior on the team. "Hardly any schools have girls that wrestle varsity, but we're working on it."

The recruiting process wasn't too difficult, as the fact that there was an all-girls team was announced throughout the school and some wrestling enthusiasts made it a point to let others know about the formation of the team.

"I found out there was a girls wrestling team because my best friend, Jessy Brinlee, told me about it and they said they needed me because I'm really strong and I joined," Brown said. "Broken finger and all, it works out. I love all of it."

Brinlee didn't stop with Brown and did her part to make the team known throughout the school.

"I started introducing my friends to it," Brinlee said. "I'd stroll down the hall in my wrestling shirt and people would ask me if I was a wrestler and I'd say ‘Yes, you should come out too.' "

Brinlee joined the team as a result of an agreement with a friend.

"We made a pact at the beginning of the year if they had a girls wrestling team that we would join," she said. "There was one so we had to join."

Another potential problem, parental objections, was soothed over since the girls do wrestle other girls.

"A lot of girls wanted to do it, but they didn't want to wrestle boys, like they do in other schools," Hall said. "Now, since the parents and the girls knew they wouldn't be wrestling boys, they were all for it."

Unrath, whose brother Dustin wrestles for the Mac varsity team, said her father was all for it.

"When my dad heard about it he said, ‘Malia you want to wrestle? and I was like ‘Dude, yes,' " she said. "He thought having two kids wrestling would be awesome and next year he'll have three, because my little brother will be here."

The girls team practices in the wrestling room at the same time the boys team practices and all three girls were quick to point out that it's not an easy sport to participate in.

"It's a lot harder than it looks," Brinlee said. "A lot of girls just want to sit there and stare at the guys and that's not what it's about."

So what do their non-wrestling friends think of them wrestling?

"They think it's a really good thing," Unrath said. "But they're kind of afraid of me now that I'm a wrestler.

"If girls are interested they should come and join next year. It's going to be really fun."

Brown said the girls team has been received pretty well from fans at other schools, such as when they wrestled against each other prior to the varsity matches at Woodburn.

"They root us on," she said. "They're happy that we're the first girls wrestling team. Next year there will be a JV and varsity and we'll be stronger."

The girls said one of the hardest sells they've had to make has been to the members of the boys team, but they believed they were making a bit of progress.

"I just want to gain the guys' trust and show them that just because we're females doesn't mean that we don't work as hard and doesn't mean that they should be able to push us out or shun us," Brinlee said. "But I also want to gain their respect in the fact that we don't think we're better than them. We are as good as them and that's as good as we can be."

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Henry wrestler left matchless
Girl, 13, stood up by male opponent

By S.A. REID
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/22/05

A female wrestler in Henry County is crying foul after a competing
school refused to allow her to grapple with a male athlete this week.

Taylor Knowles, 13, and her wrestling teammates at Union Grove Middle
School were competing against two Newton County teams during a meet Wednesday.
As Taylor, the only girl on Union Grove's 46-member team, prepared to face
off against a boy from Veterans Memorial Middle School, the match was
abruptly stopped.

Veterans Memorial Assistant Principal James Peek told meet officials
that the school had a policy against letting boys wrestle against girls.
Taylor's mother, Shelley Fountain, said Peek told her that his school had
developed the policy after a boy had previously lost to a girl and was publicly
humiliated.

"It's not right for the whole school to say nobody can wrestle a girl,"
Taylor said.

Efforts to reach Peek and other school or Newton district officials for
comment Friday night were unsuccessful.

Taylor said she has always been a tough competitor and enjoys the
challenge of competing against boys. She started wrestling in seventh grade and
has designs on Olympic glory.

The eighth-grader, who describes herself as "girly-girly" when she's
not pinning competitors to the wrestling mat, began her involvement with
sports as the only girl on a co-ed soccer team.

Wrestling coach Matt Ferrari said Taylor is as strong as any of the
boys in her 110-pound weight class, and that she has a starting spot on the
team.

At the meet, Taylor had wrestled a boy from Clements Middle School
without any problems. In fact, she won.

Ferrari is happy to see the male-dominated sport draw interest from
girls like Taylor.

"The only thing she looks for is equality," he said. "She just wants to
wrestle like everyone else."

Taylor's teammates were upset about what happened Wednesday.

"She's a good wrestler," said teammate Chase Palmer. "I think it's
discrimination."

Tom Evans, another teammate, called Veterans Memorial's reason for
establishing the rule barring matches against girls "stupid."

"That's life," Tom said. "Everybody is going to get made fun of."

Peek refunded the $9 the family had paid to get into the wrestling
match, which was held at Veterans.

But Fountain was still upset about the incident Friday night, even as
her daughter prepared for a match today.

"I'm proud of Taylor. She works hard," Fountain said. "It's just sad
that a lot of people aren't accepting. But a lot of people are."

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