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Girls on wrestling squad hold their own

No longer a novelty, the 2 are known as real competitors

By Jackie Cowin, Globe Staff Correspondent, 2/1/2001

FRANKLIN - Greg Ambrose was just a freshman when the presence of female wrestlers at Tri-County Regional High School drew national attention to the Franklin school, but he was way ahead of the curve.

''It was this big deal because girls were wrestling; `20/20' even came and did a story,'' said Ambrose, now a junior cocaptain on the Cougar squad. ''I thought it was ridiculous.''

Two years later, the notion of girls going to the mat against boys is no longer all that unusual. In fact, Cougar coach Marc LeBlanc - who two years ago coached five female wrestlers - estimates that from quarter to a third of his opponents have girls on their teams, though not always in the varsity lineup.

While Jessica Girard and Danielle Bowen aren't novelties like they were when they joined the Tri-County wrestling squad in 1997 and '98, respectively, they are still drawing attention. Only now it is not because of their gender, but because of their outstanding commitment to the grueling sport.

''I'm not impressed that they're girls,'' said cocaptain Joe Marcin. ''I'm impressed with Danielle because she's more dedicated than most of the guys on the team. I admire Jessica because she shows heart.''

Girard and Bowen share the distinction of being the only girls on Tri-County's wrestling team, but their histories with the sport are very different.

Girard, a senior, was determined to try the sport since she first watched a family friend compete when she was in sixth grade. Intrigued by the physical demands and the one-on-one aspect of wrestling, she didn't take much note of the fact that she didn't see any girls competing.

''I didn't care about that,'' she said. ''It was just something I wanted to do; and all through junior high I said, `I'm going to do that.'''

Bowen never had any intention to wrestle - she wanted to be a cheerleader. But when she was cut from the squad in her freshman year, Girard convinced her to join the wrestling team - not an easy task.

''I was afraid they were going to squish me because I wasn't even 103 pounds [the lightest wrestling class],'' Bowen said. ''And the stretches were weird.''

But Bowen found the aggressiveness of wrestling to her liking, and quickly took to the sport. Over the last three years she has maintained a serious offseason commitment to it, competing alongside boys with two clubs while attending girls' tournaments around the region.

''It's my favorite sport now,'' said Bowen, who also plays softball and volleyball at Tri-County.

She is a legitimate competitor against male opponents, recording about a .500 record at 112 pounds this season after finishing eighth at sectionals last year. Against girls she is dominant, winning the title in a recent regional tournament despite being bumped up to the 130-pound class because of her advanced skill.

Whereas two years ago a male opponent may have considered losing to Bowen humiliating, now it is just another loss.

''Freshman year a guy might lose to her and be like, `Oh my God, I lost to a girl,''' Ambrose said. ''Now they're like, `She's better than me.'''

Girard's win-loss record isn't anything like Bowen's, but her dedication to the team is likewise unwavering.

''Most people, if they were in my shoes, would probably be like `Why am I doing this?' and quit, but I love the sport to death,'' said Girard, who wrestles at 130 pounds. ''It's a very demanding sport and just the feeling of making it through each practice and each season makes it worthwhile.''

Since they weren't the first female wrestlers at Tri-County, and because there are others like them in the area, Bowen and Girard hardly consider themselves pioneers. But their commitment is certainly helping legitimize girls' place in wrestling.

''Most of the teams we wrestle don't think anything of [competing against girls]; if anything, there might be looks from a freshman,'' said Marcin. ''But once they're out on the mat, it's just another wrestler.''

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Female wrestler shows her strength

From The Tahoma Times, MAPLE VALLEY, WA
By: Jazz Grant January 27, 2000

She is an athlete, but not the typical soccer player, runner, or basketball playershe is a wrestler. Who is she, you ask? She is Alicia Feldman, a 103-pound wrestler for Tahoma High School.

Feldman made her wrestling debut at the high school varsity level on Friday, January 11, 2000. And quite a debut it was; she pinned her male opponent in the second round of the aggressive bout.

At the beginning of the year she was wrestling on the junior varsity team, but has since moved up. The tough competition of the other 103 pounder, sophomore Jason Kenway, has been filling in for a teammate at the next weight, opening up the opportunity for Feldman to show her toughness and talent.

I was surprised at first but now I think, wow thats cool, says junior Travis Cornelison, a Tahoma student. Others were surprised by Feldmans choice to participate in a sport that has been primarily male dominated, including her new teammates. But like Cornelison, Feldman has gained many supporters.

At first they didnt know what to do. But two of the wrestlers started helping me out at practice by showing me moves and working with me. That encouraged the rest of the team to accept me, a girl wrestler, Feldman states.

Some might wonder how Feldman gets a long with the wrestlers, who have a reputation of being somewhat unruly. Things were awkward, but I fit in now. I hear the locker-room talk, [but] I get a long with all of them. I also hang out and talk to the managers, Katie Kennedy and Katie Seger. Katie Kennedy has been with me all the way. Kennedy has been a manager since her seventh grade year when Feldman started wrestling.

While it takes courage to be the only female wrestler around, courage isnt Feldmans only assetshe has muscle and talent too. Feldman finds that there are actually advantages to being a female wrestler. Her gymnastic skills have carried over to wrestling, and have been useful. Flexibility is a key asset. It helps me to get out of moves easier. I am stronger than most my opponents, too. Gymnastics has helped me with that, she says. Since she signing up for weight room in the fall, she has been able to bench-press a maximum 215 lbs.

In the near future, Feldman has plans to do freestyle wrestling and maybe join a girls wrestling team. As far as her life plan goes, she wants to be a massage therapist.

Feldman started wrestling in the seventh grade when she switched over from gymnastics. She has been wrestling ever since under the head coaching of Mr. Russ Hayden and Mr. Jeff Brady.

When asked why she started wrestling she says, Because it was something different. I like it because its not thought of normally as a girl sport. That is why Alicia Feldman is becoming a familiar nameshe is doing something that is out of the ordinary, and that takes guts.

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Female wrestler inspires Brancroft Middle School girls
Iranian-American star shares her experience

January 23, 2001

By Tasha Bartholomew
STAFF WRITER

SAN LEANDRO -- It's unusual enough for a woman to become a wrestler, but
even more so for Afsoon Johnston, who grew up in Iran.

Johnston, now a Californian, has won silver and bronze medals at the
wrestling World Championships. Last week the San Diego woman spoke to girls
at Bancroft Middle School about wrestling opportunities for females and how
she overcame adversity.

As a child in Iran, Johnston said, it was not unusual to see her with her
face and hair covered up or looking down when speaking to men.

"Iran is not like the United States; here there is more equality for women,"
she told the girls. "In Iran, women don't have a lot of rights."

Johnston became interested in wrestling by watching her father, who was a
member of the Iran National Wrestling Team. Even though it was not
traditional for her to learn wrestling, her father would show her the moves.

"I really enjoyed it, but I never thought I could pursue it seriously,"
Johnston said.

Johnston was an only child, and her parents wanted to give her a better life
and the opportunity to pursue her dream. The family moved to the United
States when Johnston was 14 years old, and that year Johnston tried out for
the wrestling team at Independent High School in San Jose.

She had to try out for the boys' team because there was no girls team. She
made the cut.

The hardest part of being on the team, Johnston said, was earning the
respect of her male teammates. They did not know what to make of her, she
said. But after training with her for several months, they knew she had a
real love of the sport.

Sometimes, Johnston said, boys from opposing teams did not want to wrestle
her.

"One guy said he didn't want to wrestle me because if he won then he beat a
girl, but if he lost he couldn't show his face around school," she said. "I
told him gender has nothing to do with it. I told him if I win it's because
I trained harder and am the better wrestler -- but he still didn't want to
wrestle me."

By her senior year, she became team captain and then moved on to wrestle on
the men's team at the University of California, Davis. She wrestled on a
co-ed team in the World Championship.

She now works as a physical therapist in San Diego, and is an assistant
wrestling coach at a local high school there.

After talking about her background, Johnston showed the Bancroft students a
few wrestling moves -- and how to win a match.

Seventh-graders Lauren Kreiss and Lawranne Booker were just two of the lucky
volunteers who got to try take-down, reversal and escape moves on each
other.

"It was kind of weird at first," Kreiss said. "It felt like someone was
trying to touch you in an inappropriate way, but I know it's because this is
a real contact sport."

Booker agreed with Kreiss, but said that was not her main concern.

"I thought it was exciting and fun," Booker said. "I didn't know if I was
going to do the moves right because I didn't want to hurt Lauren."

Both girls said that prior to hearing Johnston talk, they would have never
considered wrestling -- but now they are.

In three weeks, Bancroft will be holding its annual co-ed wrestling team
tryouts. That's why teacher Dave D'Antonio, the school's wrestling coach,
invited Johnston to speak to the girls.

"Over the years we've had about two to nine girls on the team," D'Antonio
said. "My hope is that this will truly boost the number of girls who want to
wrestle."