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Girl wins medal in Junior High wrestling tournament

by Kenneth Wilcox

Melissa Jorgenson, a sophomore, made history on the night of November 27, 1999. At a junior high wrestling tournament at Sehome Junior High, she became the first female to receive a medal.
Wrestlers in junior high tournaments usually endure three matches in one evening. This can be a simple task if each match is brief and is not drawn out the full three periods. Otherwise, it can make them grueling as each one takes place about an hour after the other.

Random drawings decide the first matches in each weight class. Depending on who your opponent is, your night can just be beginning -- or it can just be ending.

A 122-pound wrestler from Mitchell Junior High (Name withheld), thought his first match was going to be simple. His opponent was none other than Melissa Jorgenson.

"I just remember seeing him laughing about having to wrestle against a girl," Melissa said. "This just added to my motivation to beat him because he thought he had already won when it was announced."

The only one laughing now is Melissa. In the second period after being down by a score of 4-0, Melissa locked in a quarter nelson and got her opponent over to his back.

"Everyone was screaming 'turn him over! turn him over!' and the crowd just roared when I did," she said. "I think everyone was pushing for me because I was the only girl participating."

With about ten seconds of struggle, the referee slammed his hand down to the mat and blew his whistle. The match was over. For the first time in Washington State history, a girl had won a medal at a tournament.

"It was so cool because I remember him looking up at me after I won as if he was saying 'what happened?' to me," Melissa said. "I think I said 'you were pinned by a girl,' but I don't remember if he heard me or not because my family rushed down."

Sometimes the nerves of a male opponent against a female can be overwhelming.

"Boys are typically stronger in the upperbody," the Sehome coach said. "But it just goes to show you that dedication can over-power strength any day of the week. I think her opponent was freaked out, but he'll get over it."

The boy was not Jorgenson's first victim. She won three matches last year, two against boys.

When the match ended with a pin, it not only marked a moment of change for the "acceptable" wrestling standards, it also changed the wrestlers. Melissa was very vocal after the match and yelled "I beat a boy!" when the match ended. Her family rushed down to the mat before her hand was raised in victory.

"The boy was obviously disappointed since he couldn't progress in the tournament," his coach said. "He's a capable wrestler and I think he just got caught off-guard and got confused."

There's no question that the nerves of any wrestler would be affected when everyone in the building was pulling for his or her opponent. In situations such as tournaments, it is unheard of to have the entire crowd supportive of one wrestler. Usually there are very few enthusiastic audience memebers -- mostly family members who could make the trip. Everyone, however, seemed to be engaged by Jorgenson's heroic step forward.

"Even though he's my son and I love him very much," The boys mother and freelance writer for The Seattle Times said, "I still had to cheer for Melissa because I thought it took a lot of courage. I was happy with the outcome because both of them grew from the experience."

Melissa is a currently a celebrity at her school. Four local newspapers have written stories about her and she was recognized at an assembly with her winning moment on a large poster board behind her.

"My school is very small so if anything happens at all," she said, "everyone knows it. I was glad I got to keep the picture of me when I pinned him so I can always remember it."