News Page

Finding her way in a boy's world

Woodward's Miller seeks Olympics, success in a boy-dominated sport

Glen Miller 7/13/03 El Reno Tribune

millerg@elrenotribune.com

Woodward's Joey Miller has studied about China in school, and now this eighth-grader has a dream to visit that country - and she's going to use wrestling to get there.
Miller is one of the up and coming female wrestlers in the United States and will be watching with a wishful eye when ladies take to the mats in Greece for the 2004 Olympics - the first time females will vie for the gold.
"I would love to be in the Olympics," said Miller. "I've never been out of the country and I plan to do that."
Despite dominating the girls .divisionin meets around the country, Miller is too young to tryout for the United States team for the 2004 Games, but has set her sights on the 2008 Games in Beijing.
"I'm a year too young for the 2004 Games, but it's a dream of mine to be in the Olympics. So I m going to try my hardest for 2008 and never give up," said Miller, who recently returned from the U.S. Olympic training center In Colorado.

Working her hardest means traveling four and a half hours twice a week from Woodward to El Reno to work out with Archie Randall's summer program.
"She wants to come down here," said her father, Jerry Miller,
"We had the summer work- outs in Woodward, but they were all big kids and there was not any competition. But here coach Randall treats her just like any other wrestler and that's what. she wants."
But nine hours of travel per week just for workouts?
"It's a huge commitment, but I'm glad I'm doing it. If I wasn't here, I wouldn't be getting any better and the boys would kill me," said Miller.
Since Oklahoma does not have a separate division for girls on the high school level, Miller will have to compete
against boys, and she's not too shabby when she crosses gender lines.
"Some states have girls programs, but we have not had the interest here in Oklahoma," said Randall.
"Girls wrestle all freestyle and as far as freestyle is concerned, Joey is one of the best in the nation."
And she's got the hardware to prove it.
This season she is 33-0 against other female wrestlers and has not lost a tournament match to another girl since she was 8 years old. .

.
Randall says Miller will have her work cut out when she crosses the gender lines, but that she is willing to make the sacrifices to get better. She will wrestle for Team Oklahoma in the cadet division at the 2003 USA Wrestling Nationals to be held later this month in Fargo, N.D.
She earned her way onto the boys team at 91 pounds since there is not a cadet division for girls. Next season she can compete in the high school division, which has a separate girls tournament.
"If she could compete on the high school division she could win it, because she's further along than most girls.
But for now she will have to wrestle for the boys," said Randall - who serves as coach and organizer for Team Oklahoma.
Miller said she is cut no slack by the boys wrestling for the El Reno summer program, and that's just the way she likes it.
"I think it's great for me to be out here with all the other people," said Miller who sports a 55-11 :record against
boys this year.
"I think the boys go harder when they wrestle me because they think they would get made fun of by friends If they lost to a girl."

The equal treatment, said Miller, makes the long travel time and intense workouts worth the effort.
"To be able to compete, I'm going to have to drive here for , the practice," said Miller.
Having been accepted by the boys, what do Miller's female friends think about her wrestling?
"They all think it's cool that I wrestle and they support me," said Miller. "My best friend's parents always give me money on my fund-raisers and my friend saves pennies in her piggy bank to give me."