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Girls proving their power in high school wrestling rings
By KATHY-ANN GOBIN, The News-Times
February 3, 2000
Sitting on the edge of a chair in a stuffy gym, Diana Mauceri shouted
encouragement to Ridgefield High School wrestlers.
But Mauceri is no cheerleader. The 18-year-old senior is one of two girls
competing for the Tigers varsity wrestling squad in the
119-pound weight class.
When it's her turn to hit the mat, no one pulls harder for her than the
other four girls on the junior varsity and varsity squads.
On a recent afternoon, they watched anxiously as Mauceri battled for 3
minutes, 33 seconds with a male opponent from Darien
High. She twisted and turned out of his holds and drove her shoulder into
his chest before he outmaneuvered her, ultimately,pinning her.
Mauceri was undaunted.
In her third year on the team, she has won eight matches and lost 13.
"This year is the year I buckled down and started pinning people down," she
said.
Mauceri is also buoyed by the success of junior varsity teammate Lauren
deWalt, who later pinned her male opponent in a
145-pound match. As the referee resolutely raised her hand, a jubilant
deWalt turned to face her teammates, who jumped to their
feet to applaud her.
Mauceri, deWalt and their female teammates are part of a national trend.
A decade ago, girls on high school wrestling teams were considered
novelties. These days, they are becoming mainstays on some squads.
The National Federation of State High School Associations reports that 1,907
girls wrestled for teams in 26 states in 1997-98,
more than double the total from three years earlier. Some estimates put
current totals at more than 2,300 girls. Four states now
hold high school wrestling championships for female competitors, and women's
wrestling sport has also gained a foothold at the
collegiate level.
Of the 94 high school wrestling programs in Connecticut, 23 had at least one
female member during the 1997-98 school year, with
a total of 36 girls competing. A decade ago there was just one female
wrestler in the state, said Michael Savage, executive
director of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference.
The trend is fed by federal legislation passed in the 1972 that gave female
students an equal opportunity in sports, and fueled by
growing social acceptance of women in once male-dominated pursuits.
Pat Pollak, president of a local chapter of the American Association of
University Women, which works to remove barriers to
women, is encouraged by the increased participation.
"Breaking the stereotypes, that's very difficult to do, and that's what
they're doing with this," she said. "If it starts early that these
girls mix and compete at a younger age ... later down the line it becomes
more acceptable."
Mauceri was the first runner-up for the hostess position at the Miss
Southern New England segment of the American Teen Coed
pageant in 1997-98.
She said the two broken noses and bruises she has suffered in her three-year
wrestling career can be easily camouflaged with
make-up.
Mauceri started wrestling when her older brother, Joseph, who was on the
varsity wrestling team in 1994, would come home and
practice his moves on her.
"She was either tossed on the mattress or on the couch," said JoAnn Mauceri,
Diana's mother.
Junior Varsity teammate Andrea Moix said she had a similar introduction to
the sport.
An aspiring WWF wrestler, Moix is proof that the sport can be rough. Her
right arm is in a sling after she broke her collar bone in
the third match of the year. Her record at that point was 1-1. Despite her
injury, she is undeterred.
"If I'm going to be a WWF wrestler," she said, "I've got to start
somewhere."
Janis Given and her friend Amy Scarlett decided against the cheerleading
squad as a winter sport because they knew they might
not make the cut. Plus, she said, wrestling is a better workout.
The girls "work hard, they train hard, they lift (weights) hard," said
Ridgefield High Athletic Director Chip Silvestrini. "They do the
same activity, same sweat, same vigor as anyone else" on the team.
But, he said, they face different scrutiny.
First-year wrestler Lauren deWalt said the initial reaction from boys on
other teams was: "What's going on? This is our sport."
Kevin Vincent has been a high school wrestling referee in Fairfield County
for 17 years. He said it doesn't surprise him anymore
to see girls wrestling boys.
Vincent said he saw a girl defeat a boy who then threw up his hands at the
end of a match and quit the team. The teasing can be merciless, he said.
But it cuts both ways.
JoAnn Mauceri, Diana's mother, has had to fight her own battles off of the
mat.
"I get very upset when I hear the cat calls and suggestive noises," she
said. "They are inappropriate."
Ridgefield High School has had women wrestlers since 1995.
"I don't consider them girls, I don't consider them guys, I consider them
wrestlers," said Dave Jackson, one of the Tigers' two
coaches.
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Texans wrestler has successful debut
By Heidi Pederson
Star-Telegram Staff Writer
February 3, 2000
LaTosha Gillon has been wrestling with the Sam Houston girls team for only two weeks, but she's already made a splash on the area scene.
Gillon, a junior who wrestles at 215 pounds, went 3-1 in her debut with the Texans at the Texas State Dual Championships on Saturday. Sam Houston coach Roy Shultz said he thinks she can do much more this season.
"I knew she'd do well, because she's so strong and so athletic, but the way she turned the Arlington [215-pound starter], that really surprised everybody," he said after Gillon had pinned her opponent. "I think she'll place at state. At least place."
Gillon, who is 4-1 after receiving a forfeit from Coppell on Tuesday night, was persuaded to join the team last month by a Sam Houston teacher.
"When I was at my first practice, Brandy [Killingsworth, the Texans' 185-pound wrestler] was throwing me around," Gillon said. "Then I started wrestling with the boys who were more my size, and that seemed to help."
Gillon already has at least one fan in former Sam Houston wrestler J.J. Holmes, who tried to persuade her to wrestle last season.
"I was surprised to see her [at state duals]," Holmes said. "She's really good. She's aggressive. There's a very good chance that she'll place at state."
Grand Prairie freshman has medal potential
Grand Prairie freshman Jessie Laferney will help lead the way for the Gophers at Friday's District 16 meet at South Grand Prairie.
Laferney is 36-1 this season at 103 pounds, with his only loss coming to a New Jersey opponent at the Lone Star Duals last month. Laferney's success isn't a surprise to coach Sam Pellissier. Laferney has been wrestling on the club circuit since grade school, coached by his stepfather, Jon Genzer.
"Jessie has as good a shot as anyone to go all the way [to a state title]," Pellissier said. "I give the kid a lot of credit -- he's got poise. I think his experience is his biggest asset."
Colts newcomer only needs experience
Arlington High football coaches asked sophomore running back Charles Byrd to wrestle in the off-season to improve his performance on the football field. But wrestling coach Henry Harmoney said he is excited about what Byrd can do for his team, too.
Byrd, who began practicing last week, showed promise in his debut at the Texas State Dual Championships last weekend. Byrd went 2-5 at 180 and 189 pounds for the Colts.
"I've been working out with [defending state champion] J.J. Holmes, and that hurts, but I know this will make me a better athlete," Byrd said. "I've learned a lot from him."
Byrd is expected to compete at 189 pounds at Saturday's District 15 meet at Arlington High.
