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February 20, 2000, Sunday, BC cycle
High school wrestler Peggy Van De Mark has endured name-calling,
opponents who refused to compete against her and coaches
who wouldn't acknowledge her.
Slowly, Kimball Area High School and the central Minnesota town's 700
residents have come to respect and even appreciate her
accomplishments.
Van De Mark, a junior, is the first girl to wrestle for Kimball Area, a
school of 271 students.
"The guys (on the team) cheer for me, they practice with me and they've been
really great," Van De Mark said.
"The fans cheer me on and they want to know, 'Are you wrestling tonight?"'
But that's not the way her wrestling career started.
Van De Mark began wrestling in the third grade in Holdingford at the urging
of a female friend, who quit after less than a week.
Van De Mark continued despite negative responses at every practice.
"There was one coach, in particular, in her age group that when she'd go
near him, he'd turn his back and cross his arms," said her
mother, Scarlett Anderson. "She'd come over to me during practice, and I'd
tell her to tell him you need help. Every time she'd face
him, he'd turn his back to her."
Her brother, Nic Anders, an eighth-grader, was often the only wrestler who
would practice against her.
"After the first season's experience, I saw how poorly she was treated by a
lot of different people," Anderson said.
"I wanted her to quit. It had nothing to do with her being a girl in a boys'
sport at all. It was just very painful to watch her go through
that."
After a while, wrestlers and coaches softened in Holdingford. Then, the
family moved to Kimball before she started seventh grade.
Kimball wrestling coach John Lelwica was uneasy when Van De Mark and her
family approached him about allowing her to wrestle.
"I was a little unsure about how she was going to fit into the program ...
how the kids would accept her and how opponents would
react to her," he said.
"I don't force them to wrestle anyone, and I took that same approach where I
wasn't going to force anyone to wrestle her. I
encouraged them to and I told them to feel comfortable. She's a part of our
team, and I tried to make that transition easy for her."
But there were hurdles to overcome. Finally, in the middle of her
eighth-grade season, it stopped being fun and Van De Mark quit.
She came back at the beginning of her freshman season.
Through the years of watching Van De Mark toil with all the issues of
wrestling boys, Anderson decided to give girls in the area
another option.
In 1996, Anderson founded the St. Cloud Sting All-Girls Wrestling Club Team,
which is sponsored by the St. Cloud Boxing and
Wrestling Club. Anderson is the director and coach.
"I guess the reason I started it was, for girls coming into the sport, I
didn't want them to go through what Peggy went through to
wrestle," Anderson said. "A lot of the girls we have don't want to wrestle
boys."
Van De Mark was the lone member of the team that first season. There were
four girls the second season, nine the third season and
17 last season.
There are more than 80 girls competing in Minnesota club wrestling, which
has its season in the spring and summer. And one of the
best is Van De Mark.
Last season Van De Mark was second in the nation, wrestling in the
143.25-pound freestyle class. She was an alternate for the U.S.
World Championship team, which competed in August in Poland.
"There's supposed to be women's wrestling at the Olympics in 2004, and I'd
like to go to the Olympics," Van De Mark said. "I want
to win World Team trials this year."
"She's got goals, probably more goals than any guy in the room," Lelwica
said. "She wants to be an Olympic wrestler, and I'm
certain that if that's her goal, she'll do it."'
Van De Mark says she understands if a boy does not want to wrestle her.
"I will not be mad if a guy does not want to wrestle me," Van De Mark said.
"I might make a joke with a friend that (the opponent's)
scared, but I totally understand that it's awkward.
"People don't understand that it's awkward for me, too. I'm used to it now,
but it's still the same awkwardness for me as it is for"
male opponents.
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ROSS' THRILLS COME IN MANY FORMS
Copyright Greensboro News Company Feb 18, 2000
Katie Ross' sporting interests aren't typical. She likes to snowboard, she
scuba dives and she enjoys
whitewater rafting.
And she wrestles. With guys.
In fact, she's been participating in the male-dominated sport for four years
at Northeast Guilford. Ross realizes
her unlikely high school career is likely to end tonight in the Mideast 3-A
Regional at Northeast. Ross will have
to face the top wrestler in her weight class (135 pounds) after compiling a
5-14 record.
"I'm going to wrestle the No. 1 guy, so it's not going to last long," Ross
said. "But I'm going to go out there
with fight."
Ross, who took up wrestling mostly to challenge former coach Bill Bookout's
"sexist" preconceptions, has
come across two types of opponents over the years: "I've had so many guys
mad at me because I'm a girl,
and they've tried to tear me in two. And I've had other guys that were
scared to death."
No matter what, though, Ross' matches have drawn spectator interest. When
she wrestles, all eyes in the
gym turn to her mat.
She often displays superior moves, but generally is outmuscled. Having moved
up from 119 pounds as a
sophomore to 125 as a junior to 135 this year has only made it more
difficult.
Her coaches have found that Ross hasn't let the frustration get to her. She
keeps working at it and she keeps
her sense of humor, even when she can't keep down her breakfast.
"One day I wrestled a guy and was leading 9-2. Then I had to stop and throw
up," Ross said of an automatic
forfeit. "I didn't tell my coach I was sick because I didn't know if he'd
let me go out there. I shouldn't have
wrestled because it was a loss on my record, but I wanted to try it."
Just like she told Bookout she would four years ago.
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ATTA BOY, GIRLS! LADIES HIT THE MAT WITH JUNIOR HIGH WRESTLING TEAM
The Edmonton Sun
February 19, 2000
These sweating and grunting athletes go all out when they hit the mats.
That is after they've ditched their earrings, barrettes and other jewelry.
Welcome to the world of wrestling where schoolgirls are thriving in a sport
once reserved for males.
Edmonton's biggest school-aged female squad is no easy pushover. Hillcrest
junior high school's 18 female wrestlers won 14 medals
in a recent citywide battle that drew 91 girls. That compares to about 300
males who squared off in last week's city match. The
west-end school's female contingent has taken top overall honours four of
the last five years. At this school, the female wrestling
team is twice as large as the male contingent.
Wrestling is one of those rare sports that embraces all sizes and shapes, as
well as giving those who may not have done well in
other activities an opportunity to succeed.
"Not all are going to be basketball or volleyball stars, but they succeed at
wrestling because they're on the mat competing against
other girls their age and weight," said Hillcrest Mustangs coach Bob
Dorland, who started the school's wrestling team 10 years ago.
"It doesn't matter whether they're tiny or huge."
Size may not matter, but these girls sweat for a reason.
"People who play basketball can play basketball for an hour. They don't
exert near the energy these kids use in three minutes,"
explained Dorland.
A lack of coaches is one obstacle that has prevented the numbers from
soaring, believes Dorland and fellow Grade 7 teacher Nick
Riemann. As more people step into the role of instructor, more females will
step onto the mat.
"I think it's going to be really big," said Riemann, who will replace the
retiring Dorland as coach next fall. "They're gung-ho. They love
it."
To join the Mustangs, a student needs to come armed with a positive attitude
and attend practice.
"There are no cuts. Cuts are self-made," explained Dorland. "They develop
unbelievable self-confidence."
Parents often worry about injuries, although they're rare since only the
safest basic techniques are taught.
But mishaps do occur, as Katrina Budd discovered in the midst of a gold
medal match last week. Instead of victory, the 14-year-old
received a broken left arm.
Budd's injury rates as only the second serious injury - the other was a
separated shoulder - during the dozen years Dorland has
coached.
For Budd, the break was even more devastating since it was her last match.
She's quitting the sport because of asthma. The
activity's gruelling effort sparks attacks and leaves Budd fighting to
breathe. Despite her troubles, she pushed on in a bid to win three
city gold medals - one for each year of competing.
"My goal didn't work out," said the Grade 9 student, who plans to ref in a
bid to stay involved in wrestling.
While some might suspect this group is fodder for teasing by peers in the
hallways, that's not the case.
"It's cool," said Tansyn Irwin, 12, who took a bronze in the city match
which marked the end of the season.
Teamwork is essential for the Mustangs, who cheer a fellow wrestler with the
mantra: "Be the monkey.
"Because monkeys are small and have lots of strength," explained Brittney
Buchanan, 13.
Not that strategy and thought aren't crucial.
"You've got to concentrate. You have to focus really hard," explained Daphne
Gatz, 14, who won a gold medal last week. "It's both
physically and mentally challenging."
Victory is a goal, but not at any cost. Some Mustangs, including Gatz, give
competitors a hug afterward.
"This is for fun. This is aggressive, but it's not personal," said Tiffany
Grabski, 13.
Mainly, wrestling is about having a good time, agree this bunch, who don't
question their abilities as females succeeding in what
remains a male- dominated sport.
"Girls can do anything they want to do," said Budd.
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