The Anonymous Losing Boy Wrestler

Kailey Rees: So this is one of my favorite pictures because right before we started wrestling he came up and asked me if he was wrestling me. After I said yes he was talking with his mom and some kids and was saying girls shouldn't wrestle they will get hurt. His mom said well she's playing a boys sport and something about go out there and show her its a boys sport. I really wasn't squeezing that hard and he was making all kinds of noises. I pinned him and got first at that tournament.
(This is not the boy in the story)

There are two sides to every story and I always try to interview the boy. Rarely am I successful. Most of the time I ask the girl what the boy was thinking during the match, and I always find it fascinating. So when a boy from the group Wrestlers Only contacted me and asked if I would write a story about why he doesn't think girls should wrestle boys, I was intrigued.

But this blog is not about me...its about the girl wrestlers. So I let them decide. While the parents and coaches didn't want me to write this blog, the girls did. So here it is.

This is his story. '

The Anonymous Losing Boy Wrestler

To me this is the most iconic girl wrestling photo ever. (This is not the boy)

The boy looked in the mirror and described himself for me. He said, "I'm white, good looking, an average athlete, not bad not great. I'm never the worst player on any team but I'm not the best. I've had a few girlfriends and a lot of friends." I asked him if he thinks people would consider him close minded and he said, "I have gay friends and black friends so I really don't think so. I also believe women should make the same as men when we group up if they do the same work. I would tell you if I felt differently."

These are his words. They have been edited but he's agreed they are fair.

"Look. Its not that I don't think girls should wrestle. Of course they should. But they should do whatever it takes to get enough girls to wrestle so they wrestle each other. I'm not one of those guys that think girls belong in the kitchen and "make me a sandwich." Honestly, I hate those kind of deushes. Like you're not funny. But this is different. I'm not trying to keep down girls here. I'm trying to keep it fair.

I wrestled two girls and both times it made me want to quit the sport. I didn't want to wrestle them beforehand, and I hated dealing with it after. You should know, I'm an asshole when it comes to wrestling. I'm not great, not bad but I 100% believe in psyching out your opponent. This happened to me my first year and I swore I'd never let someone intimidate me again. And then I realized, why not do it to my opponent. So I always look for a weakness. I don't apologize for that at all. "

I then asked him to describe the matches.

First match vs. a girl from a prior season.

"I'm not gonna lie, this girl is hot AF. I couldn't believe she was a wrestler. I honestly think she could be a model one day. She's the hottest girl I ever saw in my life. I see her warming up and my only thought is, "please not me. I don't want to wrestle this girl."

I know that may seem weird since I'm a guy and she's hot AF but while it would be fun to roll around with her outside of the mats, the last thing I want to do is wrestle her in front of everyone. Its a no win situation for me. I'm not worried about losing to her, but when I win no one will even care. I live for the high fives and celebrations we do after we win. Here I'm going to get shit no matter how quickly I beat her. To make matters worse my new girlfriend is there. She's trash talking me. We are very playful. She said, "If you lose to her, you lose me also." I laughed because there was no way I was going to lose.

I see her warming up in a common area so I go over. I start warming up hardcore. Squats, pushups, situps. I want her to notice me. I start talking loud to my teammates. I say some stupid shit. Like stuff I'm embarrassed about, not just because I lost, but because I'm not that guy. I just wanted to get in her head. (I asked him several times what he said but he didn't want to say. Finally he relented when I reminded him that the only way this story works is total truth and he admitted to saying, "should I pin her in 40 seconds or tech her and have fun?") As soon as I said it loud enough for her to hear I regretted it. While I don't want her to wrestle boys, I don't want to be that guy that makes her hate the sport. I also do respect girls and what I said was not respectful. I should have found a different way to intimidate her. Had I won, I would have apologized.

Anyways we get to the mat and I can see she's angry with what I said. I actually feel so weird right now. I'm nervous that I have to wrestle a girl, I feel guilty for what I said and I'm worried my girlfriend will get mad because she's so hot. Like its stupid I know but these were my thoughts.

So we start and I'm like WTF?!? I wasn't stronger than her. Like I thought I'd just throw her down and pin her. But she was just as strong as most of the guys I wrestle. And she was better than them. She took me down and I couldn't move. Like WTF is happening right now? And here's the crazy thing. When you are wrestling your eyes take you where they take you. You pay them no mind. But when you're losing to a girl, its totally different. You can't look at your team. You can't look in the stands. You can't look at her. I was just looking either at the floor or the ceiling so I wouldn't make eye contact. And this sounds like an excuse but its not. That had a terrible effect on the match. So you don't think its an excuse, I probably would have lost anyways, but the point is I didn't try to get out, I tried to hide my embarrassment.

I just remember flailing my legs and trying to move my chest up but ugh. She used her strength to keep me down. Like she had leverage but it wasn't hard for her. The ref called the pin and I was distraught. Luckily there were multiple teams there and I was able to hide. And by hide I mean literally hide. I was a ghost. I was distraught. My girlfriend found me and tried to make me feel better but it just made it worse. The girl who beat me was beaming the rest of the day. She was joking, laughing and it just sucked. I knew by her beating me it made her day which made me more upset. I found out her name, and my match can be found on social media. (He showed me it) I later found out the match lasted for a very short time. I know how many seconds, I'm not gonna say. Everything sucked for a few days.

Eventually you get over it but people teased me for a long time. My girlfriend teased me for a long time. We broke up a few months later and she even referenced what a dick I was that day after I lost. I never really thought about quitting, but I really wanted to.

Match #2- This season:

This was terrible. I saw I was wrestling a girl and I couldn't believe how unlucky I am. We had a girl tryout and thank God she quit. Now I have to deal with this again? I told my coach I was feeling sick and he literally smacked me in the back of the head and said, "Here's your chance for redemption. Don't be a pussy. Being a coward is far worse than losing. Treat her with respect this time." It wasn't the same girl but his point was made. I was out for blood. Literally, I didn't care if I drew blood, I just needed a win. And it needed to be easy. I couldn't be the guy who lost to two different girls. I squeezed her hand like my life depended on it and the match was underway. This girl was mad strong too. Like WTF?!?!? If it was against a guy it would have been such a fun match in a way. We were just going at it like I never went at it before. It was almost just a battle of strength. We were grunting and God I'm so dumb. So fucking dumb. While I was trying to prove I'm stronger, I didn't realize she was trying to wrestle. So she let go of me, shot and put me on my back. She rode me around and got more points. The score was 5 or 6 nothing at the end of the first. I was so gassed. And this is my second excuse. Had this been a boy, I wouldn't have tried to beat him on brute strength. Me and the girl were probably even in strength. If it was a boy, I would have realized to stop and to wrestle. Like she did. But because she is a girl, I decided I needed to prove to her my strength.

Excuse #2. I was so gassed because I was so embarrassed. Being embarrassed is very tiring. Your mind and body aren't in synch. During a match I just go. I never think of anything else. But here I'm thinking of a million things. What girls are watching, will my life be over again, what is the girl thinking? If this was a boy I would have thought, "Eh he caught me in Round 1. I'll do the same in Round 2."

But because its a girl and it was the second time, I was panicking. I started up the second round because I knew if she got me down I couldn't escape. But she reversed it quickly. I don't remember much else, I just remember hearing the crowd go nuts as she pinned me. My handshake went from being like a bear to not looking at her and not wanting to touch her hand. She squeezed which sucked because I wasn't even looking. I think that was a message but I don't know. I didn't ask.

So now...now I'm the guy who lost to two girls. The season is actually going ok but I know I wrestle one of those two girls again. I'm not saying which. I will 100% be sick the day before, and the day of the match. I have it all planned out. As much as I want to beat them, I can't lose to them again.

And that's why girls shouldn't wrestle boys. Because now I have to miss out? Let them have their own teams. Let them have their own league? If they can't get the #'s, then its their fault, not mine.

And its not fair my gameplan has to change with them. Sure it shouldn't and sure I should just be smart and treat them like wrestlers. But they are girl wrestlers. They are not just wrestlers. Cue the girls saying they are. I don't give a shit. Because are they going to go to my team, my girlfriend, the girls that watched and stop them from making fun of me? No, they won't. So I have to deal with the consequences. And trust me, there are many.

But I do I want it known I don't hate them. I mean I really dislike the first girl that beat me for blasting it on social media. She's kinda a bitch. But in general I don't hate girl wrestlers. I just think they should stick to wrestling other girls. And I want to clear something up now that I re-read what I wrote. I'm not making excuses for the matches I lost. They are part of the reasons why I lost. A better wrestler wouldn't care about the stigma and would have focused on getting out of the pin. But I'm a mediocre wrestler. As are a lot of boys that girls beat. Which is why I don't feel they should wrestle boys.

 I hope this story gets more girls to wrestle so we never have to wrestle them again.

The aftermath:

I followed up his story with some questions.
Me:  Do you feel you are being sexist and unsympathetic?

Him: I mean sure, I guess. Not believing in 100% equality would be sexist. But I feel you and the girls are being unsympathetic to me and my plight.

Me: Do you respect women and their strength more? Both girls you lost to are good wrestlers. I'm Facebook friends with them and they win more than they lose.

Him: I hate to admit it but yes. I don't assume I'm stronger than every girl just because I'm a guy. I actually would never challenge another girl because I can't stand losing to them. And now when I see athletic girls I always wonder can I do what they can?

Me: You said some pictures upset you. Why?

Him: You know why. The pictures that get the most likes seem to be the ones with a boy in it looking upset. One of the girls even said they loved it because of how defeated he looked. You may not want to believe this but the girl wrestlers are cocky bitches when they win. They are. They will say they're not, but they are. If those two girls found out how upset I was, they would be THRILLED. This is exactly why we need to end this. Its not fair to the boys.  

Samantha's Take:

I'm taking a lot of flak for giving this boy a voice. I honestly don't understand why. I certainly don't agree with his opinion, but I don't see any harm letting him share it. I don't think one girl is going to quit over his story. But this is a girls wrestling blog and I asked girls to send me their favorite picture so I can include it in the story. Because the end of the day, lets celebrate that we belong, no matter what others think! 

I like this picture because you can see the referees surprise in the moment just before he slaps the mat. Also, you can see the guys struggle, elbowing my face, flailing his legs, etc.

Savvy: I really like this photo because it shows were are not a boy and a girl wrestling, but just two wrestlers going at it. Off the mat we are best friends, but on the mat, we are both wrestlers. 

Makayla Morris: I love this picture because within two years of wrestling I was able to win girls state, place top three at national tournaments and get recruited to wrestle at Wentworth Military Academy. No matter how far you think you have to go, it's never as far as you have come.

Kylah Holka: I like this picture because when this kid saw he had to wrestle me, he was saying to his friend, "This is gonna be an easy win,its a girl." He was saying exact moves he was going to do right in front of me. He kept coming near me and laughing so when I got onto the mat I shook his hand and knew even if I do lose I'm not gonna let him think it was "easy." We started wrestling and I pinned him. When we got up he didn't even shake my hand. He ripped his singlet down and ran off the mat crying. His coach said to him "You're never gonna underestimate a girl again now are you?" Later, he came over and apologized and said I was a lot better than he thought and he congratulated me. I was very happy to earn his respect

This match took me almost the whole time to win. I was almost beaten but when it came down to it I pulled a reverse. I wasn't sure I could complete and won by pin. It was my 1st year. The girl had pinned me two tournaments prior, so I was out for that win.

My name is Markiya. This is my 4th year wrestling. I'm not the best but I don't give up. I was the 1st to start wrestling in my family! I am 8 yrs old.

Angel Ogden: I like this picture because even though the sport is mainly for guys, girls are stepping onto the mat everyday to train and prove their worth. Girls can dominate just as much as the guys can. And since the guys have a chance too, it should be equally right for the girls. 😌 Wrestling boys causes girls to become mentally and psychically tougher. I wrestle boys all season long and this was the result of wrestling a girl my actual weight for the first time after season.

That Unexpected Lift

In most sports, victory is the goal. Football, hockey, baseball, basketball, it really doesn't matter how you win, as long as you do. But in wrestling, there's a big difference between winning via points, and pinning your opponent to the mat.  

For girls in upper weight classes, wins can be few and far away. So when you have an opportunity to get your hand raised, you need to dig as deep as you can, because wrestling glory doesn't come easy. And when you can finish your opponent, you don't want to give that opportunity back.

Christen Wise is a senior 120-pound wrestler at Avoca Central High School. In her four years, she's earned the respect from her teammates. Christen comes to practice every day, and works her tail off. She's survived where others haven't. She says, "It's just you see so many kids at least at my school that come out and join the wrestling team but then they just quit because they think it's to hard and make excuses."

Truth be told, Christen is not going to win a gold medal at the 2020 Olympics. In her four years of wrestling, she's racked up more losses than wins, and that can get frustrating at times. Christen turned 18 on December 27 and the next day, she gave herself the best present she could, the hardest earned victory of her life.

She says, "With only five hours of sleep and a piece of my birthday cake for dinner I was worried with how well I would wrestle at the Genesee Valley Duals. I have gotten used to going to tournaments and losing every match I wrestle which is why I was worried it'd be just another one of those days." But despite the fear, Christen made it this far because she doesn't quit, and she doesn't make excuses. " I don't let that worry keep me from trying my hardest."

Christen squared up against a boy from Dansville High School. As usual, he was much taller. This happens often when you're only 5 feet "tall." The 120-pound wrestlers walked to the center of the ring and shook hands. Christen immediately noticed weakness, but didn't get cocky. "When I shook his hand before the match it didn't seem like a firm handshake, but sometimes that doesn't mean anything. I have wrestled kids with awful handshakes that were great wrestlers." But her opponent not only had a weak handshake, he didn't look intimidating. "He looked like he wasn't sure what to expect with me being a girl. I'm not sure how he felt but I just feel like he didn't seem confident."

The match started and immediately Christen realized just because he's a boy, doesn't make him stronger. " It started with hand fighting which is when I realized I might actually be a bit stronger than him. He couldn't break my grip like other stronger guys have." Christen went for a single leg takedown but sadly, it isn't one of her better moves. "I'm not very good at shooting, so I ended up stuck underneath him holding on to that leg." While younger, more inexperienced wrestlers might be stuck in a bad position, Christen's years of hard work at practice, started paying off. "I did what our coaches have taught us. I circled and got my elbow on the mat behind his leg. Then I stepped over his leg with one of my legs and I circled out and I got on top of him which got me my two points." The match was in its infancy and the score was only 2-0, but Christen realized a win was within her grasp. "This is when I thought holy crap I could actually have a shot at winning a match today."

Despite being only up by two, her coach told her to let the boy go and give up a point. "After I got the takedown he quickly came to his feet and my coach told me to let him go after I had fought to keep him down." Going into the 2nd round, the score was 2-1.

The second period started and Christen started down and attempted to get her point back. "I started down and bolted to my feet. It took me a little bit to break his grip, so it felt kind of funny when we were scrambling all over the mat on our feet because he was trying to hold on to me. I didn't let him take me back down to the mat though and once I escaped I shot for that same single leg again." It was now 3-1 and Christen found herself in a similar position."The same thing happen again and I got behind him which gave me another two points." At 5-1, Christen swore this match wasn't going escape her. "OK, let's go you have to actually win this match now." 

She now was going to go for the kill. "Once I got behind him I started to break him down. I chopped his arm and got it into a bar but it wasn't working well, so I switched to a cross face." The boy from Danville nose started to bleed and the ref called a time out. Christen drew first blood, which sounds so awesome and kick ass. But when his blood is on your body, its more eww than awesome. "His blood was on my arm which is pretty gross."

Her coach would have no time for sympathy. As he was wiping off the blood he told her, "You haven't worked this hard for nothing, lets get the pin".

The motivational speech paid off immediately. "I wasn't thinking I would be able to pin this kid but my coach's words gave me even more motivation." They got back on the mat and there would be more points for Christen, and more pain for her opponent. "I did a neck tie in the end of the 2nd period and I cross faced him again. He  kind of let out a grunt." Christen, started to feel the momentum swing her way. "I'm not going to lie it made me feel tough because I feel like he was getting irritated that he was getting his butt beat by a girl."

There is a difference between winning and kicking someone's butt. I asked Christen if she misspoke but she doubled down.  "Yes I was kind of happy by this because it wasn't just that I was winning. I was kicking his butt because he was trying to fight back but I just kept beating him. When I only let him get 1 point for an escape it definitely felt like I was kicking some butt. I was happy because it made me tough to be beating up a guy and know he was getting irritated that he was getting his butt beat by a girl."

But even though she was kicking his butt, his shoulder blades were the important body part. And his was never held down long enough for the pin.

As hard as she tried, she couldn't seal the deal. " I did run this neck tie from the side I wasn't used to though so it wasn't as good. I was hoping I would pin him there but he got out of it. But I didn't let him get on top." As the end of the 2nd period, Christen held a commanding 9-1 lead. "Going into the 3rd there was no way I was going to let him turn this match around on me. I was winning this match with a pin or not. I was going to make sure of that. I was getting a little irritated that I hadn't pinned him yet, but there was no way I was going to let myself lose that match."

While she was initially irritated she didn't pin him in the 2nd round, Christen is thrilled she didn't now. The boy started down and quickly came to his feet. And that's when the highlight of Christen's career happened.  "I actually managed to pick him up and mat return him.

He fell right to his stomach too, not to his base." This was an amazing feeling for the senior...one that she remembers frame by frame in her mind. "When I lifted him up I was so amazed!  I was thinking holy crap did I actually just manage to pick someone up?  It felt so bad ass and I was wondering if my team and coaches were surprised. And then I heard them cheering and I knew they were."

After literally picking him up and throwing him down, Christen had one focus. "For the rest of the match my main thought was I need to get the pin." It would not come easy. "I got him back down I tried getting a bar again and walking it around, but he just wouldn't move." But because of her in ring intelligence, the boy was not able to block her next move. "This is when I noticed the opportunity for a half and I went for it. I sunk it in and I teed off. The kid was fighting it off but I just kept trying to hold him there." It was now a battle. Christen feels they both knew she was going to win the match, but the new battle was would she stick him for the pin. She admits, she was worried she wouldn't pin him. But that's when her coach's words proved magical again. "I heard my coach tell me to post on his arm. I remembered duh that would help, so I quickly grabbed his arm and posted it out."

He was done and Christen knew it, and relished the moment. "That's when I knew I had it. He couldn't fight it as easily without that arm and I knew I was getting that pin. I was waiting for the ref to blow that whistle knowing I had done it and that made me extremely happy!"

Christen walked to the center of the ring and couldn't have been more proud. This was her third win of the season, which was a personal record for her. But it was more than that. " This was one of the only matches where I felt I was really in control since I only let him get 1 point." She was also thrilled about making her coaches proud. "Nothing makes my happier than accomplishing what my coach asked me to in a match."

The boy and his coaches showed a lot of class in defeat. " I shook the kids hand and the ref raised my hand. I went over and shook the Dansville coaches' hands. They told me great job and smiled. While coming back across the mat to my team the kid I wrestled told me good job even though he seemed down.

Her victory was inspiring to her team. "My coaches and team congratulated me and our 285 even told me that my match got him fired up."

It turns out, the victory was the best present she could have asked for, and she gave it to herself. " Just winning that one match put me in a better mood for the rest of the day. I don't win many matches so when I do it really is one of the best feelings ever."

And while Christen knows she won't win gold in the 2020 Olympics, the real medal is the support and confidence she gets from participating in the toughest sport in the world. "This is not just from all the good jobs I get from people but because I feel I have accomplished something great for myself. It makes me feel better that I do stick with the sport and give it my all, because the few moments of winning and the time I spend with my team is all worth it in the end no matter how many loses I get."

Riley Breedlove...The Humble Assassin

You might not know her name, but you've probably seen the video. Riley Breedlove. She's the 16-year-old that grappled with 8 boy wrestlers and made every single one of them tap out.

As a general rule in life, you shouldn't read comment sections to articles. Some talk so badly of her, you'd think she's the reason volcanoes erupt, third world nations are filled with poverty and the Cubs haven't won a World Series in more than 100 years.

Others see it differently. She is the reason flowers bloom, world peace is coming and women are allowed to vote. She is the greatest feminist of all time and it should be her face on the $10 bill.

But if you talk to Riley for 2 minutes you'd realize something. She's just a kid. A kid who is supremely talented, grounded, humble and smart. But still....just a kid.

Well this girl beat 8 macho jerks that have kept women down for far too long. And they needed to learn their place is not above women! Except that's not true either. Those 8 boys? Just kids. Good kids from all indications.

The night in was June 28, 2015. And Riley and a few of her wrestling friends were at a fireworks show. They didn't have a battle of the sexes. They had a battle of the sports. The wrestlers wanted to see how wrestling would do vs. jui-jitsu. It's really as simple as that. "A few friends have always talked about rolling with me but we never had the opportunity until that night. The boys were wrestlers who wanted to see if wrestling would beat Jiu-Jitsu," Riley says.

One by one the wrestlers went against the martial artist. And one by one, Riley emerged victorious. Riley's many detractors were upset that she flaunted her victory by recording it, and putting it online. The only problem is, that's not how it happened. Riley says, "I had no idea it was being filmed. I didn't know until after it was all over when people started showing me."

As many detractors as she has, Riley has garnered many fans since the video went viral. In one of the matches, the boy refused to tap and told his friend he would to sleep before he would tap. And he was right. Riley knocked him out. Many women have said that was the seminal moment of the video. But not according to Riley. She says, "My favorite match was when one of the wrestlers went for a double leg takedown and I turned it into a choke and then transitioned the move into a triangle. I felt like that match showed what jui-jitsu is about."

Another thing jui-jitsu is about is remaining humble. And despite her new found fame, there is not a bragging bone in Riley's body. While she went undefeated, she feels her opponents won as well. "They were all super humble. it was strictly fun. It wasn't meant to be a competition or anything."

Another group of critics are saying Riley shouldn't have knocked the one boy out. Riley says she had it under control the whole time. "It would be irresponsible if I didn't consider safety being an issue at the time.  I knew he'd tap out at some point. And if he didn't, I'd let him go. Like I did."

The boy she knocked out had two rematches vs. Riley, and both this time, the boy tapped out both times.  That made Riley happy, though she wasn't happy for herself, she was happy for the boy. "I was glad he tapped because that means he accepted the technique."

Despite being new to all this attention, Riley has remained incredibly mature, and doesn't begrudge her detractors for their opinion.  She says, "I can see where they're coming from, and I respect all opinions and perspectives. But as a grappler I took precautions to make sure no one got hurt.  Being criticized doesn't bother me. I take it all in and learn from it. As an athlete, you're always going to have haters and people trying to put you down. Especially if you're at the top of your game." Though Riley is quick to point out, she's not at the top of her game. "I'm working to hopefully get there someday," she says.

In the end Riley is just happy she can be an inspiration. Not just to girls, but to anyone. " I've gotten a ton of messages. People from different countries, states, and cities. It feels good to know that you can be an inspiration to other girls and BJJ practitioners."

So where does Riley see herself in the future? Should Ronda Rousey be worried? Maybe, but you'll never get that out of Riley. "My ultimate goal for BJJ is just to inspire people. Let them know that the impossible is possible regardless of gender, age etc. I want to set the example for future generations to come."

Riley Breedlove...The Humble Assassin. 

You can watch the matches here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJnyPLuHSIU&feature=youtu.be

"Don't Underestimate Me"

I've pretty much enjoyed all my interactions with the wrestlers I've interviewed over the years. I find the differences fascinating. Often I can tell what region they are from, what grade they are in or believe it or not, what hair color they have based on their personality. 

If I had to describe Mikayla Marie in one word, it would be professional, which is pretty surprising considering she is just a sophomore.

Last year, Mikayla was a freshman who weighed in at 132 pounds. That is a pretty heavy weight for a girl wrestling boys and as a freshman, most girls would probably only win a few matches unless your name is Deanna Rix. But Mikayla went approximately 12-15 (8-10 vs. boys). That's a really impressive record for a freshman, let alone a freshman girl. Mikayla's reaction? "Pretty terrible to be honest."

So for a girl to go 8-10 as a freshman in a one on one combat sport against boys who are probably older than her...that should be a badge of honor, not "Pretty terrible to be honest." But Mikayla doesn't want to be judged on her age or gender, she just wants to go out and compete. The thing I got from Mikayla, was win or lose, you were going to get her best, and she was going to keep an even keel.

Which brings me to her match vs. Jeff Smith. When Mikayla showed me her match on youtube, she described it thusly, "It was a pretty sloppy match on my part, but a win is a win I guess."

I don't really understand how a dominating performance where you don't give up a point is sloppy. It was a rather unspectacular match which is why I enjoyed it so much. My dad taught me at an early age playing tennis, that if you have your opponent down, keep em' down. And Mikayla was able to do that this whole match. Mikayla's opponent, Jeff Smith also consented to an interview. He was obviously disappointed in the result, and felt he could have done better.

Below is how both wrestlers felt, during Game Day.

As with most wrestlers, the morning of the match there is bound to be jitters. But for Mikayla, she had her reasons. Besides the fact that she was a freshman, she wasn't feeling great.  "I was wrestling at 132, but I had been cutting weight pretty hardcore, getting down from 140." Mikayla was not feeling confident. "He was my first match of the day, I didn't suspect anything out of the ordinary from it, I assumed I'd put up a good fight, but he would probably come out victorious."

Jeff agreed. He says, "I didn't care that I was going against a girl. I just wanted to win badly." When Mikayla first viewed Jeff, she thought she would be in for a battle, but wasn't as intimidated as she thought she might be. "I thought he looked pretty tough, but once he stepped on the mat, I knew I had a chance."  She continues, "It was a confidence booster. He wasn't like my normal opponents, who were usually very muscular. I think me and him were on the same level."

When the match started Jeff thought he could end it early. Jeff says, "I thought I would just overpower her. So I just went out hard." However Mikayla stood her ground. The match was barely 10 seconds old and Jeff's plan had been broken. Jeff was leaning down and Mikayla used her momentum to chuck him to the ground. "She kinda threw me down. It looked like I took a shot but it wasn't really. She kinda just threw me."

Even though the match was in its infancy, Mikayla was up 2-0 on the scoreboard, but more importantly, started to gain confidence. "Once you've been wrestling as long as I have, you can pick up little things about a wrestler. How good they are, how hard they work in practice, I could tell that this time my hard work in the room would've paid off. I felt like I really had a shot with this match."

But now that Mikayla was up 2-0 and in control, she didn't want to blow it. "Starting off the match with an advantage is unfamiliar ground for me, I'm not gonna lie, It's usually a scramble to get any points, I was just trying to not mess up and get ahead of myself. Often times I get a little excited and rush through things instead of doing what I've practiced." Jeff was extremely nervous, "She was better than I expected. She was stronger than I expected."

Mikayla had to reign in her emotions, and remember to execute what she practiced. "Once I got behind him I was just so excited, I took my time and stuck to the basics and tried to sink in a half. I don't think it had a lot to with muscle, more just to do with technique. Once I actually got him, I got a little excited and he almost reversed me but I managed to keep him down. I wasn't even thinking about it, I just did what I knew."

Meanwhile Jeff, wasn't sure what to do. "When she turned me on my back I just wanted to make sure I wasn't pinned. I tried to do everything to put my shoulders up and kick my legs but I couldn't move because she was too strong."

In the end, Mikayla says she just does what her body tells her to do. "I really don't think when I'm wrestling. A lot of it is instinct. If I think, I over think and end up over thinking everything and it just never works out for me." But that doesn't mean she doesn't feel the emotion. As the pin was imminent, both wrestlers reflected on their feelings.

Jeff says, " I was praying the period would end but it didn't feel like it would end soon."  Mikayla meanwhile was ecstatic, "I was feeling really excited though. It seemed surreal. Victory feels better than you could ever put into words."

When the ref slammed the mat, the match was over. Mikayla had won.  

Mikayla says, "I was sorta just in awe. I did what I had to do. I was proud of myself, but remained humble." Jeff says, "Of course I was upset. I hate losing. I wish I did more. But I don't know what I could have done differently."

In the match, Mikayla never gave up a point. She never was in any trouble. She controlled the match the whole way. It was a first round pin. For someone who thought they did "Pretty terrible to be honest" it felt like an improbable win, but it really wasn't.  Mikayla puts in a lot of work, and cares about the sport. 

I think with perspective, Mikayla sees that.  "Now that I look back on it, it was just another match. I just executed what I've been training to do. Of course I was happy to have won, however I do have to set my goals for the future and strive to further my career, so that was just a stepping stone."

The future is bright for Mikayla, as this year, she just won a boys tournament.

True to her personality, Mikayla downplayed her accomplishment. "To be fair, I only had to win my first two matches to get first. Wasn't exactly a big achievement. " Maybe not, but she went into it with the right attitude, as always. "Basically I went into the tournament with a champions mindset, and I think that made a huge difference in the way I preformed."

Professional to the end.

The match with Jeff can be viewed by clicking the link below. 

Mikayla vs. Jeff

Improving One Place at a Time

The destination was the same, but the journey couldn't have been more different. Emily Levasseur was at the Maine High School State Championships and vying for 3rd place at the 113 pound division.

Last season, as a freshman Emily lost this very match, and finished in fourth place at 106 pounds.

In 2013, Emily was ecstatic when she placed 3rd in regionals to even make it to state. Then she lost her first match, won her next two, but faced the same boy that beat her originally. So the loss was not unexpected, and 4th place was a pretty cool destination.

This season, though she was in the exact same position, the scenario was completely different. Much like the preverbal "fat kid" who gets a participation medal when you play soccer at 5-years-old, everyone who wrestled in Class C made it to states this season, because there weren't enough schools who wrestled in Class C. So making it to states, wasn't an accomplishment. "This drove me to place as high as I could to prove that I should actually be there. "

But getting there proved to be harder than Emily imagined. The one thing that could stop Emily from competing at states was an injury. Four weeks prior to states, Emily competed in a very tough match, where for the majority of the match, the boy had control. But then the boy made a fatal mistake. He pissed her off.

It wasn't intentional. He just made a move where Emily hit her head. Emily had suffered a concussion. But instead of ending the match, which would have been understandable, Emily fought on. Which was bad news for her opponent. "Whenever I get hurt in a match, it's like a switch for me in my head...I just go into beast mode. I wasn't mad at him, I was mad in general."

That anger led her to come back, and put the boy in a body scissor. In the video the boy is flailing his legs 

trying to escape, but it was not to be as the ref slammed his hand to the mat. Emily had won.  You can view the video here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKZK-KYinac&feature=youtu.be

While Emily won, there was no thrill of victory. "I felt relieved the match was over...I just wanted to get it done because my head hurt so bad." Emily had won the battle, but was losing the war.

Because of the concussion Emily had to stop wrestling until states.    "I honestly thought I'd be back in the season within a week, I never thought I'd be out for 4 weeks. I got scared when I didn't get cleared the week before states." When she was cleared, Emily was ecstatic. "I was sooo happy!"

But now Emily was here...at states. "I was beyond nervous to get back on the mat, but at the same time I was ready. None of my opponents that day except for one had seen me wrestle before, so I’m sure they thought of me as just another weak girl wrestler."

As fate would have it, Emily's first opponent was also a girl. The match ended almost before it started, "All I did was throw a head & arm and it was over." The match lasted 16 seconds.

Her next match was against the only boy she had previously faced, and unfortunately for Emily, the result was the same, a loss. But not all losses are created equal and Emily remained upbeat. " I wasn’t too discouraged because I knew I put up a fight, and I already was focused on my next match. I knew I had to win this next match to advance to the consolation-finals."

Emily would face another girl and this one was 10 pounds heavier. "The match went easier than I thought it would. I pinned my opponent in a minute. I was extremely happy because I knew I was going to medal no matter what."

But now was her last match. If she loses, Emily was where she was last year, in fourth, if she wins, she comes in third. Her coach, let Emily know exactly what was at stake.  " As I was warming up for my last match, my coach came over to get me fired up. He told me that he expected me to win this match and if I did, Monmouth Academy would place the highest it ever has in the state tournament. So not only did I have the drive to beat my last year’s 4th place spot, but I had to do it for my team also."

"As soon as the head table called my name, my adrenaline started racing. My first look at him (Alex), I thought how strong he looked.  But I tried to push that aside because I knew I was strong too."

Alex was the 3rd seed and Emily was the 5th, so he was favored to win the match. Emily says, "I'm pretty sure he thought he was going to win that match, but I went in knowing I was going to win because I wanted it more than him."

Emily wasn't the only one that wanted "it more." The fans were clearly on her side. "When the ref blew the whistle to start the match it sounded like everyone in the entire place was cheering for me. It boosted my confidence level up. About 20 seconds into the match I threw him in a head & arm, which is a move I’m skilled at." The crowd erupted as Alex was on his back and it appeared victory for Emily was imminent. The crowd drove Emily. "When everyone was cheering for me, I started to squeeze and lift his head harder. He tried to re-role me but since I’m heaviest in my hips, I just sagged back. I felt my grip slipping so I changed up to a skull-crusher. I had him on his back for about 30 seconds.  "

But the ref didn't slap the mat, and eventually, Alex was able to get off his back. "My grip was still too loose, so I played it safe and let go of his head, so I could quickly follow behind him. I just stayed behind him  since I knew there was not much time left on the clock."

The period ended and while other wrestlers may have been upset the ref didn't signal the pin, Emily stayed focus and confident. "He was just very squirmy,  I knew I was going to get the pin eventually, so I wasn't worried."

While attempts to reach Alex were not successful, Emily tried to get into the mind of her opponent. " I think he was still confident, but at the same time aware that I wasn't going to be an easy match. I could tell he was going to fight hard because of his body language.. he moved more cautiously."

The second period was Alex's choice but he deferred to Emily. "I choose neutral because I knew I could throw him again. When the second period started, he grabbed tight wrist control and it was hard for me to get free, but I did. I locked up with him again and 

he practically was asking for the head and arm, so I threw him.

I think he was expecting to re-role me, but I just sagged again. I squeezed and lifted his head so hard he let out a squeal."

Emily knew that was a good sign. "It made me happy actually, because if I squeeze my opponents hard enough, they usually will give up. So I knew if I just held him a little longer, he will be pinned. It also made me feel strong!"

From the time Emily had Alex down to the time the ref slapped the mat was a full minute. 

Looking at the video there seemed to be several times the ref could have slapped the mat but Emily barely noticed. "The time seemed to fly by, it didn't even feel like I had him on his back for that long. All I was focused on was keeping him down because he was very strong. I believe I had him pinned a few times, but I think the ref wanted to be sure he was pinned."

When the ref called the pin,

Emily jumped up in the air and put both her arms up in triumph. "I was very proud of myself, probably a little more than I should have been haha.

I did a little fist bump as soon as he slammed the mat. I was just very proud of myself and proud to be representing Monmouth."

Emily didn't just impress teammates, coach and herself...she also impressed her opponent. " When I shook his hand, he said to me, “Holy *&*! , you’re strong!”

 Emily has two years left. Her freshman year she finished fourth, this year she finished third. Next year she'd like to finish 2nd, and by her senior years, "I want to finish first."

Improving one place at a time.

The match can be viewed here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z8RDLkZkRA&feature=youtu.be