Just one of the guys

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
Women have come a long way since the days of being valued as arm candy only, and two Newcastle High students are taking the opportunity to blaze a new trail by going after what they love. Sophomore Isabella Spencer and freshman Kyah Miller bravely stepped into the predominantly all-male world of high school wrestling this season and are working hard to prove they belong there.
“I can’t say enough good things about the girls,” head coach Lee McCoy said. “They work hard and they have great attitudes. The guys have really accepted them and they are just one of the boys and members of the team. It’s great for them and it’s great for the growth of the sport.”
Miller and Spencer can’t be called pioneers because there have been girls competing for quite some time, however they are certainly at the forefront of growing popularity among young women for the sport of wrestling.  
At NHS, it hasn’t been a commonplace occurrence. Kaityln Esposito was the first to step into the previously all-male sport back in 2007-2008, but she was the only one to do so until this season.
Miller and Spencer have a long history of wrestling competitively, but this is the first time they have suited up and taken the mat in high school. As such, their decision to become part of the Newcastle Dogie/Upton Bobcat team was not done on a whim, or as a novelty, but rather as a genuine passion for the sport and a desire to compete. 
“I started wrestling with the Fall Guys when I was really young and I fell in love with the sport,” said Miller. “I took a little break in late elementary and in sixth grade, but otherwise I’ve wrestled every year.”
Spencer also wrestled with the Fall Guys in elementary school but in middle school she stopped because, as she stated, she wanted to be a cool kid. She decided to give it a try again last season, however she left NHS before competition got under way.
“Now that I’m back, I decided to join the team again,” she began. “My uncle George Graham was a state champ in wrestling so the sport is really popular in my family and is just kind of in my blood.”
Both girls admitted that they are happy the other decided to go out because it can be a little lonely and quite daunting to enter into a sport that has been nearly exclusively male for so long.
“Last year, I was on my own and it was really awkward, especially because I was just a freshman and I really had no one to hang out with,” Spencer stated. 
“It’s also great because when you’re trying to figure out who to practice with, the guys always pair off together so it’s really nice to have each other to partner up with,” Miller added.
It’s a big step for these girls to attempt to step into the ranks of a predominantly male sport, however both stressed that the young men on the team have been very accepting of their presence on the squad.
“I was out last year, so they already knew me and were kind of used to it, I guess. I also feel like I’m a little more manly when it comes to sports, so there’s that,” Spencer laughed.
“The guys have really received me pretty good,” Kyah nodded. “I wrestled club and in middle school so I know most of them already and they know me and that I love wrestling.”
Participating in a sport that gets up close and personal more than any other, and one that requires a great deal of physical strength is not easy for anyone, regardless of gender. Both Miller and Spencer were well aware that going out for high school wrestling would result in finding themselves in some possibly uncomfortable situations, and that they would be definite underdogs when it came to competing. However, neither of these has held them back.
“We are both here to wrestle and we know things happen on the mat. Sometimes you get grabbed and mistakes happen,” Spencer began. “We anticipate that and I think everyone is pretty chill about it and it isn’t really that awkward.”
“We know that we are at a big disadvantage going up against guys who are naturally stronger, especially in their upper bodies,” Miller nodded. “While sometimes, it seems like they go a little easy on us, some actually go harder, because they are trying to prove to us that wrestling is a man’s sport and we don’t belong there. I’ve got thrown a couple of times because of that.”
Given their physical disadvantage when competing against boys, both girls have no illusions that they will end up with a winning record this season. However, each have goals which are definitely attainable. 
Their first goal is to make it through an entire match without getting pinned. Their second is to score points they actually earn during a match, rather than being awarded points based on a penalty on the part of their opponent. Both girls also stressed that they would love to win a match and would love to get a pin.
“I actually achieved my goals recently,” Miller exclaimed. “I made it through a whole match in Douglas without getting pinned!”
“As long as I get out there, try my best and I’m going as hard as I can, I feel pretty good about it even if I don’t win,” Spencer said, smiling.
Last weekend, the girls got their first opportunity to compete in a girls’ division at the tournament in Moorcroft, and Miller walked away achieving each of her goals. The freshmen finished fourth place in both the girls bracket and in the JV division, and in each she pinned one of her opponents. 
In the girls’ bracket, she went 1-2, losing her first match by fall, winning her second match by fall in 56 seconds, and then losing her final match by major decision. However, both losses were to the same girl from Baker, Montana so Miller was able to improve her performance from the first to the last contest.
In the JV division, Miller came out strong and got her first pin against a boy when she bested Aiden Perez of Campbell County in 5:15. 
Spencer finished fifth in both the girls bracket and the JV division, and though she didn’t win any matches, she did achieve one of her goals by scoring two points on a reversal, and she pushed through to the second period before losing to Alize Post from Campbell County in the semifinal round.
More important than the win/loss record at the end of the season, both girls emphasized that they are simply having fun.
“I love my sport,” Spencer exclaimed. “I don’t like practices, but no one does. However, the tournaments make it all worth it, and I love being a part of the team, and fighting my hardest.”
“It really is the best,” Miller said. “Wrestling has been my favorite sport for as long as I can remember, and I can’t imagine not being able to compete.”
Both Miller and Spencer stated that they would like to continue to compete after high school and are looking at colleges that offer the program to women. In addition, with more and more girls starting to go out for the sport, there are hopes that Wyoming may offer a girls program in the near future.