One for the Books!

Her match was one of the last ones of the night and she was standing with her teammates. Samantha Rebentisch had her warm up gear on, and was jogging in place, getting ready for her match. Her teammates, at Jonathan Law High School in Connecticut would occasionally come over to say a few words, but pretty much, they left her alone to concentrate.

Across the gym, the Brookfield wrestling team were all huddled around one wrestler. It was Samantha's opponent. Samantha noticed. “They were looking at me and just laughing.” But this isn't anything new for Samantha, “ I wasn't thinking much of it when they were laughing at me I've had boys laugh at me before matches all the time even parents would make rude comments and laugh at me but I would shake it off.” But what she couldn't shake off was the importance of this match. “ “I was freaking out because it was one of the last matches of the day and Brookfield was the team that won their side of the bracket, while we won ours. This was it, we were going for first.”

Samantha is 15, a sophomore and wrestles in the 103 pound class. Her opponent for the night was a little smaller, at around 98 pounds. But Samantha wasn't about to judge a book by its cover, “It gave me a little confidence, but I've wrestled guys his size before and sometimes they were my hardest matches.”

The wrestlers stepped onto the middle of the match and Samantha's nerves were jumping. “I was so excited and nervous because the gym was packed and everyone was watching us, because I am a girl.”

What made her even more nervous, was who was watching. “My parents, teammates parents were all cheering me on and my team was lined up against the wall cheering.”

Finally the match started as both wrestlers started to circle. Immediately, the Brookfield wrestler made a mistake. “He took a lousy shot and I defended it by sprawling on his back. I put in underhooks and tried to turn him.” Though the match was in its infancy, Samantha was getting pumped. “I could hear my team cheering, and I knew I had to win this.”

The match was only in its infancy, yet already Samantha was going for the kill, while her opponent tried to avoid the inevitable. “I got to his back and he kinda just scrunched up in a ball. I laced one of my arms through his leg, and one around his shoulder and rolled him into a cradle. My team got louder, my coach got louder, and the whole gym was cheering and standing up.”

Things couldn't be going better for Samantha, “In my mind I was going crazy. All I could think was that I was actually going to win this match! I was doing so well. When I caught my leg around his and stretched him out to where he couldn't move I felt over the moon! I was so happy.” The early domination surprised her opponent, “You could tell that he was caught off guard and he was shocked,” Samantha said.

But to his credit, her opponent didn't give up. “He started to kick from under me, so I took my free leg and hooked it with his free leg and straightened him out so he couldn't move.” The end was near, and Samantha knew it. “I was thinking that I was actually going to win this.”

“I heard the ref slam his hand on the mat and blow his whistle, and the whole gym was going crazy! My team was jumping up and down, all the parents in the stands were jumping. I let him go and rolled onto my back. I jumped up and sprinted to the middle of the mat. We shook hands and the ref raised my hand...I was so happy. The guys that I always joke around with hugged me and threw me in the air. I think they were more happy than I was!”

It was also the first time a girl had ever pinned a boy at her school. “I felt amazing, there had been one other girl on varsity a couple years back but she never won a varsity match, so it was one for the books!”

It was a different reaction from her opponent. “The kid walked back over to his team and hid behind them. I could see him crying. I didn't feel bad at all, it made me feel accomplished and I knew I showed there team that you shouldn't take girl wrestlers lightly. We ended up beating their team, and winning the whole meet.”

A season later, Samantha hopes she changed his opinion on girl wrestlers. “I hope I did, I hope that if he ever has to wrestle another girl again he will take it seriously and not like a joke. If I saw him this season I would probably just ask him straight out how he feels about it now and what did he go through from his team.”

No "Luck" This Time

Darby Newman wrestles at 125 pounds for Bellefontaine High School. Darby was all set to wrestle her opponent from Stivers High School, when she overheard the boy, Danny, tell one of his teammates that he didn't want to wrestle her because she was a girl. Darby was surprised, because she has two female friends on Stivers, Brandi Boo, and Clarice Mueller-Johnson.

While some girls get intimidated by boys because of their strength, Darby felt very confident before the match. “My coach and I talked before my match about what I needed to do to win my match and going into the match, and I was pretty stoked because he didn't look that strong.” She also wasn't happy that he didn't want to face her. “I was ready to show him I could hold my own even though I was a girl.”

But the match didn't start out well for Darby. The boy took a shot and scored. However his lead was very short lived, as he left his head hang over and Darby flipped him. “ It surprised both of us. But it felt amazing, like no one could beat me!” Darby scored the reversal and started to get back points, but the buzzer beat her. Still, she was up 5-2 after the first period. “I knew I had a nice lead but I still needed more points to win.”

Her opponent chose to be on top to start the second period. “His first move was to try to ride me but again he left his head high, and I flipped him again. I was very excited to throw him again, but very mad when I didn't get the points since we were out of bounds.”

The second period ended with no scoring and Darby still had the three point lead. It was Darby's decision where she wanted to start the third period from, and she chose the top. “I took the top knowing I could ride him, and he wouldn't be able to score off me.” Darby's first move was to slide her legs in, but she got too high and they rolled. However it turned out to be a great move, because, “Somewhere in the middle of rolling, I found a pinning spot and stopped.” The whistle blew and the ref slapped the mat...is what should have happened. “We sat there for more than a minute and the ref didn't call the pin. Finally I let him belly out and I scored three more points. Now I was up 8-2. I put him in a half and threw it again. He tried to fight out of it but couldn't, so we just sat there waiting for the ref to call the pin.” But once again...he didn't.


“It did bother me that the ref didn't call it. It felt like he was not calling it cause I was a girl.” Darby wasn't the only one who thought it was a pin. Danny's teammate Brandi also thought he was covered, “She had him down for a good while. I was surprised the ref didn't call a pin.”

While Darby was disappointed with the refs decision, she was elated with her victory. “Winning 11-2, showed him I could fight. I was pretty stoked with a 11-2 victory.” Darby also thought she wanted it more, “The third period was pretty easy; he was pretty tired after the second.”

The ref then brought both competitors to the middle, and raised Darby's hand. “I felt like I was on top of the world when the ref raised my hand. I was truly glad because I showed a lot of people I could hold my own even after people thought I couldn't win.”

Besides the victory, Darby was also happy she could win in front of Danny's two female teammates. “ Both girls were very happy because they really didn't like that he was talking crap about another female wrestler.”

Even though their team lost, Darby was right, both Brandi and Clarice were thrilled. Brandi said, “Yes, I was rooting for Darby! As a female wrestler, It makes me happy to see another female beat a boy in a match. Especially because I know how hard it is. So it's always great to see a girl do well in this sport because a lot of people say "oh, that's a boy's sport! You can't do that!" As much as I love my teammates, it's pretty cool watching a girl beat their butt.” Clarice added, “It's so uncommon to meet another girl wrestler that every time I do there's a sense of mutual support. In such a challenging and male dominated sport I think us girls need to stick together. I was really happy for her. Even though she'd beaten one of my team mates I was still excited. I'm pretty sure Brandi and I were smiling ear to ear when Darby won.”

As you might expect, one person who wasn't smiling was Darby's opponent Danny. Darby says Danny just sulked the rest of the day, and Darby was not happy about it. “I thought it was very unsportsmanlike like and it kinda made me mad. So what if you lose? Everyone loses at least one time.”

Darby thought that was the end of it, but the next weekend they had to wrestle again. What Darby didn't know was what Danny said after the match. According to Brandi, Danny made several excuses why he lost and said, “If I wrestle her again I'm not going to lose.”

He would get his chance, but Danny was not the only one who was confident. After her semi-easy victory, Darby was bordering on being too cocky. “I laughed and felt ready to take him on again; to show him that I wasn't just lucky the first time.”

The match started and Darby let her emotions get the best of her. “I went into the match way too hot-headed. I thought I was going to beat him pretty badly, and it was going to be easy.”

It wasn't. The first period ended 4-4. “Both my coach and I were surprised that the match was so close,” Darby said. If Darby was surprised how Danny was taking it to her the first period, she was shocked at what happened during the 2nd round. “He took the bottom, got a reversal and two back points to take a 7-4 lead. I was really surprised and very mad about how the match was going.”

After the 2nd period ended, Darby did not think she had a comeback in her. “I was thinking I'm going to lose this. After all this work I was about to give up.”

But a great part about wrestling is the coaching. Darby needed love, but she needed the tough variety. And she thought back to an old coach, whose voice popped into her head and said, “"Newman, work your hardest no matter the fight!"

Right then she got head back in the match. “I started thinking about all the ways I could win the match. I also wasn't about to let my opponent get redemption from last week.”

Unlike last week, Darby realized she couldn't just ride out the period. She needed the points so she chose the bottom. Danny rode her and put her in a full-nelson. The move is illegal and cost her opponent a point. There was one minute left and Darby was still down two. Darby got free to gain another point, but she was still one point behind.

There was 30 seconds left, and Darby screamed to herself, “I need a take down now!” While some wrestlers might panic, Darby was in full control. “We had practiced this scenario in the gym. I had done this before in practice, now it was time to do it for real.” And boom! She shot, and put him on his back to take an 8-7 lead with only 10 seconds left.

Darby thought to herself, “Did I just really win this match?” The refs whistle blew and it was official. Yes she did. Darby won 8-7.

As the wrestlers got up, Danny said something to Darby. The ref heard it and took away a team point from his school. Brandi said that got many of her teammates upset. But Brandi wasn't too upset, because she was proud of Darby. “Danny was furious, but I honestly laughed about it when Darby won a second time against him. I think it was a humbling experience for him. The second time really proved that there was no way she won the first one by an accident or any other stupid excuse Danny used. She won fair and square, twice. I think that was a BIG ego bruiser to him.“

While it was a big ego bruiser to Danny, it was a big ego BOOSTER to Darby. “I felt like I had accomplished something great. Even though it was only one match it was great coming back and doing it twice. The feeling of beating this kid again was amazing. The crowd was cheering and everyone was watching. They knew I didn't get lucky, I showed them I wasn't a female wrestler, I was just a wrestler.”

As for Danny's multiple excuses and comment that he wouldn't lose to her again? “I believe any excuse is just a way to blame someone else for your mistakes. Yes it makes my victory so much sweeter! I will see him again next year and hope to wrestle him again!”

The Start of a Victorious Career

It was Megan Moroney's first varsity tournament, and there was one word that described her feelings. Intimidated. Megan had been wrestling for two years, so making it to varsity was a big deal. However she lost her first match and was moved to the consolation bracket. The nerves got worse when she realized that if she lost the next match, she was out. And she didn't want to start her varsity career like that. Megan says, “It was extremely important to me to win my next match. At that point in time it was the most important match in the world. There was a massive amount of people watching considering I was on the closest mat to the them. It was more than just winning any match, I wanted to prove something. I got it set in my mind girls are just as good as boys and i was going to win.”

She kept looking around to see who her opponent was, and then she spotted him, an older taller boy. Megan is a 9th grader and 5'1. Her opponent was a 5'5 junior. She was concerned, but then thought she had better get some confidence. “I got it into my mind I was going to win. I wanted it more.”

Before the match the traditional handshake took place, and Megan wanted to turn the intimidation tables. “I like to intimidate my opponent, so I grabbed his hand hard. His facial expression was priceless. His face went from an, “I'm gonna pin her look, to she's gonna pin me.”

After the ref blew the whistle the wrestlers circled and locked up, “When we first tied up I was still very nervous because if I lost that match I would have been out. But my nerves stopped when he shot because for some reason they go away when the match truly begins and I get focused on my moves.”

The boy shot and went for a double leg, but Megan was too quick. “ I sprawled too fast and ripped a hard cross face until I circled behind and got my takedown. I was persistent with my cross face and when i circled and got my takedown I relaxed and knew it was me who was going to dictate this match.”

Megan got her two points but just as she was going for the pin, the buzzer went off. The rounds were only 1 minute and 30 seconds due to it being the consolation round, and Megan felt she was jipped of her first period pin. “I did want a first period pin for two main reasons. One, wrestling all three periods gets very tiring and you're at your best when you have energy to do the moves. Secondly, it would make me appear as a very good wrestler which I'm striving to be.”

But she was still up 2-0 and now had to focus on the 2nd round. Her opponent chose the down position and Megan broke him down with a chop arm. Megan says, “He got really cocky and tried to explode up. He tried to explode up and while I was still tight wasting him. He he thrashed his arms and I think he was trying to elbow me so he would get his escape. I just said to myself just because I'm a girl doesn't mean that is going to work for him. He was most likely stereotyping me, thinking I would be weak. He was very wrong.”

Megan countered the older boys move by applying more pressure and throwing in a half. “He buckled under the slightest bit of pressure, but couldn't flatten himself out. I drove the hardest i could and got him to his back. I probably should have broke him down first but my momentum and adrenaline was to strong to stop myself.”

Megan now was in full control and she was seconds away from victory. Megan says, “I was thinking to myself I can't let him roll through. If I had I would never forgive myself.”

She wouldn't have to, as the ref blew his whistle, and slapped the mat, signifying Megan's victory.
“When you pin someone that sound is almost like being told you've won a million dollars. But it gives you more than that. It brings you great dignity, especially if your a girl.”

One of the great aspects of baseball and hockey is, when you win you can go nuts. But in wrestling there is a code, and excessive celebration is heavily frowned upon. That was not lost on Megan. “When I got up I was a good sport in helping my opponent up. If there's anything I hate it's being a bad sport so i always try not to be. It reflects bad on the team. Even though its very individual wrestling is still a team effort. I was stopping myself from jumping up and down and screaming because if I did I'm sure he would have started balling.”

The wrestlers moved to the center of the ring and then the ref flew Megan's hand in the air. “When the ref raised my hand it made the whole experience worth it. I know everyone was watching since I'm a girl, so it felt amazing for them to see that a girl beat a boy. My opponent's face was red and it was the pre-crying red too. He tried to get off the mat as soon as possible and didn't look me straight in the eyes. I laughed a little inside. He should have focused more on wrestling than trying to focus on not losing to a girl.”

But unfortunately for her opponent, Megan was able to see what happened next. “He hid behind his team. As I was putting my warm ups back on I did notice him crying and it gave me even more of a feeling of accomplishment. Sort of a take that and girls can wrestle and will continue to so get used to it.”

While some critics may fault Megan for enjoying her opponent crying, Megan feels no guilt. “It gave me a feeling of accomplishment because I put a boy in his place and it stood for so much more than wrestling. It stood for the fact that women can't let them do what they do and we need to fight back and stand up for ourselves. Also, personally I just found it funny.”

Megan said this victory propelled her to a solid season. “This match got me used to being around a big crowd with more with one wrestling mat. I was more comfortable after that tournament and it also showed my I could win at them.”

Megan went on to win six more varsity matches after this one, and qualified for the WPIAL tournament, which is a county tournament. Next year, she has even bigger aspirations. “I not only want to qualify for the WPIAL's, I want to place. And regionals also.”