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.”
