Brianna Gedeon- Dedication at its Finest

In a country that is infested with political correctness, its nice to talk to a girl like Brianna Gedeon . Many kids get medals for participating to show that its not whether you win or lose, its how you play the game. And while there is honor in defeat if you truly give your all, Brianna set out to show, if you give your all, you should start winning.

Brianna started her wrestling career very late. She was curious about the sport, considered it for awhile but finally in her junior year of high school, she decided to go out for the team at Division 1 school Charles F. Brush in northeast Ohio. “Our high school isn't very good at many sports to be quite honest, but one thing we do have is a solid wrestling team. Its by far one of the toughest wrestling areas in the nation.”

So despite being a girl, and being late to the sport, Brianna decided to give it a go. “My first day of practice I was a 98 pound scrawny little girl, not knowing what to expect.” 2 ½ hours later, she found out. “By the end of practice I was puking in the trash can all bruised and bloodied up. This was the most intense 2 ½ hours imaginable.” Many thought, maybe the scrawny little girl should find another sport. And that's exactly why she didn't. “I came back because everyone expected me to quit. I am no quitter, I was not about to prove people right.”

So she came back. But the practices didn't get easier. “Over time the entire football team that joined quit and our team lost about half its members.” Which is exactly what the coach at Brush High School wanted. Brianna says, “Coach weeded out the ones that couldn't cut it, that didn't have what it takes to be a wrestler.” While many boys were dropping like flies, Brianna stayed. “To everone's surprise, I was still there, coming back everyday.”

But despite the dedication, she was Brianna was still scrawny, and still new. The losses were piling up faster than the sweat. “Despite sticking out practices I was still honestly a completely terrible wrestler. That season I didn't win a single match on JV. I went 0-11. I was the only person on the team to get defeated every time I wrestled.”

It was a very difficult season. “I wanted to quit but I couldn't let myself quit without knowing what it felt like to win once. I used to go to the bathroom after losing all these matches and I'd cry because I felt like such a failure. But that gave me motivation to work even harder.”

Though she didn't win a match, her teammates had her back. “My team has always been very supportive of me. They always have tried to help me get better because they saw how hard I work. Even when I would lose they would always be there to help me, and show me what I did wrong.”

It was a nice consolation prize for Brianna. But still she hated losing. And so did her coach. “At the end of the season the coach pulled me aside and had a talk with me. He told me that he admired how I didn't quit, but honestly if I don't get beat out for varsity next year by some freshman, he doubted I would win more then 5 matches if that. In his words I would just be filling a spot.”

And that wouldn't be any spot. It would be the spot of Brian Hauser. Who is Hauser? “Hauser is our stud 103 pounder who placed placed second in both Ohio Division I states and senior nationals.”

Coach's words resonated with her. In other words, it is whether you win or lose. And Brianna was going for a win. “That conversation stuck with me. Something in me changed that day. I decided to push myself and prove everyone wrong. I was sick of being a loser. I made a promise to myself that no one would outwork me. No longer would I just go through practices but I'd push myself the entire time.”
That summer while some girls went to the beach and tanned, Brianna trained. “I got much bigger from all the serious lifting I was doing, and for 5 days a week 2 hours a day I was practicing.”

She went to weekly tournaments and something happened. Brianna actually won a few matches. Finally, Brianna had won! “It was the greatest feeling finally getting my hand raised. It was the first time that I felt like my hard work was paying off. Once I knew what it felt like to get my hand raised I started working even harder because I wanted to keep on winning.”

So she continued to work. “People knew I was working hard, but I don't think they realized just how much of an effort I was putting in.” After all that work, finally the wrestling season started. Gone was the 98 pound scrawny little girl. “I got much bigger and was much stronger than last season. I was still nothing compared to my stronger male competitors, but I was a lot stronger than I used to be.”

Her first test would be what is called the previews. The previews don't count in the standings, and aren't official matches, but a lot of people would be watching, “Its a way for our coaches to get an idea of how their team would do this season. A lot of people were watching. We had several area teams come to our Brush preview and the stands were packed with students, teachers, parents and coaches.”

So while the matches had no significance in the standings, they couldn't be more important to Brianna. “Although the matches didn't really count for anything, they meant a lot to me. Every coach who helped me in the off season was there watching and everyone who remembered me losing was there watching. I was finally able to show everyone how hard I had been working.”

It was time for Brianna to step on the match. And though she had the jitters, there was a different feeling to her first match. “It was the weirdest feeling because it felt natural to me.”

The match started and the boy shot on her right off the whistle. Instinctively, Brianna hit a hard sprawl, smashing him with her hips and got “two easy points.”

After a season of losing, Brianna knew that things were going to be drastically different this season. “At that point I started getting confident, and I knew I was going to win it. I turned him to his back several times throughout the match and I saw him just giving up after a while.” Brianna couldn't buy a win last season, and in her first match at previews, she was dominating. “He was just frustrated. Every shot he tried to shoot I scored off of. I did not shoot once the entire match.”

Brianna was having the time of her life. “I just had such an adrenaline rush the entire match. I could hear everyone cheering me on in the stands and all my teammates were watching me for the first time win a match.”

And when she finally got her arm raised in front of everyone, Brianna felt amazing. “It just felt good to for once be the superior wrestler and have everyone know it. Not only was it a great feeling that I won, but I surprised so many people. I proved everyone wrong.”

Brianna now had to prepare for her 2nd match that day. And she wasn't satisfied with just winning once. “I felt confident going into the second match. It just gave me an opportunity to surprise people even more, I don't think they expected me to win again.”

But anyone that doubted Brianna now were going to be proved wrong. Again. “My second match was just like my first. He shot on me once again I sprawled and scored 2. I kept turning him the rest of the match to get back points. It was much like the first match, I worked my same stuff on top and it was working.” And once again, she knew the match was over while it was still going on. “Yep, I knew I had it. He couldn't score on me in neutral position and he couldn't escape when I was on top and I could tell he was giving up.” Brianna ended up winning the match 9-0. “ Winning the second match felt even better because I was 2-0!”

But her day wasn't over yet. Even though she had a combined 20 points to her opponent's 0, her toughest competitor was waiting for her. He was a varsity 112 pounder. Brianna was giving away 9 pounds. This was not going to be as easy as the first two matches.

“This match I got a little nervous. I wasn't as confident. He was way bigger, but I was determined to go 3-0 that day.”

But she wasn't the only one nervous. Her opponent didn't want to face her. “He was super nervous to wrestle me. His teammates told me he didn't want to wrestle a girl, and he tried to get out of the match. Even though I was slightly intimidated by his size, I knew I had a shot at winning. I was determined to go undefeated.”

But Brianna wouldn't let him get out of it. “Yea, I wanted to get my third match! I already beat their 103, I wanted to challenge myself and wrestle their varsity 112.”


The match was intense. Her opponent had noticed Brianna scored on her opponent's shots, so he stalled the entire match. He also kept backing up so she couldn't get a shot in. At the end of two periods, the score was 0-0. Brianna was getting frustrated, but confident. “I knew I could beat him. But I didn't think I could beat him on my feet because he was stalling so bad and the ref would not call him for it. But I was pretty confident I could get the escape.”

Brianna was right, she got the escape, the she knew it was over. “There was only like 30 seconds left, he is not shooting, I'm going to win this.” The ref awarded her another point for an illegal hold, and when the match was over, it was Brianna's whose arm was going to be raised!

“I was very happy. I felt extremely accomplished because there was only a select few of us on the team who went undefeated that day. And I was the only one who didn't give up a single point. It was such a turn around from losing every match last season. It felt even better saying I beat a varsity 112.”

After three matches, none of the boys could muster a point on her. “Haha, I was so proud of that! Everyone was so suprised and a lot of people came up to me to tell me how great I did. It was a great way to start off the season, and thats when I knew I would be getting some wins this season.”

Brianna gave what she thought was her all her junior season. But it wasn't. She gave a lot, but not her all. When she gave a lot, she never won a match. When she gave her all, she found out she can not only hang with the competition, but beat them. And sometimes easily. Brianna went on to have 15 varsity wins. From 0 to 15.

And while none of her preview wins count as any of the 15, they counted for her. “For the first time I felt like I could call myself a wrestler.”

C C Wins Championship for Goodrich

The Biggest Match of My Career

The girl is undoubtedly cute. She weighs 103 pounds and has long blond hair. She's 5' ¾, but she says, “Actually you should just say I'm 5'1 because it's close enough (laughs). But its your call.”

Her Facebook and Myspace pictures are filled with pictures of her posing very girly. If you saw her in a dress, wrestling is the last sport you'd think she participated in.

But then you see some pictures exposing her lean and very fit body. There is not an ounce of fat on her. But still, I've seen the pictures where she's wearing a dress. This girl can't possibly be a wrestler can she?

She's not only a wrestler. She's one of the most successful high school wrestlers in the history of girl wrestling. She's CC Weber of Goodrich high school in Michigan. One of the toughest wrestling states there is in the country.

While most girls high school lives would be ruined if they were called a “Beast,” that's one of the biggest compliments you can give a wrestler. And make no mistake about it, this lil' blond beauty is a beast.

CC has won numerous tournaments, both against girls and boys. She has won a National Championship during her junior season against girls at the 105 weight class. But perhaps her biggest individual accomplishment is finishing 4^th in the state against boys in Michigan her senior year at the 103 weight class. Or maybe it's the fact she made it to states her sophomore, and junior years as well.

So which of these accomplishments is her personal favorite? None of the above.

During her junior year, the team accomplished a long awaited goal when it won the team state championship. CC and fellow girl teammate Kristi Garr were featured on ESPN's Outside The Lines. The story showed how much the team championship meant to not only CC, but the rest of the wrestlers as well.

CC's senior season was downright amazing. As a captain, CC compiled approximately 50 wins while only suffering 5 losses (3 to the same boy) her senior year. But there's one match in particular, that CC will never forget. It's the match her teammates asked her to defend the state championship.

It was the semi-finals and Goodrich was taking on Swan Valley High School. CC says, “When we started that dual everyone knew it was gonna be a battle. But we also knew that we were the tougher team, and if we all wrestled tough we'd beat them.”

After all her accomplishments, confidence is not something that CC is lacking. But even CC gave a little gulp, when she found out her match at 103, was going to be the last match of the dual. “When they pulled 112 as the starting weight, let me tell you my stomach dropped!!! I knew that no matter what, it was going to come down to me, because our teams were so evenly matched.”

But that stomach has done countless amount of crunches. You can see everyone of CC's abdomen muscles in that stomach. All of her training, prepared her physically for this match. But what about mentally? CC says, “Honestly I couldn't watch any of my teammates because I was too busy pacing the whole time.” The Goodrich captain was nervous. Nervous, but confident. She says, “I was convincing myself that losing was absolutely not an option. I didn't care if God was gonna come out and wrestle me. I was not about to let my team down especially being a captain.”

But God sat this match out. Her opponent, was a boy named Jared Flores.

Flores was no slouch himself. But he was a freshman. He didn't have the experience that CC had. If CC wanted to search her soul for confidence, all she had to do was think back to last season when she beat Shane Dutton in the regionals 5-3, to advance to individual states.

But pressure is a weird element, and you never know how you're going to respond. When CC beat Dutton, it was a big match for her, but not the team. This was different. And her teammates let her know it. She said, “Once we knew it was for sure gonna come down to me, all my teammates were like CC, you have to win. CC it's coming down to you.” But if that's not pressure enough, her coach made sure she knew the magnitude of the match. CC says, “But the moment that really hit me is when my coach said CC its coming down to you, and I wouldn't want it any other way.”

How did CC take all of this pressure? “That fired me up,” she said. If CC was feeling all this pressure, imagine how Flores felt. Before the match, CC knew she was in for a battle, “He only had two losses the whole year, so he was no pud. (wimp)”

But once they walked on the mat, the confident CC knew the match was over. “Right when I stepped out on the mat, I knew I was going to win when I saw the kids face. He was mentally broke before the match even started.”

Had this match occurred during the regular season, perhaps Flores would have stood a chance. But not this match, not today. CC says, “First I see his scared expression on his face, and then right after the whistle blew I got that first takedown so quick, and I wasn't nervous after that.” She may not have been nervous, but there was a long way to go until her hand was raised.

This is where all the training, all the experience, all the confidence comes in. CC was up 2-0. Most wrestlers wouldn't want to give away a point, but CC knew she took Flores down once, she can take him down again. So she let him up, and literally gave him a point. She knew what she was doing, as she took Flores down again, and ended the period up 4-1.

The second period started and Flores chose down. Once again CC let Flores up to make the score 4-2. CC took him down again and made the score 6-2. In the third period, CC chose down and got a point for escaping. She says before the final whistle she took him down again, but the referee never gave her credit for the points.

But CC didn't need the points. The whistle blew to signify the end of the match. CC Weber 7, Jared Flores 2. More importantly, Goodrich H.S. 30, Saginaw Swan Valley 26.

Normally in victory, CC is gracious and mindful of the losing wrestler, but she couldn't hide her emotions this time, “There's a sweet picture of me smiling with my hand raised, and I never smile after I wrestle.” After the match, CC had enough energy to celebrate with her team, “After I won I ran to my coach and he lifted me up, and then everyone on the team pretty much tackled me. (Laughing) It was great!”

Goodrich went on to win their second straight title by defeating Dundee High School 33-25. The second championship felt even nicer than the first one for CC. She says, “It was soooo important to me. This was our teams goal right after we won our first state title, to get a second one. It was more important then the first one because this year our team for sure didn't have as much talent as it did the year before, but we were just so tough and worked so hard. A lot of people doubted us. But we were just so tough and winning on toughness is the best feeling ever.”

As for her semi-final win over Flores, CC says she is extremely proud that when her teammates needed her most, she responded. “I went out there and in my opinion had the best match of my season. I almost majored the kid. Call it the will to win I guess.”

When asked what she meant by the will to win, and didn't she think her opponent also had that same will, she responded, “The only way I can explain it is, basically just believing in your ability to do what you have trained to do...win. And knowing that there is no other option. Flores may have had it, but I know I wanted that match more than he did.”

During the match, CC says she's very proud that she never put her team in danger of losing. While this next quote may seem cocky, it wasn't intended that way. It was more to show how proud she is that during the biggest moment of her high school career, the girl who is oh so close to 5'1, wrestled like a 7' giant, “I was in control the whole match. He didn't even come close to scoring on me. I dominated every period. I dominated the match. I was the better wrestler.”

She proved she was the better wrestler again when the two met up again in individual states. This match was much closer, but CC still came out on top with a 3-1 win. “Well I knew it was going to be a good match because he knew how I wrestled. I still knew I was going to win though.”

Unfortunately for CC, she didn't accomplish her final high school goal, of winning the state individual championship. She had to settle for 4^th place.

And though you maybe reading this and saying, “Settle?!?!?!?” CC has the attitude of a winner, and 4^th is settling, “Yeah, I was really pissed I didn't win individual states. Everyone else thought getting fourth was good (laughs). That annoyed me but whatever.”

Would she trade one of her team championships for a state championship? No way she says, “I'd rather win the team title. Hands down.”

Thanks to her semi-final victory, she did.

C C Wins Championship....Again

The Biggest Match of My Career

The girl is undoubtedly cute. She weighs 103 pounds and has long blond hair. She's 5' ¾, but she says, “Actually you should just say I'm 5'1 because it's close enough (laughs). But its your call.”

Her Facebook and Myspace pictures are filled with pictures of her posing very girly. If you saw her in a dress, wrestling is the last sport you'd think she participated in.

But then you see some pictures exposing her lean and very fit body. There is not an ounce of fat on her. But still, I've seen the pictures where she's wearing a dress. This girl can't possibly be a wrestler can she?

She's not only a wrestler. She's one of the most successful high school wrestlers in the history of girl wrestling. She's CC Weber of Goodrich high school in Michigan. One of the toughest wrestling states there is in the country.

While most girls high school lives would be ruined if they were called a “Beast,” that's one of the biggest compliments you can give a wrestler. And make no mistake about it, this lil' blond beauty is a beast.

CC has won numerous tournaments, both against girls and boys. She has won a National Championship during her junior season against girls at the 105 weight class. But perhaps her biggest individual accomplishment is finishing 4th in the state against boys in Michigan her senior year at the 103 weight class. Or maybe it's the fact she made it to states her sophomore, and junior years as well.

So which of these accomplishments is her personal favorite? None of the above.

During her junior year, the team accomplished a long awaited goal when it won the team state championship. CC and fellow girl teammate Kristi Garr were featured on ESPN's Outside The Lines. The story showed how much the team championship meant to not only CC, but the rest of the wrestlers as well.

CC's senior season was downright amazing. As a captain, CC compiled approximately 50 wins while only suffering 5 losses (3 to the same boy) her senior year. But there's one match in particular, that CC will never forget. It's the match her teammates asked her to defend the state championship.

It was the semi-finals and Goodrich was taking on Swan Valley High School. CC says, “When we started that dual everyone knew it was gonna be a battle. But we also knew that we were the tougher team, and if we all wrestled tough we'd beat them.”

After all her accomplishments, confidence is not something that CC is lacking. But even CC gave a little gulp, when she found out her match at 103, was going to be the last match of the dual. “When they pulled 112 as the starting weight, let me tell you my stomach dropped!!! I knew that no matter what, it was going to come down to me, because our teams were so evenly matched.”

But that stomach has done countless amount of crunches. You can see everyone of CC's abdomen muscles in that stomach. All of her training, prepared her physically for this match. But what about mentally? CC says, “Honestly I couldn't watch any of my teammates because I was too busy pacing the whole time.” The Goodrich captain was nervous. Nervous, but confident. She says, “I was convincing myself that losing was absolutely not an option. I didn't care if God was gonna come out and wrestle me. I was not about to let my team down especially being a captain.”

But God sat this match out. Her opponent, was a boy named Jared Flores.

Flores was no slouch himself. But he was a freshman. He didn't have the experience that CC had. If CC wanted to search her soul for confidence, all she had to do was think back to last season when she beat Shane Dutton in the regionals 5-3, to advance to individual states.

But pressure is a weird element, and you never know how you're going to respond. When CC beat Dutton, it was a big match for her, but not the team. This was different. And her teammates let her know it. She said, “Once we knew it was for sure gonna come down to me, all my teammates were like CC, you have to win. CC it's coming down to you.” But if that's not pressure enough, her coach made sure she knew the magnitude of the match. CC says, “But the moment that really hit me is when my coach said CC its coming down to you, and I wouldn't want it any other way.”

How did CC take all of this pressure? “That fired me up,” she said. If CC was feeling all this pressure, imagine how Flores felt. Before the match, CC knew she was in for a battle, “He only had two losses the whole year, so he was no pud. (wimp)”

But once they walked on the mat, the confident CC knew the match was over. “Right when I stepped out on the mat, I knew I was going to win when I saw the kids face. He was mentally broke before the match even started.”

Had this match occurred during the regular season, perhaps Flores would have stood a chance. But not this match, not today. CC says, “First I see his scared expression on his face, and then right after the whistle blew I got that first takedown so quick, and I wasn't nervous after that.” She may not have been nervous, but there was a long way to go until her hand was raised.

This is where all the training, all the experience, all the confidence comes in. CC was up 2-0. Most wrestlers wouldn't want to give away a point, but CC knew she took Flores down once, she can take him down again. So she let him up, and literally gave him a point. She knew what she was doing, as she took Flores down again, and ended the period up 4-1.

The second period started and Flores chose down. Once again CC let Flores up to make the score 4-2. CC took him down again and made the score 6-2. In the third period, CC chose down and got a point for escaping. She says before the final whistle she took him down again, but the referee never gave her credit for the points.

But CC didn't need the points. The whistle blew to signify the end of the match. CC Weber 7, Jared Flores 2. More importantly, Goodrich H.S. 30, Saginaw Swan Valley 26.

Normally in victory, CC is gracious and mindful of the losing wrestler, but she couldn't hide her emotions this time, “There's a sweet picture of me smiling with my hand raised, and I never smile after I wrestle.” After the match, CC had enough energy to celebrate with her team, “After I won I ran to my coach and he lifted me up, and then everyone on the team pretty much tackled me. (Laughing) It was great!”

Goodrich went on to win their second straight title by defeating Dundee High School 33-25. The second championship felt even nicer than the first one for CC. She says, “It was soooo important to me. This was our teams goal right after we won our first state title, to get a second one. It was more important then the first one because this year our team for sure didn't have as much talent as it did the year before, but we were just so tough and worked so hard. A lot of people doubted us. But we were just so tough and winning on toughness is the best feeling ever.”

As for her semi-final win over Flores, CC says she is extremely proud that when her teammates needed her most, she responded. “I went out there and in my opinion had the best match of my season. I almost majored the kid. Call it the will to win I guess.”

When asked what she meant by the will to win, and didn't she think her opponent also had that same will, she responded, “The only way I can explain it is, basically just believing in your ability to do what you have trained to do...win. And knowing that there is no other option. Flores may have had it, but I know I wanted that match more than he did.”

During the match, CC says she's very proud that she never put her team in danger of losing. While this next quote may seem cocky, it wasn't intended that way. It was more to show how proud she is that during the biggest moment of her high school career, the girl who is oh so close to 5'1, wrestled like a 7' giant, “I was in control the whole match. He didn't even come close to scoring on me. I dominated every period. I dominated the match. I was the better wrestler.”

She proved she was the better wrestler again when the two met up again in individual states. This match was much closer, but CC still came out on top with a 3-1 win. “Well I knew it was going to be a good match because he knew how I wrestled. I still knew I was going to win though.”

Unfortunately for CC, she didn't accomplish her final high school goal, of winning the state individual championship. She had to settle for 4th place.

And though you maybe reading this and saying, “Settle?!?!?!?” CC has the attitude of a winner, and 4th is settling, “Yeah, I was really pissed I didn't win individual states. Everyone else thought getting fourth was good (laughs). That annoyed me but whatever.”

Would she trade one of her team championships for a state championship? No way she says, “I'd rather win the team title. Hands down.”

Thanks to her semi-final victory, she did.

Alexis Lodge

Alexis Lodge is not a big girl. If a high school boy that didn't know her walked by her, they may think she was a cheerleader or played soccer.

According to Alexis, Josh Silva was a big guy. He looked strong and muscular.

They both were at John Baptist High School for a wrestling meet. If you didn't know any better, you may think Alexis came to the match to cheer Josh on. But she didn't. She came to beat him.

There were two problems though.
1)Josh's size.
2)Alexis was intimidated.

Alexis says, “I remember seeing him and I was really worried because I didn't think I was going to win because he looked really buff.” Her coach didn't want to hear anything of it. Alexis says, “Coach kept telling me not to worry about how big he is and just keep my head in the match, and to be thinking about what moves I was gonna try.”

But her positive thinking didn't last long. “So I go on the mat and before you wrestle you have to shake hands and he had a strong shake. Usually I can tell how strong a person is going to be by their handshake.” How strong was Josh's handshake? “I got a little worried,” Alexis says.

This is actually quite common among girl wrestlers who have to wrestle boys. And though Alexis says Josh was bigger than most boys, she wasn't about to lose before the match started. She had a plan. She says, “I was gonna try to use my speed and technique, because he looked like he could definitely out muscle me.”

The ref blew the whistle, and that's when the intimidation ended. She says, “Once the ref blew his whistle, Josh just stood there in his stance. I think he was waiting for me to do something. So I did.”

Alexis quickly fire-manned Josh and got a quick take down. If Josh was surprised, Alexis was shocked, “I was thinking, holy cow, I cannot believe I just took him down!"

After the takedown, her brain went into overload. “I didn't really have a plan. My brain was going crazy because I was so excited I was winning!” But without a plan, she wouldn't be winning much longer.

Alexis quickly regained her inward composure, and went to work. “While we were on the ground I was trying to get wrist control so that he wouldn't flip me.” Josh tried to base up but that was a mistake, as Alexis snagged one of his arms and got him in a single chicken wing. She says, “I was thinking it was awesome but I probably wasn't going to be able to do anything with it, because he was so much stronger then me he was just going to muscle his way out of it.”

But then Josh made a mistake he would not be able to recover from. And Alexis knew it. Josh put his other arm up, trying to retrieve the arm Alexis had control of. Alexis says, “Wow did he really just give that to me?” He did, and Alexis knew the match was over.

She says, “After he gave me the arm I said, hmmmm OK I'll take it. Then with big smile on my face... I took it.”

The single-chicken wing was now a double-chicken wing. And Alexis knew there was no way out. “Well with a chicken wing you get both arms behind their back and you have to walk over their head and sit on your butt, that way their back is on the mat.”

At this point Alexis was in cruise control. “I wasn't really thinking I was more like laughing on the inside because he was so much more stronger then me and I beat him. I'm pretty sure we both knew it was over.”


And it was. “That's when I heard the ref slap the mat and call the pin. My mom was there too, and I looked up at her and gave her the biggest smile I think I've ever smiled before!”

But Josh wasn't smiling. Alexis wanted to be a good sport. She says, “After I won I jumped right up and tried to help him up, but he didn't want any help, so I just went back to the middle of the circle and had the ref raise my hand. Then I went and shook the other coaches hand with a smile on my face and you could definitely tell, Josh was angry.”

Alexis could understand why he was so upset, “I think he was pretty mad because, well, if you see me in person I'm not very big. I'm not muscular and I'm really tiny.”

And at 5'2 117 pounds, she was pretty happy he was angry, “I felt wonderful. I kinda wanted to laugh but i knew it wouldn't be very sportsmen like. I enjoy it very much when I win against boys because it shows that girls can do anything that boys can.”

Alexis is very glad she was able to face Josh, “This was a big meet to because all the seniors who wrestled last year were there to watch. Alexis was glad they saw her victory, “I felt a little show-offey, kinda like yeaaa!!!! That's how a girl does it!”


But could she do it again? Josh didn't think so, and he would get the chance. They had a another match at Hermon High School, at the Winter Tournament.

This time, the intimidation was gone, “I wasn't really as scared seeing him the second time as much as I was the first time because I knew I had beat him before and if I went out and just kept my head in the match then I could beat him again.” But Alexis knew she wasn't guaranteed a victory, “ I didn't want to start getting cocky because I didn't want to end up losing.”

She also knew that the match wasn't going to be as easy as the first time, “ I figured that since he knew what he did wrong last match I would have to think of something different to do, because he would never fall for the double chicken wing again.”

But as Alexis was planning for the rematch, she overheard a conversation. “I was talking to my mom and she was sitting right behind all of the MDI team. We heard Josh's coach tell him that with all the stuff he was saying about me that he better go out and beat me.” That didn't sit well with Alexis. She says, “I was thinking I was gonna go out and pummel him again just to make him look like a fool, because I don't really like when boy wrestlers talk crap about girl wrestlers specially when a girl has already beaten them.”

Because Alexis is tiny, she has to rely on her wits more than her muscles, and even though she wanted to prove her win was no fluke, she realized she was in Josh's head. “Well if he was talking about me on the bus, I must have made a good fist impression because he wouldn't be talking about me if not. And I think people only talk smack about someone else when they know that the other person is better then them.”

And though she was facing pressure, she realized Josh had it far worse. I asked if she felt the tables had turned and now Josh was intimidated, and she replied, “Oh yeah for sure. He was scared I was going to beat him again, in front of all his "boys." And he was probably scared because if I was a guy wrestler I would definitely be embarrassed if I was beat by a girl.”


It was time for Josh to prove the first match was a fluke, and Alexis could tell, Josh was more prepared this match. However, so was Alexis. Gone was the intimidation of a much larger opponent. Alexis said, I kind of figured it was going to be easier to wrestle him because last time I beat him so fast. I knew I was gonna beat him, but I dont go into any match cocky because that messes with your mind. You have to be confident, not cocky.”

The match started and Alexis immediately took a 2-0 lead. Josh tried tried shooting a double leg takedown, but Alexis sprawled on him, and took him down instead. Alexis says “I wasn't really surprised I took him down. I was happy that he went down so easy like last time.”

From there, Alexis had control of the match, “After I took him down, we went back and fourth here and there, but mostly I was on top. I tried to throw in a power half, and he tried countering by attempting to base. But he left one of his arms open so I grabbed it and threw in a single chicken wing. he went to lift up his other arm and ended up hitting me in the eye with his elbow. I was irritated at him because my eye was blurry the rest of the match.”

But even with a blurred eye, Alexis was able to catch the wayward arm and put him in a double chicken wing. However unlike last time, Josh was able to escape. “Somehow he got out, which surprised me a lot.” But even though he escaped Alexis' finishing maneuver, Josh was still in trouble. Alexis says, “He was still on the bottom, so I just kept working at getting that double chicken wing back. I was trying a lot of different maneuvers to get him on his back, but he was pretty rugged so it was hard trying moves on him. I was getting very frustrated. But right as I was going to let him up so I can take him down again and get more points, he lifted up his arm and I snagged it for another single chicken wing. I smiled because he falls for it every time. I knew he was going to try and base up from his position and leave his other arm wide open for a double chicken wing. And that's exactly what he did.”

After I caught him again, I hung on really tight to both arms so no matter what, he couldn't get out. Once he was secure, I just had to walk over his head and sit on my but so that I could pin him. When the ref slapped the mat, I was wicked happy. I usually am right after I beat a boy. It makes me laugh when a girl wins a match against a guy.”

But Alexis is a good sport and after she got up, she tried to help Josh up. However Josh didn't want her help. Alexis says, “Whatever. I walked back to the center of the mat so the ref could raise my hand and not Josh's. That made me wicked happy. A big smile broke out on my face!”

After the match, Alexis watched Josh sit in his chair and sulk. She says, “It was funny. I got a chuckle out of it. I enjoy when boys throw hissy fits after I beat them, I just laughed and high-fived Airen (her twin sister who is also on the wrestling team). I was really happy, we were both cracking jokes about it and I went over and talked to my Mom and she was laughing. She's really into the whole wrestling thing.”


Airen was thrilled with her sisters triumph. “When I was watching this match, I thought Alexis was so bad ass. She's a spectacular wrestler.”