About Girl Wrestlers

The way I figure it, my youngest grandson had a good reason to be very concerned and confused the Saturday of March 28, 2009. He was facing a dilemma he had not imagined as a first year wrestler. In desperation he asked his father, "What should I do, Dad?"

That was a wild and wooly "Little Guys Championship" wrestling tournament in Columbia Falls the last week in March. Hundreds of kids from first to eighth grade from all over this part of Montana took part, ranging from forty pounders on up, and it went on for a long time.

So what was Wyatt's perplexing problem? His first match in the 119-pound class was against a kid from Libby. It was no big problem until it sunk in, the kid from Libby was not a guy. He was a girl, "G-I-R-L." Couple of his more experienced friends began getting on his case, telling him she was smart, strong and tough. Wyatt thought she was "cute;" but he certainly did not like the idea of possibly hurting a girl. He liked the idea of being "beaten by a girl" a lot less. That's why he went to his dad for advice.

Maybe fifteen years ago the AP wires carried an ongoing story about a mother in eastern Montana who brought a lawsuit against the local school district and the Montana Athletic Association because her daughter was refused a position on the wrestling team. The court decided in her favor — citing the laws requiring "equal opportunity" for girls in the state sports competition. The willing, or perhaps unwilling, girl ended up getting 'slammed" by a strong experienced boy shooting at a state title and who was not going to take mercy on anyone in his way. That somewhat unusual event is the last one personally remembered about girl wrestlers on boy's teams. I'm behind times.

Libby schools now have several girls out for wrestling and they have to go up against boys because others schools do not have girl teams. Will that change? Who wants to guess?

Back in the olden days, when I went to school, boys and girls did not wrestle as a public sport. There were jokes about such unorganized activity carried on by high school students in secret places where no one was judged on points. In college if a guy "pinned" a girl, it meant they were sort of engaged. These personal observations carried up to a modern context, might cause some to think old George still harbors a few male chauvinistic ideas. Not true. Things were the way they were, and things are the way they are.

What did Wyatt's dad tell him to do? He said, "Son, I know you have been taught not to fight or hurt girls but this is an exception. Only one thing to do, go out there with everything you've got and pin that girl just as fast as you possibly can."

Telling me about it later, Wyatt said he decided to use the best tactic he has learned called "the cradle hold," to get her down and pinned with the least chance of a hard-body slam. He said that involves getting one arm around behind the legs with the other arm behind the neck and getting your hands locked together. Said he was barely able to get her in that hold and then keep his hands locked because she was stronger than he expected … but it worked for a fast pin. Afterwards he told her she was "brave." It is probably a safe bet he didn't mention she was also "cute."

Wyatt and his friends on the Whitefish eighth-grade wrestling team go into high school next year. He worries about having to wrestle that girl again next year … and maybe the year after that.

His Grandpa told him that he will keep growing but girls mature earlier so chances are she will stay in a lower weight bracket. Wyatt replied, "I hope that happens — but what if she's got an older sister?"

I didn't know what to tell him about that. Maybe that is why he has started going to school an hour earlier … to take weight training.

G. George Ostrom is a Kalispell resident and a national-award winning Hungry Horse News columnist.