From Wrestling Champ to Homecoming Queen Its dinnertime at the Wiegerts house.

Brittany and her parents are recapping the day and talking up a storm. This evening, Brittany has exciting news. She tells her parents she wants to join the high schools wrestling team. Everyone stops eating and stares at her blankly. Her dad says with an awkward smile, Okay, if thats what you want honey. Her mom is speechless, and her brother is laughing in the background. Little did they know she would become a State Championship placer in wrestling and Homecoming Queen by her senior year. Wrestling is a tough sport. It requires strength, technique, speed and courage. A sport that is more popular for males makes the circumstances tough for women who want to enter the sport. Most high schools are lucky to have one female on the wrestling team. It takes a certain motivation for girls to earn the respect they deserve when joining a wrestling team. Being a girl you are going to be treated differently, says Brittany, after my freshman year, I was the only girl that really stuck to it, so I practiced with guys, competed against guys and so I had to basically become one of the guys during practice, because I had to show the team I was just as tough. Brittany grew up surrounded by boys. Her dad and older brother were always around while her mom worked late shifts. She discovered her competitive side a need to beat her brother at anything he did. This is where her desire to wrestle began. When I entered high school, my brother was already a year ahead of me. He wrestled so I figured I'd learn to beat him, so I wrestled. The team consisted of three girls Brittanys freshmen year. To her luck, most of the guys on the team respected her, because her brother was on the team. I was never teased because my brother was in the sport as well, and people were afraid of him, so I was kind of protected. They said they were a little afraid of me, she admits. By her sophomore year in high school, Brittany

was the only girl to stick to the team. Her volleyball coach from sophomore year asked her to play club volleyball. Brittany told her she couldnt, because of wrestling season. I was about 115lbs and all legs and arms, and she looked at me and laughed, Brittany explains. Later on in the season, Brittany invited her volleyball coach to watch one of her wrestling meets, and so her coach attended. I pinned my opponent in the first period. She never said anything about me wrestling again, Brittany describes. It was one of her favorite memories from wrestling. There are a handful of people who do not support womens wrestling. Brittanys first wrestling coach, Enrique Carbia, was one of them. She says how the lack of support from a coach was discouraging. At times, she wanted to give up. Brittany remembers one night when she beat two opponents from one of the most competitive high schools around. After she won, her coach walked away from the mat and never acknowledged her victory with a good job or great work. The lack of support from Carbia was not going to stop her from wrestling, though. The support from her family and teammates overpowered her coachs discouragement. Throughout Brittanys wrestling career, her mom was her best supporter. Even though her mom blenched at the site of some of the wrestling moves, she attended every single one of Brittanys matches and cheered her on proudly. In the wrestling room, her brother kept an eye on her making sure she received the respect she deserved from other teammates and coaches. He also made sure to be by Brittanys side after a match whether she won or lost. The support from her family was only enough to get her through her junior year, though. Her senior year, the team hired a new coach. Brittany did not attend the first practice, because she was not planning to wrestle her senior year. She was fed up with the lack of respect and support for womens wrestling. To her surprise, the new coach, John Harrinton, pulled her out of

her class to ask her why she wasnt at the first practice. Brittany replied, Because nobody cares about girls wrestling. Sure enough, Harrinton informed her that he is one of the biggest supporters of girls wrestling, because his two sisters placed in nationals for wrestling. Inspired by his story, Brittany immediately rejoined the wrestling team for her final season. As the season rolled on, so did the State Championship. Brittany practiced harder than ever. This was her last season on the high school wrestling team, so she wanted to make the best of it. The day of the State Championship finally approached, and at 7 a.m., Brittany was ready to dominate the competition. Brittany was in a huge weight class consisting of 25 girls. The competition was tough, but Brittany believed in herself. Brittany started her morning off great with two wins and a loss. Her fourth opponent was a battle, though. The match went into triple overtime, and Brittany was exhausted. She was not going to give up, and finally pulled off the win after the third overtime. Brittany was so fatigue from her match that her next opponent beat her. Even though she lost her last match, Brittany was still happy. After wrestling for 14 hours that day, Brittany placed 5th in State! Her family, friends, teammates and coaches were proud of her. I remember I just ran up and jumped on my coach. It was his first year, and I was his first state placer. Looking back, wrestling taught Brittany to never give up. Being the only girl on the wrestling team has its obstacles. Girls that wrestle sometimes are stereotyped and discriminated, because wrestling is seen as a mans sport which is not true. Brittanys advice to girls who want to wrestle is Don't give up. Its a tough sport and if you work through it, you'll make it to the top. Technique before speed, speed will come. Brittany also believes that you can be tough but girly at the same time. My senior year, I ended up becoming a state placer and in the same season,

Homecoming Queen. The respect she earned from wrestling played a huge role in her win. Her dedication, positive attitude and inspiration helped her win the vote of her classmates for Homecoming Queen. She now coaches wrestling at Hagerty High School and inspires her girls [on the team] to believe that wrestling is for the passionate athlete who can be tough and still be a girl at the same time. Brittanys story teaches girls that they can do anything they put their minds to. She also exemplifies that it is acceptable for girls to participate in activities that others discriminate women for participating in, such as wrestling, football or rugby. The key is to ignore the critics, believe in yourself, and dont give up.