This year's San Benito wrestling team boasts seven girls, including Izadela Meza, Jennifer Espinosa, Joy Thomson, Andrea Gonzalez, Patricia Herrera, Angelica Banuelos and Jackie Visaya.
This year's San Benito wrestling team boasts seven girls, including Izadela Meza, Jennifer Espinosa, Joy Thomson, Andrea Gonzalez, Patricia Herrera, Angelica Banuelos and Jackie Visaya.
San Benito sophomore Izadela Meza's first win on the mat came earlier this season. It was a pin - the first of her very short career - but even she downplays it like a pro.
"The guy was really tiny," said Meza, who wrestles mostly in the 111-pound weight class. "But it was awesome."
Meza represents a growing trend at San Benito High, as well as a growing trend nationally. She is one of seven female wrestlers on the team this year, a number that is steadily increasing with each passing season.
Two years ago, there were two girls on the Haybalers. Last year, there were four.
Along with Meza this year, though, is Jennifer Espinosa, Joy Thomson, Andrea Gonzalez, Patricia Herrera, Angelica Banuelos and Jackie Visaya.
"I think girls want to do it, but they may be scared because it's a guys sport or something," said the junior Visaya, a three-year veteran for San Benito. "Until they actually get the feel of it, they'd realize that it's really fun and it's a good way to take anger out ..."
As many as 5,000 high school females nationwide participated in wrestling in 2006-07 (a number that tripled from the previous 10 years), according to a survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations, while the California Interscholastic Federation offers female championship tournaments for both Northern California and Southern California.
Girls wrestling even became an Olympic sport at the 2004 Summer Games.
"It's definitely a growing trend," San Benito head coach Brian DeCarli said. "When I was wrestling in high school, there were a couple of girls out there. But it definitely wasn't common."
"But as long they're passionate and they have that fire, I don't care who they are. That's a type of person you want in the room. You can always feed off that."
San Benito doesn't have an all-girls team just yet, but the girls on the Haybalers said there has been nothing but support from their male counterparts.
At Saturday's Earthquake Duals in Hollister, state qualifier Josh Ramirez was doling out the tips to Patricia Herrera, providing move-by-move instruction with what was going on out on the mat.
"Wrestling is a sport that takes everything - strength, speed, skill - and the mindset, too," Ramirez said. "Girls it's a different story because it's not a big sport for girls. But some people have that aggressive spirit, and if you need some place to vent, it's a good place."
Ramirez said he's always recruiting fellow students at the high school, and he even recruited Meza - and even convinced her parents, too.
"He pushed me to come out this year for wrestling," Meza said. "And I was really nervous ... A lot of girls do go out for it, and [the boys] do encourage you a lot."
Coming out for a sport that is still a male-dominated event, despite the increasing numbers, isn't easy, of course. Although most schools in the area have at least one girl on their roster, more or less, girls are usually competing and practicing against boys on the mat.
"They don't give me a break just because I'm a girl, which makes me work harder," said Herrera, who was recruited by wrestler Josh Fontaine. "So far the guys who I have wrestled from other schools all have at least one girl on their team, so I'm sure they're used to it as well."
Visaya says she tries to hand down some of her knowledge, being the three-year wrestler that she is, while she also gets knowledge passed down to her.
"Mostly the guys think because you're a girl, and it's true, that they're gonna overpower you," Visaya said. "But it's not about power when you're wrestling, it's about technique.
"It's funny when you wrestle someone who hasn't been wrestling for that long and they just try to overpower you, and they totally get a shock when they're on their back."
Visaya remembers her first victory during her freshman year at a tournament in Los Gatos. She said she nearly gave up, but her friends and teammates screamed encouragement from the side of the mat.
It stuck in her ear, she said, and somehow her opponent wound up on his back. Visaya held on for dear life before the referee smacked the mat, calling for a pin.
"It's individual but it's a team (sport) because you're working with other people and you want to make them as good you are," Visaya said. "I'm not just there to be there. I'm there to be better."
Andrew Matheson Andrew Matheson is a sports writer for South Valley Newspapers. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 334 or at amatheson@svnewspapers.com.
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