Female Supremacy Articles - Page 13

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One of Putnam's favorite T-shirts was a gift from former West wrestler Iris Mucha. It reads: "You wish you could wrestle like a girl."

Putnam is one of two girls wrestling for West, a school that also figures into the lore of girls wrestling history because as a sophomore, Mucha became the first girl from Region IV -- and the fourth statewide -- to qualify for a state tournament.

When Mucha wrestled and beat boys to qualify for state, or when Melina Hutchison and O'Donnell did the same, they began eradicating the notion that losing to a girl wasn't the end of the world.

Girls today encounter the same thing, albeit less often.

"When I first started, I'd hear people say to them, 'Oh, you got beat by a girl!' " Bachert said. "Lately it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. People are more accustomed to girls wrestling."

And the girls are more accustomed to succeeding at a sport where they've sometimes struggled.

"The stigma against wrestling girls isn't what it used to be," Costello said. "They have beaten enough guys to earn respect.

Girls have earned the respect of most boys, like Chugiak sophomore Brady Schultz (112), who learned first-hand to respect girl wrestlers. He lost to Bachert last season, although he beat her at the end of last season and also at last weekend's Glenn Vandergaw Classic.

"You're kind of nervous cause you don't want to lose and get made fun of," Schultz said. "But you respect what they can do."