Against the Grain
Jessica Pinsker and Naeema Quereshi are the only two girls on Northview’s wrestling team
Mira Sydow, Editor-in-Chief
Manasa Premanand, Staff Writer & Noelle Reid, Opinions Editor
Northview holds a vast array of opportunities for its students regardless of their sexual orientation, religious beliefs, race, or gender. A prime example of students taking these opportunities is the female members of the predominantly male Titan wrestling team. One of the two girls on the wrestling team, sophomore Jessica Pinsker, was the first girl to join the team according to Coach Scotty McDaniel. She was initially inspired to go for the team when she met another female wrestler over the summer.
“Once I tried it, I loved it,” Pinsker said, “It’s pretty difficult to wrestle guys, but it’s a challenge and I like challenges so I push myself to work harder.”
Like most, wrestling is not an easy sport, this is no secret. The team members train hard for hours in order to prepare for their matches. In addition to their rigorous practices, the members of the team need to keep their weight in order to fit into a specific weight class. If they do not make weight, they can not wrestle.
“I was worn out within the first week,” Pinsker said, “but I continued, doing all kinds of stuff, pushing and pulling, gaining strength.”
In a match during a take-down tournament, a tournament in which the aim of the matches is to simply take down an opponent rather than pinning them, at North Paulding High School, Pinsker was injured while competing against one of their wrestlers, but she did not stop competing in the tournament.
“She does not step away. She does not scare easily. She commits to it,” Coach McDaniel said.
Despite the physical challenges of the sport, the idea that being a girl in a “boys’ sport” would be difficult is a misconception, Pinsker believes. The fact that Pinsker and Quereshi are girls is pretty much insignificant to not only them but the male members of the team. This gender barrier is nonexistent.
Pinsker and Naeema Qureshi, the other female on the wrestling team, have developed a close relationship while competing as they are easily able to relate to each other. They know exactly what the other is going through, and having each other around can help to diffuse any of the anxiety or awkwardness that either of them may experience during weigh-ins and before matches. In order to compete in matches, the girls need to have their hair braided so that it can fit in headgear; before matches, Pinsker askes Qureshi to braid her hair so that she is able to compete.
“It’s those little things that make having another girl on the team much better,” Pinsker said.
Since Pinsker enjoyed her first season on the team so much, she definitely sees herself wrestling for the rest of her high school career. Girls having the same passion for the sport as her is something that she loves to see and she encourages more girls to start competing. If Northview were to have a separate wrestling team just for its girls, she believes that there would be an even heightened sense of camaraderie between the girls since there would be more than two.
Qureshi reciprocates these feelings as well, saying that while Northview’s wrestling team is fair to both males and females, there is still a bias in the predominantly male wrestling community, that discourages girls from participating.
“It kind of sucks, but there’s always the excuse that boys are built differently, so a lot of times it’s easier for them to win because they’re stronger,” Qureshi said.
And while both males and females are supposed to be equals during wrestling matches, their difference in physical attributes does separate them from one another. Qureshi says that during wrestling matches she does note the difference in how male wrestlers fight in comparison to female wrestlers.
Senior Aaron Redmon is the star wrestler on the Northview wrestling team. Qureshi notes the differences between competing against girls and boys as she watches Redmon win his matches.
Jennifer Xia, Editor-in-Chief
“They’re built differently than I am. They’re stronger, and a lot of times they’re more experienced. They go harder on us because when you’re fighting with a girl, it’s different. They think more clearly. With a guy, they don’t care if they body slam you. They don’t care if they do something to your rib. They just care about winning,” Qureshi said.
A reason that many male wrestlers are often more toned than their female counterparts may be due to the fact that male wrestlers are provided with many more extracurricular opportunities to wrestle and condition. However, there are a few wrestling teams and programs for female wrestlers like Qureshi to join.
“Centennial High School has girl wrestlers, [and] there’s this one gym that I’m about to start going to. It’s called Morris Fitness and they’re actually trying to start up a girls’ [wrestling] team,” Qureshi said.
Gradually, female wrestlers are starting to integrate into the wrestling community. The sexism that bars them from pursuing their interests is slowly fading and their presence in the wrestling world is being normalized. Of course, there are already many female wrestlers who defy sexist norms such as hijabi wrestler Nor Diana, someone Qureshi looks up to.
“I just thought that [her being a wrestler] was so amazing because in our religion, it’s already sort of like ‘she shouldn’t be doing a sport’. And being a hijabi wrestler and breaking these boundaries is something that I just find so amazing,” Qureshi said.
Qureshi encourages any girls who are interested in wrestling to come and join the team during the winter season, and says to not let sexism hinder them from pursuing their dreams.
“It’s not as intimidating as it seems. You can get stronger, and you can be better,” Qureshi said. “And there’s so many girls that do well at this sport. So don’t let all those stereotypes stop you.”
