Schuylerville's Sarah Anderson takes control of Tamarac's Tom Fuller during the Class C wrestling championships last weekend. (MATTHEW TURRI/The Saratogian)

SCHUYLERVILLE — Shortly before the start of last Saturday’s Class C wrestling finals in Corinth, Schuylerville coach Bill Schempp was asked if he could remember the exact moment when he realized Sarah Anderson had potential.

“The first time I saw her wrestle, I knew she was something special,” Schempp replied without hesitation. “It was at a modified match when she was in seventh grade, and she just lit the place up. Nobody wrestles with more heart than she does. She’s so determined to win.”

Schempp turned out to be a keen judge of talent. During her three-year varsity career, Anderson has posted a gaudy 92-9 record. Thus far in 2007-08 she is 32-1, dominating her weight class as few others have in Section II. Actually, since she has wrestled at both 103 and 112 pounds this year, Anderson has been a force at two different weights.

The good news for Schempp — and anyone else who follows Schuylerville wrestling — is that she’s just a sophomore.

Anderson’s latest victory came in the Class C 103-pound final on Saturday, where she earned an 8-0 major decision over a tough opponent, Tamarac’s Tom Fuller. After a scoreless first period, Anderson went ahead, 3-0, on a near-pin late in the second, then clinched the win with a reversal and near-pin in the final period.

The victory helped take some of the

sting out of last year’s 2-1 loss in the 96-pound final. Anderson shook off that defeat and went on to win the sectional championship one week later. As the Section II representative at the 2007 New York State meet in Albany, she won her first match before dropping the next two to opponents who ended up placing second and fourth in the state.

Though aware of being one of the few girls in what remains overwhelmingly a boys sport, Anderson doesn’t dwell on the fact.

“I remember walking into pee wee tournaments and seeing I was the only girl and thinking, ‘oh, okay,’” she said between matches in Corinth. “But it really didn’t affect me that much. I was raised to be independent.

“My parents are amazing. They’ve always been there for me. My dad is the kind of guy who as long as you try your hardest, win, lose or draw, you’re a winner.”

Anderson’s interest in the sport dates to when, as a 9-year-old, she first saw the trophies her father had won as a high school wrestler.

“‘How did you get those?” she recalled asking. “I want to learn how to do that.’”

Working with her father, she became part of the pee wee wrestling scene before moving on to the Schuylerville modified team, where Schempp first took notice. The next year she was on varsity.

Although the Black Horses already had one girl on the squad (Heather Thompson, who is now wrestling on scholarship at the University of the Cumberlands in Kentucky), Schempp wasn’t sure what to expect when he stepped onto the mat with Anderson for the first time.

“When she got to varsity, I was a little hesitant about working with her in practice,” said Schempp. “But after someone comes right after you and smashes you in the face, you forget instantly that you’re out there with a girl.”

The sight of girls wrestling at high school’s highest level is not as rare as it was even a few years ago.

“I think wrestling is a great thing for girls to get into,” said Anderson. “It helps you be more self-confident in school, you meet lots of new people, you get to go to different places — it opens up all kinds of things.

“You see more and more girls every year. Last year, there were three girls in sectionals, and we all placed. And this year there’s going to be more.”

Anderson compiled a 24-4 record as an eighth-grader. Last year as a freshman, she finished with a 36-4 mark, with two of those losses coming in the state tournament. Despite all the success she has had at a young age, the 16-year-old tries to keep a level head.

“I always wanted to be the quiet kid who has real dog fights and tries her best,” Anderson said. “I never wanted to have an attitude. I want people to think I’m a good wrestler, but I don’t want them to think I’m cocky.”

In a sport known for its mutual respect among competitors, Anderson stands out. Her victory in the Class C final was greeted with the loudest cheers of the night, and 10 minutes later other wrestlers — most of them from other schools — were still coming over to offer congratulations.

“She’s very dedicated,” Schempp said when asked what made Anderson such a formidable wrestler. “She practices five days a week with me and then two nights out in the barn with her dad. And she wrestles year-round.

“Other kids have started wrestling year-round, too, but it started with her. They see her success and they want to do the same thing. She’s been the leader.”

The next event on the calendar is the Section II championships, which will be held Friday and Saturday at the Glens Falls Civic Center. Among other Schuylerville wrestlers competing will be undefeated (28-0) heavyweight Dan Ladd who, like Anderson, will be looking to earn a return ticket to the state meet March 8 and 9 in Rochester. Len Rosa (119 pounds) and Josh Stone (171) — both runners-up at the Class C meet — have had outstanding years and will likely contend at the Civic Center.

After her unplaced finish at the 2007 state meet, Anderson is hoping to make the top four this year.

“I wrestled all summer, I went to camps and tournaments,” Anderson said of her preparation for this season. “I feel faster and stronger. I feel like I’ve taken the next step.”

Schempp likes his sophomore star’s chances in Glens Falls and Rochester. “She’s fit and strong,” he said “She’s definitely more flexible than most other kids, and that gives her a big advantage. She keeps adding moves to her arsenal. I think she can become the first girl to place in the New York State tournament.”

Anderson may well make her coach’s prediction come true. If she doesn’t, though, one thing is certain: it won’t be for lack of trying