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You go, girl!

Harry S Truman sophomore Aquilla Hills might be the first area girl in to wrestle at the varsity level. What's more, she has won three of her first four varsity matches.

By ANTHONY STITT
Courier Times 12/19/2000

Aquilla Hills is tough.

Not girl-tough. Not boy-tough. But tough-tough. She's strap-on-the-headgear-and-throw-you-to-the-mat kind of tough.

But standing there in her Nike black body suit and bubbly smile, the slender Aquilla looks more like a teenage girl heading out for some aerobics.

Until she straps on the wrestling headgear. (Note: She's taken off her earrings awhile ago.)

"I dress like a girl, and I talk like a girl, and I walk like a girl," she says. "But when I get my wrestling boots on, the man comes out in me."

So you had better watch yourself, Blake Cutler. He's the boy - a 103-pound piece of scrap metal from Council Rock - who must wrestle Aquilla in a few moments.

"It's hard, because if you win, it's nothing much because you beat a girl," Cutler says. "But if you lose, you're going to get a lot of crap."

Aquilla Hills is fulfilling a self-promise: to wrestle varsity at Harry S Truman.

She just might be the first girl who's ever wrestled varsity in the area. Local coaches can't recall any girl who has competed at the varsity level; they only know of girls who have wrestled junior varsity matches. Hills also wrestles junior varsity.

"When she wins it's not a surprise," Truman coach Steve Given says. "Skill-wise, she's there with the boys."

Aquilla, a 16-year-old sophomore, is no novice. She's been wrestling boys for eight years, and last year, she won the state's first annual high school wrestling championship for girls at the 104- to 112-pound weight class.

Her father, John Hills, estimates she's beaten more than 60 boys through the years, not to mention dozens of girls.

"Some boys dread her, not because she's a girl, but because of her physical ability and knowledge," John Hills says. "She knows wrestling."

Her mother, Gayle Hills, remembers when Aquilla told her she wanted to quit cheerleading in favor of the mat. Gayle smiles, recalling, "She's a little lady. She was a cheerleader, but said, 'Mom, I want to wrestle.' There's no stopping her."

Blake Cutler is aggressive, strong.

He has Aquilla locked tightly, his arm wrapped behind her head, twisting and pulling her torso with the other arm.

As Gayle videotapes the junior-varsity match from the bleachers, John starts yelling instructions, "Babe, you gotta move, now!" Then, John says softly, "This guy is tough."

But Aquilla won't budge - won't give. Aquilla's reason to wrestle - and to wrestle boys, specifically - is simple: "It's a challenge because I'm a girl and guys are stronger," she says.

She pauses, then says, "I don't think any girl could beat me anyway."

But John and Gayle realize some of their daughter's opponents and coaches believe a girl shouldn't be wrestling boys.

They say they haven't experienced any blatant sexism, but they have chuckled at a more subtle variety.

"Some coaches have stopped talking to me because Aquilla has beaten their boys," John says.

John continues, "One boy quit after wrestling Aquilla."

So far this season, Aquilla is 3-1 at the varsity level, placing third at a recent New Hope-Solebury Tournament, where she beat two boys and a girl. She is also 2-2 at junior varsity.

"If they wrestle me and I beat them, then I know it lowers their self-esteem," Aquilla says.

Her mother is proud. "A lot of people don't think a girl should be wrestling," Gayle says, "but they're the ones worried about getting pinned by a girl."

She then adds, "If I could've wrestled, I would've done it, too."

Blake Cutler is winning. He just scored two points when he spun behind her after she failed a takedown. But Aquilla is beginning to rally.

She's trying to keep her legs locked under Blake's and it looks like she's attempting to roll him over.

"If she gets her leg in there, she's got him," John says.

Aquilla isn't alone.

On the bench, sits Regina Inigo, another girl wrestler at Harry S Truman. Unlike Aquilla, though, Regina, 16, has not wrestled varsity; she has a 3-1 record at junior varsity this season.

"It's cool to wrestle," Regina says. "Nobody actually says, 'Oh my God, it's a girl.' It's the same as a guy playing field hockey."

Regina might be right. Truman has broken the gender barrier quite often of late. This past fall season, Truman has had a girl (Jennifer Torres) playing on the ninth-grade football team, and a boy (Matt Hansell) playing on the girls field hockey team.

Still, coach Given says "no comment" when asked if he'd ever let a daughter wrestler. He does say, though, how Aquilla and Regina have earned respect from the boys and coaches.

Varsity wrestler Matt Smith appreciates the girls' gumption.

"Girls usually play basketball or are cheerleading, but then there are girls like Aquilla and Regina who are brave enough to wrestle," Smith says.

"It feels awkward at first having girls on the team," says varsity wrestler Matt Moeler. "But then they end up being just one of the guys."

Only a minute remains in the match.

Aquilla is the aggressor. She's still trying to hook her legs around Blake's - still trying to roll him into a pin.

She is fighting. So is Blake.

John jolts to his feet, pumps his arms, starts yelling, "Get your leg in there! GET IN THERE!"

The final seconds tick off the clock. The ref's whistle blows. Blake wins, 2-0.

Blake has no problem explaining what he thought of his female competition.

"She's good," Blake says. "She's pretty strong for a girl."

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The Curse of Patty O'Shamus

The story of Patty O' Shamus originated back in the 98-99 season of wrestling. There was a young lad that had started to wrestle so no one can steal his lucky charms anymore. He failed his objective to keep his lucky charms by getting pinned and letting the Irish hater take Shamus' lucky charms. Time passed by and Ol laddie soon started to get better and each match, when a Irish hater couldn't steal his lucky charms, they would have to wear the Cap of Shamus.

At Apopka there is always someone doomed to recieve the Cap of Shamus from being embarassed in a match. The only way to rid themself of this dreadful cap is to defeat the foe that made them wear it and if they can not, then may god have mercy on their soul.

Current Holder ...
This weeks Cap of Shamus is thrust upon Coach Macmillan for crashing his Camry and missing practice.

Past Bearers

Jan. 29: Goes to Colonial's J.V. 135 for losing the Ultimate Match.

Jan. 27: Darren Alemli for getting caught in a double jeopardy situation, if he wasn't pinned he would've been teched 18-1.

Jan. 24: Jones recieved the special Cap of Shamus because they just deserved it.

Jan. 17: No one recieved Cap of Shamus ... Maybe we are learning how to NOT LOSE!

Jan. 10: David Suraci for quitting the team even though he was co-captain. (He has since returned and must rid himself of the Curse of Shamus.)

Jan. 3: David Martins for talking trash and getting pinned to a guy he should have beat.

Dec. 16: Forrest Williams for getting pinned by a guy with the name of Crapper. He took a dump on Forrest.

Dec. 13: The entire Apopka Wrestling Team for their 83-0 loss to University.

Dec. 9: Chris Arney; Had a embarassing pin to a girl wrestler. She is laughing at you Chris. ------>

Dec. 1: Rolando Liboy; 1st wearer of the cap from a devistated loss to Patty himself. (very embarassing)

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Northmor High girl wrestler makes history

26 Feb 2001 By Jon Spencer
News Journal

MARION — Teammates exchanged high-fives. Fans and family members rose to
their feet in celebration. At least one coach choked back tears.
Their reactions did not jibe with that of Northmor wrestler Jessica Shirley,
a picture of stoicism as she walked off the mat with a history-making
victory in Saturday’s Division III district meet at the Marion Coliseum.
Garaway’s Brandi Killingsworth was credited with a district triumph back in
the mid-1990s, the victim of an illegal slam. But Shirley became the first
Ohio girl to actually earn a district victory when she pinned Newark
Catholic’s Kyle Bickle at 2:03 in Saturday’s first round 112-pound
consolation match
“The gym exploded, which you don’t usually see in a first-round
wrestle-back,” Northmor coach Mike Skelton said. “But I think the crowd knew
what was going on.”
Although she clearly understood the significance of her victory, Shirley also
has a keen perspective on matters of decorum when it comes to winning in a
sport populated almost entirely by males.
That’s why she kept her emotions bottled up.
“A lot of people think it’s not right for a girl to be out there, so I try to
stay calm and not show my emotions,” Shirley said. “I don’t want people
saying, ‘My god, did you see how she reacted?’ That would just give them
something else to talk about.”
The loud ovation she received from all corners of the Coliseum was an
encouraging sign that the wrestling community is warming to the idea of a
girl squaring off against the boys.
“It’s so much easier to wrestle when a crowd supports you like this,” said
Shirley, a senior co-captain. “There was a crowd at a tournament earlier
this year that booed me, and that makes you sort of hang your head, afraid
of what people might be saying.
“But this crowd made me feel wanted.”
Bickle took Shirley down 38 seconds into the match for a 2-0 lead and was
trying to climb off the bottom — the position he chose to start the second
period — when he got caught in a cradle, becoming Shirley’s 21st victim of
the season.
“She’s good at the cradle; that’s her favorite move,” said teammate C.B.
Dollaway. “I’m happy for her. Even though she got taken down, she never
stopped moving.”
Assistant coach Greg Allen sensed that Shirley fed off the crowd’s approval.
“When the crowd started roaring, you could tell she wasn’t going to let go
(of her grip on Bickle),” Allen said. “The funny thing is, moments before I
said to (fellow assistant) Joe Parsons, ‘If she gets him in a cradle it’s
all over.’ ”
Shirley still needed two more victories to earn one of four berths in the
state tournament. Unfortunately, she was pinned in her next match by Nic
Rossiter of Harrison.
“I’m happy with what I’ve done, but it’s hard thinking this is my last year,”
said Shirley, who will compete with other U.S. Olympic prospects in Sweden
next month. “I’ve been doing this for 10 years and I feel I’ve moved up a
>step every year.”
Teary-eyed Northmor assistant Stan Stoney was with her every step of the way.
“She was 7 years old when she started with me in the biddy program,” Stoney
said. “We’ve been to New Orleans, Las Vegas, Michigan, Indiana ... we’ve
been everywhere together.
“She just has a big heart. She’s not the biggest thing on this team and
sometimes she’s had to work out with the junior high boys, but she never
thought ‘I’m too good for you.’
“I’ll miss her, but she’s going on to bigger and better things. Hopefully,
some day, we’ll see her wrestling for America.”
Shirley’s family was in the front row of the stands, videotaping the
milestone moment.
“I shouldn’t admit this, but I wrote her off last week (at the sectional
tournament),” said Lee Ann Shirley, Jessica’s mother. “She had wrestled
defensively most of the year, but then last week she wrestled better than
she had in five years.”

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story on Northmor High girl wrestler

By Jon Spencer
News Journal 2/26/2001

IBERIA — A Columbus TV station jumped the gun last weekend when it reported
that trail-blazing wrestler Jessica Shirley of Northmor had suffered a
season-ending shoulder separation.
“Reports of her demise,” crowed Northmor coach Mike Skelton, “have been
greatly exaggerated.”
Again.
When Shirley first donned a varsity singlet three years ago, some suggested
it was just a stunt that would enjoy the same shelf-life as the soon-to-be
EX-FL; that she would become discouraged from getting thumped by stronger,
physically-maturing boys.
It didn’t happen.
When Shirley was sidelined her entire sophomore season by a shoulder injury,
some predicted she would lose interest in wrestling and turn her attention
to more girlish pursuits.
That didn’t happen either.
When she had her shoulder cranked in her first sectional bout last weekend
at
Amanda Cleercreek, it was presumed her season and ground-breaking career
were over.
Wrong again.
Shirley bounced back from injury to win three consolation matches and
advance
to Division III district competition, putting herself on the threshold of
history.
She could become the first girl in Ohio to win a district match this weekend
in the Marion Coliseum. Extensive digging by Skelton uncovered that only
three other girls have ever made it this far — Brandi Killingsworth of
Garaway, a two-time district qualifier in 1994-95; Sarah VanSkaik of
Cincinnati St. Bernard-Elmwood Place in 1999 and Becky D’Ambrosia of
Defiance Ayersville in 2000.
For someone who simply wanted to be acknowledged as a wrestler, period, this
distinction is still worth celebrating.
“Sometimes the recognition gets old,” Shirley said, “but I look at it as a
major accomplishment because I’m making a path for others.”
Skelton believes Shirley has a reasonable chance of making history this
weekend. This much is certain: The 112-pound senior is peaking at the right
time.
Two of her sectional triumphs were over opponents with more than 20
victories
apiece. She pinned Derek Oliver of Utica (23-7) in 2:05 and decisioned Jeff
odges of Bloom Carroll (23-13) by a 4-1 margin.
Shirley’s sectional performance came on the heels of a runner-up finish in
the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference tournament. She also finished second this
winter in the Northmor Duals, third at the Bucyrus Invitational and fourth
at the Olentangy Invitational in posting her 20-17 record.
According to Skelton, Shirley has been the focus of an all-out media blitz
the last few days. Imagine if she achieves the unimaginable and qualifies
for the state tournament next week in Columbus.
“That’s unchartered water,” Skelton said. “The odds would be long, but she’s
faced those odds her entire career and has met those challenges up to now.
“Let’s give her a chance. That’s all she has ever asked for.”
If there’s still a stigma attached to being a girl in a close-contact,
virtually all-male sport, it’s no longer as palpable.
Many of Shirley’s wins as a freshman were forfeits by boys who refused to
wrestle her. This season, only one of her 20 wins is by forfeit.
On JJHuddle.com, a Web site devoted to high school sports, one male wrestler
— Kellen Campbell of Finneytown — posted a message this week wishing
Shirley
good luck and hoping she makes it to state.
“When I started out, you could tell some of the boys I beat didn’t take it
well,” said Shirley, who owns 54 varsity wins and will compete with other
Olympic prospects in Sweden next month. “But now everyone is really
supportive. Even the kids I beat congratulate me.”

Reporter Jon Spencer can be reached at 521-7239. His e-mail address is
jspencer@nncogannett.com.

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