By Peter Brewington
USA TODAY 1993

Recruiting a girl for the varsity wrestling
team at Broad Run High in Ashburn, Va., was an
experiment launched in fun.
But Kandice Calderwood's athletic ability
hasn't been funny for the boys she's beating and
pinning.
Calderwood, who has a 5-13 record, with all of
her wins earned on the mat (not by forfeit),
could be the most successful female hlgh school
wrestler in northern Virginia, near Washington,
D.C.
The 5-3, 112-pounder was coaxed into trying
out by younger brother Brandon, a star 103-
pound sophomore who knew her as a tough
scrapper from family brawls - "play fights,"
she says - against her six brothers and sisters.
"Brandon goes, 'Just come out and at least
wrestle off. It'll be cool having you on the
team,"' says Kandice, 18, a senior. "I didn't
know the moves."
Her tryout was encouraged by coach Ed
Steele, who desperately sought a 112-pounder to
bolster his program.
She easily won the spot, overwhelming four
boys with determination and strength. "I think
we're all kind of impressed," says senior co-
captain Brian McDonald, a 140-pounder. "Now
she's one of the guys."
A cross country runner and former basketball
player, softball is her No. I sport. She's a catcher
with a rifle arm. Her dream is to play at the
University of Utah.
But she regrets the impending end of wres-
tling, saying, "I love it now." She yearns for a
women's league to continue in.
Steele says Kandice has been valuable despite it
her losing record. She has been pinned just four
times, which saves the team points, and she has
lost four matches by one point. The team is 8-8 in
a rebuilding season.
Last week Kandice and Brandon pinned oppo-
nents in the same meet prompting Broad Run
officials to wonder if that was a high school
wrestling first. No records are kept. It was
Kandice's second pin. Brandon has 18.
"I've had four girls wrestle but never one on
the varsity and none who won a match," Steele,
52, says.
"She's everything you look for in an athlete in
any sport. She has athletic ability and determi-
nation, and she's extremely coachable. She does
what you tell her to do."
"She's been taught to see things through," says
her father, Kerry Calderwood.

"Quitting is the last thing on her mind. She's a
tough kid who gets excited when she wins. Even
if she wasn't winning, she would not quit'"
Kandice draws attention at meets. She says
male rivals like to come over to talk. "My
teammates call me a traitor," she says.
Her relative fame has overshadowed that of
Brandon, a bona fide star. Brandon, 16, is 25-3
with state tournament aspirations.

Brotherly love: Kandice Calderwood joined the
team this season at Brandon's urging.

"Brandon has a harder time than he wants to
admit with the attention she's getting," their
father says. "He's the reason she came out. He
recruited her. He supported her."
Yet Brandon loves it: "She's the toughest girl I
ever met. I'm proud of her."
Originally from Ogden, - Utah, the Calderwoods
are a Mormon family of four boys and
three girls.
besides Kandice and Brandon, there's Keri Ann
19, a student at Utah Valley State Junior
college; Jamie, 14; and boys Tyler, 13, Kirby, 6,
and Connor, 4.
Sports is a family theme. kerry Calderwood
wrestled in high school. The kids love to grapple
on the family trampoline. Jamie is gymnast at
Broad Run and plays softball with Kandice.
Kandice was nervous when she started wrestling
not sure how her teammates would treat her
new to technique and worried about competing
on center stage.
Having a big family has helped.
It's been a lot of pressure. I was nervous, I was
not sure guys would like it," she says. "But guys
have been all right with it. I still get kind of
nervous, stage fright at matches. My opponents
are gonna be psyched because I'm a girl.
" I like it. I don't want to lose. I go out there and
try my hardest."
She hasn't been hurt aside from bruises, and her
long blond hair doesn't get in the way
anymore. "At first it did. Then I got a hair net,
kind of lunch-lady hat thing. It works real good."
With the regular season finished, Kandice could
be facing her final match in the Liberty
district meet, which starts Friday.
" I wish I'd started earlier," she says.
Seeded fifth, she needs two wins to advance to
regionals.