Across region, girls going to the mat

When Hingham High School ninth-grader Abby Nestor took the mat for her first wrestling match against Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School last December, she did not know what to expect.

In 29 seconds she easily whipped her male adversary, taking a 4-0 lead in points before pinning him to get her first junior varsity victory.

It was exhil arating for Nestor and, for the rest of the world, maybe mildly surprising -- but far less so than it used to be.

In Massachusetts, particularly in the region south of Boston, more and more girls are going out for what many consider the last bastion of high school male athletic dominance.

Three years ago, 38 girls were on boys' teams statewide, according to Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association participation statistics. Two years ago the number of female wrestlers nearly doubled to 74. And last year it climbed to 93.

Almost a third of the state's female wrestlers are from schools south of Boston.

"Boys are generally stronger and have a decided advantage. But girls seem to know more about technique," said Canton coach Tom Bartosek. "If a girl knows what she is doing, she can win."

Sophomores Lauren Cortizo and Christie Keough wrestle for Canton, as do four other girls. "They are pretty good," said Bartosek. "Lauren beat a wrestler from Oliver Ames in a junior varsity match, and I don't know if the kid is over it yet."

The female wrestlers also find the whole experience a bit new, but they are quickly getting used to it.

"Wrestling boys at first was weird and a little intimidating, but after a while it is no different that wrestling girls," says Nestor, who is one of two girls on the Hingham team. The other is sophomore Brittany Nelson, in her second year on the squad.

"When we get on the mat, we just want to do the best we can," said Nestor.

There was a time when co-ed wrestling was unthinkable.

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, there were only six female high school wrestlers in the United States in the mid-1980s. Today approximately 2 percent of all high school wrestlers are female.

But it has not come without opposition.

In Minnesota, there was a bill in the state Legislature two years ago that would have banned girls from wrestling against boys. The measure died, but not after igniting considerable debate.

There have been no similar debates locally, as girls have taken their positions on teams across the region. Brockton High School had nine female wrestlers on its team last year, Southeast Regional in Easton had five, Norwell and Middleborough had three each. Duxbury and Dedham had two, while Braintree, Norton, and Holbrook had one on their teams last year, according to MIAA statistics.

Some of the local girls hope to compete in state and regional tournaments next month . The Michigan-based US Girls Wrestling Association will host the Massachusetts Girls Open Championship at the Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School in Fitchburg on March 10 and a New England Open Championship at the Lilla G. Frederick Pilot Middle School in Dorchester on March 24.

The tournament is for girls from 5 years old through college age. Competitors come from all over the Northeast. Last year in the elementary school division, Rebecca Regan of Foxborough finished second in the 92-pound weight division.

What is prompting more girls to turn out for wrestling? The addition of women's freestyle wrestling to the Olympics in 2004 may be one factor, but most girls say they simply enjoy the sport.

It was Nestor's classmates, both male and female, who urged her to try out for the school team. She never wrestled before, but as a martial arts black belt, she seemed a natural fit.

On the other hand, Nelson gravitated to the team because her brothers are wrestlers. Older brother Jason was a Patriot League All-Star and team captain last year, and brother Neal, a junior, is on this year's squad.

"I've been with the program for six years," said Paul Canniff, Hingham's junior varsity coach, "and Brittany was the first girl to stick it out for the whole season."

Although both girls compete primarily on the junior varsity, by the time they are seniors, they could advance to the varsity if they stay with the program.

Many girls do not. Brockton and Dedham have all-male teams this year. "We had two girls on our team last year," said Dedham High School athletic director Bob Lynch. "One graduated and the other decided not to go out for the team. Another girl thought about going out, but changed her mind."

There is no vacillation in Nestor's mind. "I'm hoping to move up to the varsity next year," said Nestor. "The boy who wrestles ahead of me in my weight division should be moving up a weight class, and I hope to fill in."

"Everybody has the potential to make the varsity," added Canniff.

A knee injury sustained in practice sent Nestor to the sidelines in mid-January. "Abby either tore or sprained her medial lateral ligament in practice," said her mother, Ruth Cooper, a nurse at Jordan Hospital in Plymouth. "Although she is on crutches, she goes to all the practices and all the competitions. She enjoys being a member of the team. The boys on the team have been very good to her and Brittany."

And the girls have been good to them.