Mindy Finlay and Samantha Watson just want to be one of the guys.
The senior girls don't seek preferential treatment from coaches, opponents, fans or referees. They don't want opponents to take it easy on them.
They just want to be members of the Brainerd Warriors wrestling team.
Finlay and Watson are believed to be the first females to be with the Warriors' wrestling team for an entire season. A few other girls have considered the idea, or actually attempted to wrestle, but discontinued their quest when they discovered the rigors of a demanding sport.
Finlay made her varsity debut Thursday, getting pinned in 56 seconds by Jeff Stang of Sartell. Otherwise, she and Watson have been wrestling strictly for the junior varsity. Their only victories have been by forfeit or bye.
Their participation raises the usual eyebrows. Should girls compete against boys? Can girls withstand the pounding of a rough and tumble sport? What will boys feel like if they lose to girls?
Other concerns include where do the girls dress and how do they go through the weigh-in process?
Warriors head coach Bob Brakke said during weigh-ins, boys weigh-in first and leave the locker room before the girls enter to be weighed. Wrestlers wear shorts and/or shirts during weigh-ins.
"The girls have to change somewhere else," Brakke said. "Most of the time there has been a locker room for them but sometimes they end up in the ladies' room."
Brakke said the issue of touching should be a concern.
"You're grabbing another person," he said. "A lot of times there is contact, probably where contact shouldn't be made, but it's done in such a way that it's competitive. You're trying to win a wrestling match. You're not trying to get anything else out of it. I think once people get past that, and realize that's not a problem, it's not an issue."
Finlay said the contact between male and female wrestlers shouldn't be an issue.
"I don't have a problem with it," the 103-pound Finlay said, "just because I don't see wrestling as guy-girl. I don't see me as a girl and them as a guy. I see me as a wrestler and them as a wrestler.
"I've had a lot of apprehension from some guys. The first few days of practice was kind of freaky for them, but the guys on the team have been great about it. They're just like me. I'm one of the guys. Some of the other wrestlers I go up against, you can see it in their eyes. They're like, 'Oh my gosh. It's a girl.' Then they're like, 'Well, I've got to wrestle her.' But I don't think I've ever had a forfeit (victory) because I was a girl."
Watson doesn't believe any of the boys she has wrestled have had a problem with her being a different gender.
"They see us as a couple of the guys," the 152-pound Watson said. "Losing to us is just like losing to anyone else. It's a chance to get better."
Finlay considered becoming a wrestler after hearing a sibling's friend discuss the sport.
"My sister's boyfriend was a wrestler," she said. "Every time he talked about it, I was like big eyeballs, or a puppy dog, like that sounds so cool. So last year I asked (assistant) coach (John) Spartz if it would be OK if I joined the wrestling team, and he said, 'Yeah, I guess.' He didn't know what to do about it. You can't exactly say no. That's kind of how I got started."
Watson's relatives influenced her to start wrestling.
"My uncles and cousins were all involved in wrestling," she said. "They taught me, and I decided I wanted to join."
Brakke conceded that he wondered why Finlay and Watson wanted to wrestle, particularly because they are seniors and hadn't participated in many other athletic activities.
"Why would they want to subject themselves to this?" he said. "Then, of course, you worry about how the guys are going to take it, how parents are going to take it, how the community is going to take it, but it's been a pleasant surprise.
"(The girls) are working hard. They're giving it their all. I think they will gain something positive out of this, and I think the guys in this room with them are going to get something positive out of this."
Junior Andy Pickar said the Warriors accepted the challenge.
"At the beginning, it was a lot different," Pickar said. "It was different having girls in the room. We had never really experienced that. But it hasn't changed things. We don't even notice them in here. They're just one of the guys. They're a big part of our team. It's great that they're on our team."
Watson and Finlay said being members of a team has been the most rewarding part of their experience.
"The guys have been a lot of fun," said Watson, who will enter the Navy in June. "Everybody is really cool.
"The fact they accepted us is really great. Usually, everybody is like, 'Girls can't be wrestlers, girls can't do this, girls cant do that.' These guys didn't seem shocked. They were like, 'Hey, it's more people to join."
Finlay described her experience as "awesome."
"I can't express how great it is to feel like part of the team," said Finlay, who plans to enter the Army after graduation. "This pushes me so hard. Before, I was like a quitter. If I faced something, I would quit. We had what we call red-flag day that teaches us to push ourselves past the limits that we set. Since then, I've been doing way better.
"The big thing is it's great to be part of this team. We work together. It's like a big family, but too many brothers."
To boys on the Warriors' wrestling team, Finlay and Watson are like their sisters.
