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Article on Becky Cissel and Southern Indiana Wrestling/Louisville KY Wrestling

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She may be the only girl on the mats at Jeffersonville, but self-possessed Becky Cissell has proven her value and set high goals.

Ask Becky Cissell her favorite thing about wrestling and you probably won?t be surprised by her answer once you get to know her.

?Watching other guys cry when you pin them,? she says. ?It happens more than you think.?

You see, the Jeffersonville High School senior is a member of the Red Devils? wrestling team, and has been since she was a freshman. And in that time she has proven to be a tough, valuable contributor, and not just ?that girl wrestler at Jeff.?

?We look forward to her not as a novelty, but as a huge part of our team goals to go to the state finals,? Jeffersonville coach Dan Struck says heading into this season. ?She is a huge contributor to that goal.

?Becky is a great kid! She is a great wrestler with huge goals: being the first girl to be Academic All-State in Indiana wrestling, and to be an Olympian.?

It all began when Cissell was in junior high and there was an announcement for anyone who was interested in wrestling. ?It sounds like a fun thing to do,? Cissell recalls saying to herself.

She went to practice and loved it, especially the thrill of victory. ?I?m a very aggressive person, and a very competitive person,? Cissell says. ?Winning was just so much fun, I hate losing so I?d do anything to win.?

She took that attitude with her to Jeff High. ?My freshman year I had to prove myself, prove that I wanted to be on this team,? says Cissell, who was 6-16 on the junior varsity that year, then 15-10 on the JV as a sophomore.

Cissell says she has met with a little resistance ? she?s usually the only girl at meets ? but even when she does she?s taken it in stride.

?I know some of the guys say, ?I won?t wrestle her because she?s a girl,? but most people are okay with it now,? says Cissell.

Last season, her first year on the varsity team, she posted a 21-24 record against the boys.

Then, this past summer Cissell was sixth in the girls? national championships. In that meet she lost to Alaska?s Michala Hutchison, who was the first girl in the nation to win a boys? high school wrestling state championship.

?I want to do something big this year, I?ve been working hard, I deserve it,? Cissell says. ?This season coming up, I will be national champ, it?s going to be a big year for me.?

Cissell has been working on her throws and improving her speed.

?(Wrestling) is all year round. If I take off I lose muscle faster than the guys, get out of shape faster than the guys,? Cissell says. ?I don?t know what I?d do if I didn?t wrestle. I?d probably be sitting at home on the couch eating, because wrestlers love to eat.?

This season Cissell, who has a better than 3.3 grade-point average and one day hopes to become a doctor, joined the girls? soccer team in order to get in better shape for wrestling season.

?I?m just now learning the rules of it,? Cissell says. ?I got a yellow card for pushing.?

But she says that soccer has been good for her because it has given her some new female friends. ?Who I could go to the mall with, but we don?t really go to the mall,? Cissell says. ?I do act like a girl. When the season starts I?ll probably be wearing heels every day so everybody knows, ?She?s a girl,? because I hate that stereotype.?

One thing is for sure, you can?t put a label on Cissell.

Taking it to the Mat

The Trinity Shamrocks are sending a strong team to the mats this year in hopes of a top state finish. And keep an eye on Oldham County, Eastern and Jeffersonville.

For the last six seasons Trinity has finished in the Top 10 at the KHSAA State Wrestling Tournament.

Last year the Shamrocks placed fourth, their highest finish during that span, which has elevated expectations for this winter. ?This upcoming season Trinity has high goals,? new Shamrocks coach Richard Brown says.

Trinity, which has won one state title (in 1989), will be one of a few local teams trying to become the first Louisville-area school to win the state championship since South Oldham in 2003.

The Shamrocks return several key wrestlers from last season, including junior Brad Hitchings. Second last year in the 171-pound weight class, Hitchings wants to win a state title like his dad, Mark, did at Fern Creek in the early 1980s.

Also back for Trinity is junior Myron Bradbury, who was third in the state at 103 as a sophomore and second as a freshman, and senior heavyweight Jordan Whiting, who was third last year.

Others back for Trinity include junior Grant Ohlmann, who was fifth at 130 last year, and senior Brock Messina, who was eighth at 215 last season. ?Brock Messina is one of the reasons coaches coach,? Brown says. ?We, as a coaching staff, watched Brock ?turn the corner? last year and place eighth. It?s great to watch a kid transform right before your eyes. He?s a three-year starter and this will be the first year he?s weighed near 215 pounds (he was 190 as a sophomore and 203 as a junior), we have high expectations for him.?

The Oldham County Colonels have high hopes of their own after finishing as runner-up in Region 5 and in 11th-place at state. They were represented in 13 of the 14 weight classes at state and graduated only one of those wrestlers.

?With a very strong group of seniors and talented bunch of underclassmen, I think it is safe to say that we are going to aim a little higher this year,? Oldham County coach Aaron Riordan said. ?If our team stays healthy both mentally and physically I could definitely see us competing for a regional title again and perhaps a Top 10 finish at the State Tournament.?

The Colonels will be led by senior Ichiro Chiba, who was third last year at 215. They?ll also have Jeff Smith at 189, Taylor Menard at 171 and Jeremy Bollman, who was seventh at 140 last year.

One Louisville-area state champion returns from last season, Eastern senior Justin Davis, who won the title at 135. Other top returnees from last season include Eastern senior Joaquin Luna (who was sixth at 125), South Oldham senior Ryan Houchens (second at 189) and Central senior Jordan Tennyson (eighth at 189).

Teams to watch include North Oldham and South Oldham, Eastern, Fern Creek and St. Xavier.

SOUTHERN INDIANA

There are a host of teams and wrestlers to watch, including Jeffersonville led by seniors Jonathan Clark, Tyler Tatgenhorst and Becky Cissell and juniors Caleb Browner and Curtis Smith. Charlestown returns seniors Aaron May and Luis Eduardo Duran and junior Jeff Stotridge, while Providence will be led by a trio of seniors - Ethan Cook, Kevin Mooney and Omar Salgero. New Albany should be led by junior Tim Martin.

Josh Cook is a freelance writer living in the Louisville area.