What Do You Think?

[GurlRusz]

This is one of those stories that I am really not sure which camp I am in. There are some sports that I see no problem with mixed male and female competition. There are others that males and females should defiantly not be paired up against each other. Wrestling sort of falls in the middle but I would tend to agree that males and females should not be wrestling against each other.

Copied from:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110217/ap_on_sp_ot/us_girl_wrestler_default


By LUKE MEREDITH, Associated Press Luke Meredith, Associated Press – Thu Feb 17, 5:13 pm ET

DES MOINES, Iowa – A standout Iowa high school wrestler refused to compete against a girl at the state tournament on Thursday, relinquishing any chance of becoming a champion because he says wrestling a girl would conflict with his religious beliefs.

Joel Northrup, a home-schooled sophomore who was 35-4 wrestling for Linn-Mar High School this season, praised his first-round opponent, Cedar Falls freshman Cassy Herkelman, and Ottumwa sophomore Megan Black, who became the first two girls to make the state wrestling tournament in its 85-year history.

But in a brief statement issued through his school, Northrup said he defaulted on his match with Herkelman because he doesn't think boys and girls should compete in the sport.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for Cassy and Megan and their accomplishments. However, wrestling is a combat sport and it can get violent at times," said Northrup. "As a matter of conscience and my faith I do not believe that it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner. It is unfortunate that I have been placed in a situation not seen in most other high school sports in Iowa."

There were several thousand fans at Wells Fargo Arena on Thursday, but many were watching other matches when the referee raised Herkelman's hand to signal her win. There was a smattering of cheers and boos from the crowd before Herkelman was whisked into the bowels of the arena.

Tournament organizers declined to make Herkelman available for questions. She entered the tournament with a 20-13 record and will wrestle Friday in the quarterfinals of the 112-pound weight class.

Her father, Bill Herkelman, told The Associated Press via text message that he understands and respects Northrup's decision.

"It's nice to get the first win and have her be on the way to the medal round," Bill Herkelman wrote. "I sincerely respect the decision of the Northrup family especially since it was made on the biggest stage in wrestling. I have heard nothing but good things about the Northrup family and hope Joel does very well the remainder of the tourney."

Because he defaulted and didn't forfeit, Northrup was allowed to compete in the consolation rounds, and he won his first match later Thursday by major decision.

He was spared any chance of meeting up with Black, who also wrestles at 112 pounds and was 25-13 entering the tournament, when she was eliminated after being pinned in both of her matches. But it's possible Northrup and Herkelman could be matched again if both make the finals of the consolation bracket.

Northrup's father, Jamie Northrup, is a minister in the Believers in Grace Fellowship, an independent Pentecostal church in Marion that believes young men and women shouldn't touch in a "familiar way," said Bill Randles, the church's pastor.

"We believe in the elevation and respect of woman and we don't think that wrestling a woman is the right thing to do. Body slamming and takedowns, that full contact sport is not how to do that."

Randles said Joel has been involved in wrestling for many years, and he and his family have discussed before the possibility of girls getting involved in the sport.

"It's totally his choice. He's a young man now and he's worked hard to get where he's gotten. It's up to him, and it was his conviction" not to wrestle Herkelman.

Black said Northrup refused to wrestle her three years ago, and that she respects him for adhering to his beliefs.

"If it's his religion and he's strong in his religion, then I just respect that," Black said. "Obviously, everyone can be pointing fingers at him. He, at least, is true to his beliefs and you have to respect that. It takes a lot for a 15- or 16-year-old boy to do."

Marth Stetzel, a Perry mother whose two sons were taking part in the tournament, said she also didn't have a problem with Northrup's decision.

"We're really raising kids that are going to be bigger than wrestling, and if it's something that he believes strongly in — which is not necessarily what I would do — you've got to respect a kid like that," Stetzel said.

Wrestling is extremely popular in Iowa, and Black and Herkelman are the first girls to qualify for the state tournament since it was first sanctioned by the Iowa High School Athletic Association in 1926.

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, more than 6,000 girls competed in wrestling in 2009-10 — compared with nearly 275,000 boys. Though most states require girls to wrestle boys, California, Hawaii, Texas, Washington and Tennessee sponsor girls-only high school wrestling tournaments.

[GurlRusz]

For first time, Iowa girl wins a state wrestling match ... by forfeit


Thu Feb 17 2011
By Cameron Smith

On Thursday, a girl won a match at the most historic high school state wrestling tournament in the country, but she did so in an even more unusual and controversial way than most had imagined possible.

According to the Cedar Rapids Metro Sports Report, Des Moines Register and Associated Press, among other outlets, Cassy Herkelman, one of two girls who qualified for the Iowa state wrestling tournament, won the opening match in her Class 3-A, 112-pound classification by forfeit when her scheduled opponent, Joel Northrup, officially reported and withdrew from the bout, earning a loss but ensuring he could continue to participate in later matches at the tournament.

Northrup, a sophomore at Linn-Mar (Iowa) High, cited his personal faith as the motivating force for his forfeit. The withdrawal ensures he can finish no higher than third at the tournament, which follows his third-place finish in the 103-pound classification as a freshman.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for Cassy and Megan [Black] and their accomplishments," Northrup said in a statement given to the media following his official forfeit. "However, wrestling is a combat sport and it can get violent at times.

"As a matter of conscience and faith, I do not believe that it is appropriate for a boy to engage a girl in this manner. It is unfortunate that I have been placed in a situation not seen in most other high school sports in Iowa."

While girls have been allowed to compete as part of boys wrestling teams in Iowa for more than two decades, the 2010-11 season marks the first time that any girls have qualified for the state tournament. In addition to Herkelman, who you can see wrestling in the video above, fellow 112-pound wrestler Megan Black is also competing at the historic state tournament.

When Northrup's forfeit was made official, Herkelman, a freshman at Cedar Falls (Iowa) High was summoned to the middle of the mat and her arm was raised aloft, as you can see in the picture above, signifying the first official victory for a girl at the Iowa wrestling championships.

Though there was plenty of reason for disappointment, Herkelman's father, Bill Herkelman, told the Des Moines Register that the family harbored no ill will toward Northrup whatsoever.

"My understanding is that they've got strict convictions [as a family], and I respect them," Bill Herkelman told the Register. "I don't have any ill will toward them and I don't think it's any kind of boycott about [Cassy Herkelman] being a girl."

In a subplot that could prove to be as intriguing as the initial forfeit, it's possible that Northrup -- who entered as the No. 5 seed in the 112-pound classification -- will be faced with an identical scenario later in the tournament. With Northrup working through the loser's bracket following the forfeit, he will be forced to face off with the losers of other matches later in the event.

If Herkelman or Black, who wrestles for Ottumwa (Iowa) High, lose in the early rounds of the event, they would enter the same bracket that now features Northrup, meaning that there is an outside possibility that the Linn-Mar sophomore would be paired against a girl again.

Another forfeit would all but end Northrup's tournament altogether, though it would hardly generate the attention or notoriety that his initial forfeit gained, given its history-making role in the annals of Iowa high school sports.