This article appeared yesterday in the Algona (IA) Upper Des Moines newspaper. I was wondering what others might think of this.


Local Sports
Thougts of Moment: Right or wrong, wrestle or not

By:Scott Shannon December 11, 2003
For the record, I believe female athletes should not be allowed to compete with the boys at the varsity high school level and above-no exceptions, none. You can't say girls can compete in one sport but not another. No, all sports.

With that said, right or wrong, Algona coach Brian Morgan was faced with a tough decision this past Thursday, Dec. 4, when Clarion-Goldfield came to town. For the second time in as many years, Clarion had a female wrestler in the varsity lineup.

Roxanne Soesbe, the only female varsity wrestler in the North Central Conference, played a key role in Clarion's 39-36 victory over Algona last season, and as it turned out had a hand in this seasons victory as well.

Last year, Soesbe pinned her opponent and started heating up the topic of female athletes competing in male sports on a local level.

This year, facing similar circumstances, Morgan elected to forfeit the 112-pound match against Soesbe. For his part, Morgan said the decision not to wrestle Soesbe was not based on her gender.

Rather, Morgan said he didn't have an experienced 119-pound wrestler because state qualifier Tyler Bjustrom is still injured, and the backup isn't ready. Instead, Morgan moved up his 112-pound wrestler, saying it was a good chance for him to face a quality opponent.

Regardless, the decision had Algona fans buzzing clear into the weekend. What was the right thing to do? Wrestle Soesbe, or forfeit. Right or wrong. Moral or not. Some fans said forfeiting was absolutely the right thing to do, and even if the dual had come down to her match, you still should forfeit.

Speaking for myself, hogwash. I'm already on the record for my feelings about girl athletes competing against boys; it shouldn't happen. But, since at our present time, girls are allowed to compete in wrestling, you shouldn't just walk away.

Competition is competition. Life isn't always fair, sometimes it down right stinks. That's the great thing about sports, teaching young men and women how to handle life.

The ones still in high school won't realize what they've learned for at least a few more years, but sports helps shape us into who we are was adults.

What better way to learn about the ups and downs of life than from sports. Competition is the great equalizer. Sports can have you feeling like a king one moment, or down in the dumps the next. Only in sports can someone go from hero to goat in a matter of breath-taking moments.

For those of you who'll say it, you're right, I wasn't at Clarion last year when Soesbe pinned an Algona wrestler. I've heard people were hard on him because of that, and sometimes cruel.

That's too bad, from what I've been told, he's a very nice young man. But, that's life, it's not always a bowl of cherries. And, if the teasing got out of hand, veteran team members should've taken charge of the situation.
The road through life is paved with many obstacles and this was one for him.

Competition is competition, remember that. I don't care if you get beat by a girl. You got beat by an opponent, bottom line. When you get beat, pick yourself back up and work harder to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Soesbe's path was a tough one just to get to this spot. She quit wrestling at one point because of verbal and sexual harassment. I told people that, and the response I got was tough, that's life. Yeah, exactly, the same goes on the other side.

"She's just like anyone else, she wants to go out and scrap," said Clarion coach Vic Vanderpool. Soesbe has sweated her way into a top five national girls ranking at her weight, and finished third in the national tournament last March.

"A lot of guys want to wrestle a girl just to put them to shame," Soesbe said. "More guys are being more accepting. I think in the future, more schools will have girls wrestling."

The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union states no male shall compete in a female sport like volleyball. However, girls can compete in sports that are not offered such as wrestling and football.

Vanderpool expects Soesbe will have her fair share of matches this season in tournaments. Currently Soesbe is Clarion's No. 1 wrestler at 112. That means anyone who meets her in tournament action will have to wrestle her, or face forfeiting the rest of the day.

Chances are, Soesbe won't last long during the weekend tournaments. She'll likely receive a low seed and have to wrestle one of the top seeds early in the tournament, and likely will be beaten.

It's not right, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. This is not separation of races were talking about. However, with all that said, girls should not be ignored as well. Win or lose, at least it was about the competition and not about the issue.

Someone asked if I would want to be beaten by a girl. Well of course not, at least not if we're not on our first date, then its mandatory to let her win.

©Algona Upper Des Moines 2003