The Wrestling Match
by M.C.
The champion wrestlers of Jefferson high face an unusual challenge


The defending state champion wrestling team, as well as the capacity crowd at
Jefferson high school, stared in disbelief as the visiting team from Wilson
high filed into the gymnasium. Many had heard the rumors of what had
happened at the school of their cross-town rivals the previous week but who
could actually believe them; so preposterous were they. But, as the visiting
wrestlers removed their warm-up suits and began their pre-match stretching
exercises, it appeared that - in this case at least - all the rumors were
indeed true. Because each and every one of the Wilson high school varsity
wrestlers... was a girl.

How on earth did these seven small girls from the gymnastics team hope to
defeat the powerful grapplers of Jefferson high; who have not lost a match in
over two years. It was a farce, this match  should have never been allowed to
take place. Wilson high should have simply forfeited and saved themselves the
humiliation that they were obviously going to receive. How did this all come
about in the first place ?

Three days earlier...

" Well, I hope you girls are proud on yourselves," the principal stared
sternly over the rims of her glasses at the seven women gymnasts seated in
front of her." I assume you have a good explanation for what you've done ? "
Mary Stevens was not a woman you wanted to cross. A tough, no nonsense, school
administrator, she was responsible for bringing order and discipline to Wilson
high school. In the ten years she had been at the school, Mary had - through
hard work and a firm, but loving hand - turned the school entirely around;
from a run down backwater into one of the best administered public high
schools in the state. She always gave 100% of herself to her task, and always
demanded 100% in return; from both the teachers and students. " Now, who wants
to explain to me what happened ? "

Ginger Davis spoke first. " You see Ms. Stevens, those arrogant, macho boys on
the wrestling team had been bothering us for quite awhile; always asking us
out and then spreading nasty rumors about us when we refused. It finally got
so bad that we just couldn't take any more of their abuse.You were away at the
conference and Mr. Walker ( the men's wrestling coach ) just laughed at us
when we complained to him about the behavior of his 'boys'. Then, two days
ago, they pushed us too far  and we all decided 'enough is enough' - it was
time to teach them a good lesson."

" And ? " ...Mary asked her, although she already knew the answer.

" So we challenged them to a fight...and beat the crap out of them. I guess we
got a little bit carried away though ( giggles were heard from some of the
other girls ). How are they doing, by the way? "

Mary sighed. She knew the male wrestlers had been hassling the female gymnasts
and it was partly her fault for not dealing with the problem sooner,
before things got out of hand. But she was swamped with work that she had to
finish before her conference began and underestimated just how bad things had
become. " Well, the two boys you sent to the hospital should be getting out
later today. The other five appear to be recovering. Those black eyes, bloody
noses, swollen lips, and the welts and bruises you girls gave them will all
heal soon enough. Their shattered egos, however, may take awhile longer.
Unfortunately girls, your timing was lousy. Did you have to beat them up the
week before the match with Jefferson high ? They've been kicking our asses for
years. This time we thought we actually had a chance at finally beating them.
Now, thanks to you, none of our wrestlers is in any condition to compete
and Mr.Wilson has resigned as the wrestling coach.  I'm afraid we'll have to
forfeit the match."

There was a moment of silence before Nancy Jones raised her hand.

" Yes, Miss Jones."

" Maybe the school won't have to forfeit the match, Ms. Stevens. Since we were
also partially responsible for what happened, we could wrestle in place of the
guys. Why should the whole school have to suffer because of a few arrogant
boys." When Nancy said this, all the other girls nodded their heads in
agreement.

Mary removed her glasses and looked sharply at them. " Ladies, it's one thing
to use your martial arts skills in a free for all fight. Wrestling is an
entirely different discipline. None of you have ever wrestled before and each
one of you will be outweighed by a much larger and physically stronger boy
who is very experienced in the sport of wrestling. Need I remind you that
Jefferson high is the defending state champion ? "

" That may be true, Ms. Stevens," Millie Simpson chimed in," but the most
important qualities in wrestling seem to be speed and endurance; and I believe
in that department we can compete with them. After all, haven't you always
taught us that if we set our minds on doing something, there is nothing we
can't accomplish in our lives ? "

Mary had to concede the point here. Ever since she opened her Martial Arts
dojo, she had tried to instill in her students - primarily women and girls -
that there was nothing they were incapable of doing; if only they wanted it
badly enough. In her classes, Mary tried to toughen the minds of her students
as well as their bodies; to give them the strength and confidence to deal with
the outside world on their own terms. And she could think of no better example
of the success of her program, than the seven gymnasts that sat before her.

Eight years ago, Mary began to train the seven girls - then only nine years
old - and watched as they matured into strong, confident young women. Each one
holds at least a first degree black belt and Ginger, a third. Mary wasn't the
least bit surprised that her 'girls' could beat up the wrestling team - she
secretly wished she could have been there to witness it. In addition to that,
they're all considered among the top high school gymnasts in the country, as
well as honor students. But could they really stand a change against the boys
of Jefferson high ? Well, there was only one way to truly find out; wasn't
there ? " Very well then girls, you have my permission to wrestle. Since most
of you are eligible to wrestle in any weight category, I'll leave it up to you
to decide who will wrestle where...and good luck to you all."

Without any hesitation whatsoever, Millie blurted out," The heavyweight
category's mine." She had a very strange smile on her face when she said that.

"And I want the middleweight," Shana said; her smile was no less enigmatic The
rest of the categories were then divided up among the remaining girls. The
honor of facing the super heavyweight wrestler fell to Ginger.

The Match

The girls, and the opposing boys, finished their warm up exercises and the
match was about to begin. Off to the side, a slightly nervous Mary Stevens
watched. This would be the ultimate test of her program, and her philosophy.
She firmly believed that when women were properly trained, they could be the
equal (superior ?) of their male counterparts. One by one the girls were
introduced to the crowd. Not one of them weighed more than 130 pounds; their
male opponents would have a tremendous weight advantage over each of them. In
the super heavyweight division, the boy would outweigh Ginger by one hundred
and twenty pounds. The introductions over, the wrestlers ready, the match
began.

First up was the flyweight division. Nancy had it easy, her opponent only
outweighed her by 15 pounds. He was a very quick wrestler, but Nancy was
quicker...and stronger; she pinned him in two and a half minutes. In the
bantamweight division Sally had an easier time, pinning her male counterpart
in just under two minutes. As the Jefferson high school fans watched in
stunned silence - and the Wilson high school fans cheered - the girls quickly
took a 2 - 0 lead. The featherweight division pitted the defending city
champion in the weight class against Karen, arguably the most glamorous girl
at Wilson high. Before her match, she spent five minutes just brushing her
long, beautiful blond hair - heaven forbid she should look unattractive in
public...even in a wrestling match. She needn't have worried though; for less
than three minutes after the match began, Karen was giggling as she calmly sat
on her opponent's chest, relishing her victory...her pretty hair was not even
mussed. Off to the side, a more relaxed  Mary Stevens smiled.

How could this be happening? How could the best wrestlers in the state be
losing...to a bunch of girls ?  3 - 0 to the women of Wilson high.
Technically, all they had to do is win one more of their remaining matches and
the contest would be theirs. But there was more at stake here; there were
bragging rights. Even though they have been friends for years, if one of the
girls should lose, she'd lose face with her peers; and in high school, that's
a fate worse than death. Nothing other than a 7 - 0 whitewash of the Jefferson
high school wrestlers would suffice.

The middleweight division pitted Shana against Jeff - undefeated in three
years of high school wrestling. He was also a straight "A" student and a bona
fide genius. He spoke six languages, one less than Shana. His science project
finished second in the state high school science fair. First prize...went to
Shana. And his SAT scores were the second highest in the city; after
Shana's.This was the most competitive match so far. Giving up over 25 pounds,
Shana fell behind early in the match to her more experienced opponent. But, as
their battle wore on, Shana's superior conditioning began to make itself
felt. With less than a half a minute left in the match, Shana pinned him and
brought victory to Wilson high. The fans in their cheering section exploded."
Well Jeffy, it looks like I beat you  again, tee, hee, hee." Shana helped
the demoralized Jeff to his feet and then - much to his surprise - she planted
a big kiss on his cheek as she helped him to the sidelines. Soon afterwards
they began dating.

4 - 0 to Wilson high; there was nothing left for the Jefferson high school
wrestlers to fight for...except pride. In the light
heavyweight division, Sally - who weighed a mere 125 pounds  - gave up over 50
pounds to her opponent. Nevertheless, she still managed to pin him a few
seconds before the match was scheduled to end. Making the score  5 - 0 for
Wilson.

There now remained only the heavyweight and super heavyweight matches. Millie
would face one of the top ranked  high school heavyweight wrestlers in the
country, Robert Smith, who outweighed her by over 70 pounds !  The Jefferson
high school wrestlers - as well as their fans - were desperate now; they had
to win at least one match to avoid the total humiliation of losing to a bunch
of girls. To add to the drama, Robert had dated Millie briefly before dumping
her for one of the Jefferson high cheerleaders a year earlier, ( Millie,
you'll remember,  had specifically  requested to wrestle in Robert's division
). " I have some unfinished business to settle with Robert," she said...and so
she did. Despite Robert's huge weight advantage, and his many years of
experience; he couldn't overcome Millie's determination for vengeance. As the
crowd stared in disbelief, Millie - all 130 pounds of her - began to
methodically destroy the 205 pound Robert; completely dominating and
humiliating him in front of everyone - especially his girlfriend - who was
seen leaving the gymnasium in tears shortly afterwards. Her speed, her
surprising strength and, perhaps most of all, her desire for revenge, made
Millie unbeatable; Robert was totally outclassed. Millie even came up with a
fitting pin to end her match with him. Lying on the exhausted boy's chest -
her back facing his head - she grabbed one of his legs in each hand and yanked
them towards her. Millie them scooted back until she was literally sitting on
his face. The referee was laughing so hard - as was the entire audience - that
he almost forgot to count Robert out; nearly costing Millie her pin. After her
triumph, Millie put one foot on her humiliated ex-boyfriend and beat her chest
with her fists...like a female Tarzan. The crowd loved it. She then grabbed
Robert by his legs and dragged him over to where the other beaten boys sat. "
Love hath no fury like a woman scorned," Mary giggled to herself.  Six
down...one to go.

It was now Ginger's turn. Her opponent in the super heavyweight division - Max
- weighed 260 pounds to her 140. He too was considered among the top wrestlers
in the country in his weight category. A spot on the U.S. Olympic wrestling
team was considered a distinct possibility. The crowd grew silent as Ginger
and her massive opponent faced off against each other. Though Wilson high had
clearly won the match, Ginger wanted a shutout; proof positive that girls -
when properly trained - were the equal to boys, or even their superiors. A
decisive 7 - 0  victory would slam home that point as nothing else could. Max,
just wanted to salvage what was left of his team's pride; which had been
completely destroyed by the thrashing they had been getting at the hands of
these amazing supergirls. Besides, how could he lose to a girl that he
outweighed by 120 pounds? He had to win...he simply had to.

But it was not to be. For, despite his tremendous advantage in size, Max
couldn't match Ginger's amazing speed and surprising strength. She either
slipped out of every hold he tried to get her into, or simply broke out of
them. Incredibly, even the Jefferson high school fans began to cheer for her.
The match already being decided, they were caught up in the excitement of the
moment. That a team of small women gymnasts, could defeat the awesome
wrestlers of Jefferson high was simply amazing. Not only defeat them, but
destroy them - it was something that nobody who was there would ever forget.
Slowly but surely, Ginger wore her large opponent down. Her relentless attacks
coupled with her stamina proved to be too much for the slow moving, cumbersome
Max. As the match wound down to the final minute, his only hope was to simply
avoid a pin. He lay on his stomach, determined to wait it out. But Ginger
would have none of it. After all, her six teammates had all won with pins;
she'd be damned if she was merely going to win by a decision. Summoning all of
her remaining strength, the 140 pound girl dove into Max and, placing her arms
under him, let out a loud grunt. Incredibly, Ginger lifted the 260 pound boy
up and managed to roll him over onto his back. She then fell on top of him and
ended the match with a school girl pin in the final seconds.

They did it ! The girls from the Wilson high school gymnastics team had
completely destroyed the mighty wrestlers from Jefferson high; winning all
seven matches, pinning all seven boys. As the crowd - both Wilson and
Jefferson fans - gave the mighty women a well deserved standing ovation, the
victorious girls slapped each other five and received a hug from Mary. They
then shook hands with their beaten and humiliated opponents. All except Millie
that is. When she noticed that Robert was not among them, she searched the
gymnasium and spotted him sneaking out a side door. She followed him outside.
A few minutes later Millie returned, dragging Robert back in with her. He had
the makings of a black eye and a swollen lip; he also appeared to be crying.
Smiling at her teammates, Millie announced that Robert had been 'persuaded' to
become her boyfriend again.

" Very well then ladies," Mary Stevens announced," I think this calls for a
celebration; dinner is on me." After they showered and changed, the women
gymnasts, together with Mary all went out to a restaurant and celebrated their
great triumph. As they sat around the large table, in a festive mood, Mary
asked them what they planned to do for  an encore. " We've decided that next
year we're going out for the football team," Ginger answered." They only won
two games this season and we think they could use our help."

" But what if the boys don't want you girls on their football team ?," Mary
asked them; knowing full well what their answer would be.

" Well, in that case, you'll just have to recruit a few more girls for the
football team," Millie replied," because there won't be too many boys left
when we get through with them." The girls all began to giggle; and Mary
proudly smiled.