I started Wrestling when I was 12 y/o on an all boys team. I was confronted by the wrestling coach who had seen me naturally excelling playing sports throughout school. For obvious to himself reasons, he thought it would be a good outlet for me and that I would be an excellent addition to an already good team. He approached me with a very optimistic idea, of trying out for the team. I accepted the invitation and showed up to my first after school practice and I loved it! The practicality of challenging someone's personal abilities with my own, one on one, was very interesting to me, so I was immediately hooked and developed fast. I started to study wrestling and became very close with my team, although many coaches and parents were not too thrilled to see me in the male dominated sport and found it to be unfair, an arena where girls just didn't belong. This attitude was inspiring and motivating to me because I felt the need to prove my belonging and win over the decision that I , in fact, could "hang" with the boys .It was very important to me to maintain a modest and humble attitude. Not only did I achieve this, I excelled to becoming team captain of my middle school and a nominee for my high school. I identified with wrestling much more then I had with any other sport I had previous success in. I wanted to master and know everything, every move, and every opportunity there was, accompanying my participation. There was word that wrestling, at that time, had some future for women for college scholarships, but I really was in it to enjoy myself and the challenges it offered me.
I continued to wrestle through high school and in to college. By the time I was 15 y/o I was competing in additional Free /Greco Roman wrestling competitions as well as having success in my collegiate (high school) career, finding myself wrestling women at out of state tournaments and seeking out any competition where there were to be exceptionally deep brackets. As I entered my senior year, Olympic committees had decided to let women's wrestling have a spot in the 2004 run. I was thrilled and immediately felt the beginning of a purpose. I wanted to be an Olympian! Although I never made it that far, I do believe I have and had what it takes, but life circumstances led me in a different direction. I retired after my last tournament early 2004, and never returned to the wrestling mat.