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Published February 15, 2007 07:15 am - son@starbeacon.com. ... Girls making mark on mats Wrestling Insider, with Karl Pearson... Star Beacon Females have
held their own this season For many years, wrestling was considered strictly a boys sport, but more and more girls are breaking into the ranks. They've been successful at the venture, too. This year, freshman Ashley Keenan made her mark on the Edgewood wrestling team. She has been a vital part of the Warriors' push to their first Northeastern Conference championship since 1970 and the first in the 22-year career of coach Greg Stolfer at the school. Her third place at the NEC Tournament was vital to the Warriors' drive to the title and made her the highest-placing female wrestler in NEC Tournament history. With a 22-5 record entering Friday's Division II sectional tournament at Lake Catholic High School, Keenan has the best winning percentage of any area 103-pounder at .815. She is a candidate to advance to the Division II district tournament at Akron Firestone High School next weekend. Keenan does not hold the distinction of being the first girl to place in the NEC Tournament, however. That distinction belongs to Lakeside junior Brittany Dell, who placed fourth at 125 pounds in the 2005 NEC Tournament. Dell has remained an important part of the Lakeside squad. Although she did not wrestle in this year's NEC Tournament, she wrestled a fair portion of the schedule at 125 pounds for the Dragons. By comparison, Pymatuning Valley sophomore Trisha Gruskiewicz is a new arrival in the sport, just taking up wrestling this season. She has been a key contributor to the Lakers in their drive to an Eastern Ohio Wrestling League Division IV team title. Gruskiewicz has compiled a 6-5 record at 112 pounds, earning a pin and a decision along the way. She has also been an excellent wrestling partner for Tim Goodman, who has wrestled the majority of the matches at 112, MacCuillan Clancey, who has compiled a 16-15 record at 103 pounds, and Eric Massie at 119 pounds. Dell is the veteran of the group, having started wrestling in the fifth grade and continuing through the junior high ranks. She has totally immersed herself in the sport, trying to compete in as many girls events offered in Ohio and around the region as possible, attending summer camps and helping out with the Little Lizards youth program that has been set up by Lakeside. "I get dusted a few times, and it is a bit weird that I'm the only girl on the team, but I still enjoy it," she said. "I think some of the guys were a little hesitant, but now they've become like brothers to me." Keenan is in her third season of wrestling, getting her start in the Braden Junior High program. "A bunch of my friends signed me up for it," she said. "(Edgewood teammate) Jordyn Dickey bet me that I wouldn't stay with it for more than two weeks, but the more I got into it, the more I liked it. "At first it seemed a little weird to me, but I've really come to like wrestling. I've really come to enjoy being around the team. They're a lot of fun, especially all the seniors." 
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