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By Dave Emke

demke@post-journal.com

NORTH HARMONY - Ariel McCreary-Simko didn't win a single match during her first season on the Chautauqua Lake Thunderbirds varsity wrestling team.

That didn't stop her from taking first place at a freestyle tournament in the Mohawk Valley.

Ariel is a female wrestler - something of a rarity on high school rosters. Wrestling boys in the 160-pound weight class all season long, Ariel found herself overwhelmed. She even thought about quitting the team.

''I didn't win a match my whole entire high school season,'' she said. ''It's a different game for a 160-pounder when you're wrestling guys.''

Through conversation with a coach and another female wrestler on the team, senior Logan Howard, Ariel was joined up with coach Alex Conti, based in Fredonia, who works with a group of female wrestlers and trains them for national competition.

Ariel started attending female wrestling tournaments around the area, breaking through and taking first place in her weight class in the Mohawk Valley event.

''Once I realized I had some equal competition for freestyle,'' she said, ''I started to fall in love all over again.''

CURIOSITY GROWS

TO COMPETITION

Ariel, who moved with her family to North Harmony in November 2007 from the Cleveland area, was interested in wrestling from a young age. However, she was unable to make a team in her former home.

''This wasn't an opportunity for her in Cleveland, because their wrestling teams are so large,'' her father, Andy Simko, said. ''For a 5-foot-9, 160-pound female wrestler, there are 100 guys waiting to fill that spot.''

Ariel, who has been a member of the soccer and track teams at Chautauqua Lake, wanted to try a winter sport this season. Instead of turning to wrestling first, however, she chose bowling.

''It wasn't challenging enough for me - it wasn't physical enough,'' she said.

She left the team and decided to give wrestling a chance. She asked her father and, though he was at first hesitant, she gained his permission.

The first thing she discovered on the mat was that she had her work cut out for her.

''At first, it was really difficult,'' she said. ''I was out-of-shape - I was a big heavyweight.''

Though the thought crossed her mind, she didn't give up. She kept working, lost some weight and got into shape. And once she honed her skills and attended her first female freestyle tournament, she was hooked all over again.

FUNDRAISING FOR FARGO

Ariel just finished her sophomore year at Chautauqua Lake. She has battled dyslexia and posts a B-plus average in school.

The current challenge she and the other girls on the team are facing is in fundraising to travel with Coach Conti and the team to a national tournament in Fargo, N.D., scheduled for July 20-23. Ariel said she has done fundraiser at the VFW in Mayville and has also gone door-to-door selling candy.

While her mother said Ariel is about halfway to her goal, her father said the process has been a challenging one.

''The problem they're running into is they go up to a house and knock on the door ... and (the people) are like 'Wrestling is over,''' her father said. ''People really don't know that it's very competitive for these girls.''

The possibilities for a female wrestler who works hard and takes part in competitions such as the upcoming one in Fargo are numerous, according to Ariel's father.

''A lot of these girls have a real shot to get on the Olympic team,'' he said. ''These girls work real hard and they face a lot of discrimination. They put that behind them or they use it on the mat to support them.''

Her mother, Angel Simko, agrees that the benefits of having Ariel involved on a wrestling team are great.

''This isn't traditionally thought of as a girl's sport, and we've learned a lot by supporting her,'' she said. ''She's gained a lot of physical benefits. It's just because it's such a naturally physical sport, and the health benefits for her were tremendous.''

Ariel, meanwhile, is just having fun and seeing where wrestling can take her in life.