Local female trio competing with the boys

By BRETT KNIGHT
Staff Writer


They’ve heard it all — the snickers, the jokes and the teasing.
But McMichael’s Michelle Wilson, Reidsville’s Briana Maynard and Rockingham’s Lauren Payne knows it comes with the territory.
Just some added motivation, they say.
“A lot of people think you can’t do it and you want to prove yourself more,” said Payne, who is 4-13 in her first year with the Cougars. “At times I think the ragging is funny, but at times it gets me ticked off. It makes me want to wrestle more and take my aggression out on my opponent.”
Maynard got some odd looks as she entered the gym in her cheerleading uniform before Tuesday night’s Reidsville-West Stokes match. She has posed as part cheerleader/part wrestler this season, but she wasn’t there to cheer. Instead, she quickly dressed into her wrestling attire in search of her first victory of the season. She didn’t win, but she frustrated her opponent, Chris Pruitt, in the 130-pound weight class. She lost by decision; it was her first non-pin defeat of the season.
After the match, she quickly changed back into her cheerleading uniform.
“She is amazing,” Reidsville coach Mike Armstrong said. “She does a little bit of everything, including cheerleading and wrestling. She is a different person when she gets on that mat. He (Pruitt) wasn’t happy because he couldn’t pin her. Briana gave him fits and refused to get pinned. He told me after the match that she was one of the toughest opponents he has faced this year.”
Maynard said technique is the hardest part of wrestling, but she is getting better each day.
“Anyone can have the strength, but if you don’t know what to do with it, it’s useless,” said Maynard, a junior. “Because, if you know what body part to pull or how to turn someone over at what time, they certainly have the advantage.”
It didn’t take long for Wilson, who has been wrestling for the past six years, to become known. She had an impressive start, taking first place at 103 pounds in the county tournament. She went 2-0 in the junior varsity division, which included two pins.
“I was like, ‘Wow,’ because it was so awesome,” she said. “I just didn’t want to get pinned. I wasn’t worried about losing that much. I just didn’t want to get pinned.”
Wilson was a respectable 8-11 heading into Wednesday night’s match against Southern Guilford. In an early season dual match, she suffered her first loss with a pin in fewer than 20 seconds. Wilson saw the defeat as one of many learning experiences she would face along the way.
“I was like, ‘This isn’t going to be easy’,” she said. “I know that guys don’t want to lose to a girl.”
It hasn’t been easy for any of the three wrestlers. Heading into each match, the trio knows the majority of their opponents are going to be more experienced, stronger and more physical.
For McMichael coach Jon Bullins, who has coached three other female wrestlers, it is a learning process — not only for Wilson, but for most female wrestlers at the high school level.
“I feel like she is at a disadvantage every time she steps on the mat,” Bullins said. “In almost every match, she is weaker than her opponent. In every match, the guy will wrestle her harder because they don’t want to lose to a girl. She has lost a couple of close matches this year because of just that reason.”
Wilson, who has been involved in wrestling for the past six years – including youth programs and middle school — got a unique experience at the Southern Alamance Duals, facing a female wrestler from the host school. At first, she thought it might be an easy match. She then learned her opponent had eight years of wrestling experience.
“I knew she would be strong and, yes, she was a girl, but so am I,” Wilson said. “I couldn’t take her lightly.”
A second-period pin gave Wilson a perfect 1-0 record against female wrestlers.
One of the first obstacles the girls had to overcome was getting accepted by their teammates. Their hard work and dedication hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“She works hard every day in practice, just like a guy,” Devan McCain of Reidsville said of Maynard. “She is like one of the guys. She never stops working and goes all out. One thing that impressed me is that she is physical and doesn’t complain.”
Unlike Wilson and Payne, Maynard had never been part of a wrestling team. Wilson was a member of the team at Western Rockingham Middle School for two years while Payne was a manager at Rockingham Middle.
Wrestling is still fairly new to her, but she is picking it up.
“It seemed like something new and is something I haven’t tried yet,” said Maynard, who actually didn’t tell her mother she was wrestling until after she started practice. “I actually thought about going out last year, but was definitely going out this year. It was something I thought I might be good at.”
Despite having no wins in her first year, Armstrong has noticed an improvement.
“She really has matured in wrestling,” said Armstrong. “Briana has a lot more to her arsenal than most first-year wrestlers and has better technique than she had than when she started.”
Payne describes the atmosphere in Wentworth as a family-like — she views her male teammates as brothers. And her “brothers” haven’t always taken too kindly to the reaction and actions by opposing wrestlers and coaches.
At a weekend tournament, one opposing coach told Payne during the post-match handshake that she was too pretty to be wrestling.
“That didn’t make me happy, and I was a bit angry,” she said. “I believe he was picking and trying to be nice at the same time, but it still got me mad.”
Following a defeat, Payne got an unexpected question to go along with the after-match handshake.
“After he pinned me, he helped me up and asked me for my number,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it. All the guys took up for me on that and weren’t happy with the guy.”
RHCS head coach Robert Lamberth — who has coached only two girls (including Payne) in his 28 years as wrestling coach — and his team look out for their lone Lady Cougar.
She doesn’t get special treatment when it comes to workouts and practice. Once she steps on that mat, she is one of the guys.
“She is a wrestler,” Lamberth said. “She’s not a girl and she’s not a guy. She is a wrestler. She knows that, but she works real hard but is a quick learner. She’s only a ninth-grader but drills her moves real well.”
Wilson describes her teammates as “close-knit” and “family” and has one certain fan that pulls for her.
Her brother, senior Alex Wilson, helped the Phoenix to the 2-A state dual team championship a year ago. He isn’t easy on Michelle.
“He is more of a pain,” Michelle said, laughing. “He is always making me drill harder, but I don’t mind it. It’s cool.”
All three girls say they intend to return next season.

McMichael’s Michelle Wilson

Rockingham’s Lauren Payne

Reidsville’s Briana Maynard

Lady Cougars win low-scoring affair

Staff Report
ELON — Despite scoring just 13 points in the second half, Rockingham County used a 20-point second quarter to slip past Western Alamance, 45-38 Tuesday night in Triad 3-A Conference girls’ basketball action.
Led by Ashley Palm’s 21 points and seven rebounds, the Lady Cougars improved to 16-3 on the season and in doing so eclipsed last year’s win total of 15. In Triad 3-A Conference action, RCHS is now 6-3 on the year.
With the loss, the Lady Warriors fell to 2-12 overall and 1-7 in conference games.
“We just can’t get in synch right now,” said Rockingham County head coach Woody Wall. “We’ve been a bit sluggish, but still good enough to win the last couple ballgames.”
Following last Friday’s loss at Greensboro Dudley, the Lady Cougars have now won two straight games and are currently in third place behind Dudley and Northeast Guilford — atop the Triad 3-A Conference.
The game was tied 12-12 at the end of one quarter, but the Lady Cougars opened things up with a 20-point second quarter.
Leading 32-22 at halftime, the Lady Cougars extended their lead slightly by outscoring the home team 7-4 in the third. Western was able to outscore RCHS 12-6 in the fourth quarter, but it was a little too late for the Lady Warriors.
Shea White led Western Alamance with 14 points, including 4 three-pointers. Mackenzie Owen also chipped in with nine.
In addition to Palm’s 21, RCHS got nine points from Krystal Moore and eight from Lindsay Puckett. Moore added six rebounds and four assists and Puckett pulled down seven rebounds, grabbed six steals and dished out two assists.
RCHS returns to action Friday night against Bartlett Yancey at home. The Lady Cougars won the first meeting, 62-33 back on Jan. 8.
“We have to just shoot our way out of this slump,” added Wall.
Friday’s game tips off at 6 p.m. in Wentworth.

SUMMARY
RCHS (16-3, 6-3) — Ashley Palm 21, Krystal Moore 9, Lindsay Puckett 8, Kylie Keck 6, Elizabeth Ferguson 1, Hannah Livengood, Katie Pace, Jessica Lowe.
W. ALAMANCE (2-12, 1-7) — Mackenzie Owen 9, Shea White 14, Desiree Lea 5, Ashley Green 6, Mariah Neal 1, Natasha Williamson 3.
BY QUARTERS
Rockingham Co. 12 20 7 6 — 45
W. Alamance 12 10 4 12 — 38