Grappling against barriers
Though not new to Oklahoma, female wrestlers still trying to find a foothold
El Reno freshman Hannah Martin seeks first female state title

EL RENO — Tucked away in the basement of the stately old high school, El Reno's wrestling room is a shrine to the program's success. Pictures of past state champions and placers hang on one wall, covering it from end to end. Across the room, the school's tournament championships are listed one by one.

As practice begins, wrestlers pair off and begin to drill.

"Go mat speed,” coach Bobby Miller shouts as music pulsates through the room.

Freshman Hannah Martin takes down her partner like a veteran.

Martin isn't new to wrestling — in fact, female wrestlers aren't new to Oklahoma. Woodward's Joey Miller placed third at 103 pounds in 2005, the first girl in state history to do so.

But a female wrestler at a program the caliber of El Reno's is uncharted territory. The Indians own 11 team championships. Making this lineup takes more than just coming to practice on time.

Martin's wrestling career began at age 8 in the most unlikely of ways.

"It was a big accident,” she said. "My brother started wrestling, and I was playing basketball at the time. After one of my practices I came with my mom to pick him up. I just got my hair cut short, and the coach asked me to come out and drill because they had an odd number of people. He thought I was a boy.”

The coach was surprised to learn she wasn't a boy — something that has become a familiar refrain over the years.

One practice turned into an obsession. Now, Martin is ranked No. 1 at 103 pounds in Class 4A. She became the first girl to place at the 63rd Annual Geary Tournament earlier this month.

"She's important to this team,” Coach Miller said. "All she's done is step up to every challenge she's been handed. She's got a pretty stiff upper lip.”

Martin knows she's not a typical 14-year-old girl. She's a straight-A student with a vivid imagination. In her spare time, she's working on a novel with friends. Martin's read mountains of books, mostly science fiction and mysteries.

And then there is wrestling.

"Once you've wrestled, everything in life is easy,” she said. "It's a struggle. It's a war. It's a great source of self discipline. If you don't want it bad enough, you don't get it. That's how it is in life.”

Sometimes winning isn't all that matters. Martin longs to be respected by teammates and opponents. She drew a crowd at Geary, perhaps the most prestigious wrestling tournament short of the state meet. During one match, several wrestlers gathered around the mat to watch. Some weren't kind in their comments, others were impressed. She's used to it.

"Even after I beat them some kids trash talk, as if they think that will win them back dignity after losing,” Martin said. "Sometimes they say they weren't feeling well, or they're injured. I've heard every excuse in the book.”

Coach Miller has heard some of the talk, too.

"Now, the big squawk is her weight class isn't as good because so many kids have moved up to 112,” he said. "But all she can do is wrestle the kids who are in front of her.”

Martin's teammates have responded to her presence in the room, even if it took some time. High school wrestling rooms aren't often female-friendly places.

"At the beginning of the year she had to earn our respect,” said El Reno teammate Chris Hacker, a state champion himself. "As a young woman coming into a man's sport, it's been harder for her than any other wrestler who has put in their time. But she's putting in the same blood, sweat and tears as everyone else. She's one of us.”

Tuttle's Justin Francher beat Martin at Geary, but he saw an opponent with talent.

"She's surprisingly tough,” Francher said. "Most girls I know aren't that strong. You have to wrestle her like you would anyone else because she's pretty good.”

Francher isn't one to discriminate, either.

"It's a free country,” he said. "She should have the same chance as everyone else.”

Martin's diminutive size might be something some view as a disadvantage. She's barely 5-feet tall. Many opponents tower over her, but Martin views her stature as a benefit.

"My height is an advantage because I can get low where people can't shoot underneath me, she said. "When I wrestle someone tall, I look at as more leg to shoot on.”

Sitting in Coach Miller's office, Martin props her legs up on a chair and eases back.

"I'm not one of those girls who cares about my hair or my nails,” she said. "I've worn makeup once when I was an MC at a dance. I've only worn a skirt twice, and that was to my grandmother's wedding and to a funeral.”

Having a daughter who wrestles was a mild surprise for her mother, DeAnna.

"She and her brother used to scuffle around the house, but I would have never dreamed this would happen,” DeAnna said. "We support her in what she does. When it started, it was a matter of if she was tough enough to stick it out. She's proven she is.”

That doesn't mean a mother doesn't worry. Every match is a thrill ride.

"I had to buy a tripod for our video camera because my hands were shaking every time she went out there,” DeAnna said.

Hannah Martin has three more years of high school. A state championship next month — and beyond — is a possibility. Her long-term goals are the Olympics and attend college on a scholarship. While Woodward's Joey Miller made history by being the first female to place at state, Martin wants to break down the State Fair Arena doors. When asked how she'll be remembered, she pauses. Her eyes light up.

"I hope to be known as that girl who was really good,” she said. "If I win state, I'll be that girl who won state from El Reno. I don't know if they'll remember my name, but at least I'll know I accomplished what I set out to do.”

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