Girls Get A Grip

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Tonight Woody gets a bout. Her head kept low and her confidence high, she matches her male opponent tap for tap and grab for grab, and finally brings him down by the ankles. An American-flag skullcap hides her hair, and it's hard to tell which finely muscled arm is female, which male. The match is scoreless after overtime, but Woody wins by a decision.

Patricia Miranda, the bronze medalist at Athens in the 48-kg class, says her matches against males, which continued through Stanford, were invaluable to her development as an athlete and a woman. Wrestling offers "tremendous benefit for the female population," she says. "Girls learn the value of hard work, accountability and self-worth, things you can't get from magazines, boys or other girls." Although she won just once in her college career, she maintains that the only way for women to gain parity in the sport is through continued access to matches. If that means wrestling boys, so be it. Miranda's aim is to help establish women's wrestling as an NCAA Division I sport. That would enable women to pursue an education and an activity they love--a double blessing for kids like Nicole Woody.