The toughness of Alaska's women has never been in dispute, and the ability of females from the 49th state to "kick ass" is more than just a popular bumper sticker -- it's a fact. From pioneering Iditarod champions to Olympians to record-breaking high school athletes, Alaska women have long excelled in some of the most demanding sports.
Nowhere has that toughness been on better display than the sport of wrestling, where for the past decade Alaskans have been among the nation's leaders in pushing girls wrestling into the mainstream. Homer's Tela O'Donnell was an Olympian in 2004, and two years later Skyview High's Michaela Hutchison became the first girl in the United States to win a boys high school state championship.
The sport took another step forward Friday, when the first state-sanctioned state high school tournament for girls opened alongside the boys Class 1-2-3A state tourney at Bartlett. It's the first time there has been separate boys and girls tournaments in Alaska, which joins California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Texas and Washington as the only states to offer state tournaments for both genders.
"We're trying to increase student participation, and this gives us another avenue to do that," said Alaska School Activities Association executive director Billy Strickland during a break in tournament action Friday.
The move was triggered by an ASAA board decision in April to allow for separate tournaments if certain minimum participation numbers were met. That number was set at 100 girls at the Class 1-2-3A level (the three smallest classifications in Alaska) and 50 for Class 4A schools, whose season runs later in the school year. Strickland said about 130 girls wrestled this year at the small-schools level, allowing ASAA to run a separate tournament.
Although girls have been a common sight at wrestling tournaments since the mid-90s, Strickland said the board wanted to increase the incentive for girls to participate by giving them their own tournament.
"I think it's going to ignite interest and I would be surprised if it really doesn't take off," he said.
The girls tournament includes eight weight classe -- boys have 12 -- with six wrestlers in the 106, 120, 132, 145 and 160-pound brackets and three each at 98 and 180 pounds. That might not seem like a huge number, but it's far more than the handful of girls who typically qualified for state in the years when girls went head-to-head against boys. Mt. Edgecumbe's Deirdre Creed, who finished sixth at 98 pounds, was the only girls' placewinner at the 2013 state tourney.
Kelly O'Brien, a 120-pound freshman from Bethel, said she thinks the move is a good one.
"I have a better chance to go to state," she said.
Selawik coach Mark Turner brought two girls to the tournament. He said the freshmen -- Shaylynn Ticket and Laura Ramoth -- were thrilled with the chance to travel to Anchorage to compete.
"That's pretty cool," he said.
Turner said girls have become fully integrated into Alaska prep wrestling and are often among the most important team members. He said Ramoth's twin sister, Marie, didn't make state this year but is one of the leaders in Selawik's wrestling room.
"She's there every single day leading the team," he said.
Although girls have had some notable successes at state -- Hutchison's 2006 win was heralded nationally as a milestone victory -- Strickland said he thinks having a separate state tournament is the right way to go.
"There's been some outstanding girl wrestlers in this state, but we feel this was in the best interest of all athletes," he said.
Strickland said ASAA will hold a girls state tournament at the Class 4A tournament in February if the participation threshold is met . Next year, he said, there might be a single, all-classification girls tournament.
"We'll look at the whole thing and reevaluate it," he said.
Bethel's O'Brien -- who has been wrestling since fourth grade -- advanced to Saturday's championship match with a pair of pins on Friday. She said she's excited to be wrestling at state this year because she's now got a chance to follow in the footsteps of her older brothers Pat and Drew, who were both state champs for the Warriors.
"I really want to win it this year," she said.