Sisters earn respect on the wrestling mat

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Monday, Jan. 9, 2012 | 2 a.m.

When high school wrestler Meghan Clarke steps on the mat for a match with her junior varsity team at Shadow Ridge High School, the sophomore with long, curly blonde hair and a sweet smile knows people are watching in amazement.

While girls participating in the male-dominated sport of wrestling has become more common each year, several still can’t hold back with their curious stares.

For the Clarke family, however, wrestling is a family affair — regardless of sex. All nine of the Clarke siblings are active in the sport, including two competing on the Shadow Ridge junior varsity team. Both are female.

Freshman Emily Clarke has a 7-12 record this winter in the 120-pound weight class and pairs with her sister as a practice partner during workouts. There girls have found that fans, regardless of which school they are rooting for, wind up enthusiastically cheering for them.

“Some people think girls aren’t supposed to wrestle. But in our family, they do,” Emily said. “This is what I like to do. I’m having fun.”

The girls aren’t concerned if people look oddly in their direction when they arrive at a gymnasium for a match. Meghan, in fact, can’t see the stares.

She’s legally blind with 20-90 vision and doesn’t compete with glasses that correct her sight to 20-70. To accommodate her vision, matches are started with Meghan and the opponent locking hands, instead of the traditional method where the opponents stand across from each other.

Watching her compete — she tries to execute moves, overpower an opponent and escape a pin like other wrestlers — you’d be hard-pressed to realize she is blind. In fact, Shadow Ridge varsity coach Gus Gledhill didn’t even realize Meghan had vision problems until a few weeks into the season.

“I don’t feel different from the other (wrestlers) out here,” Meghan said. “There’s no adjustment because I’ve been doing this for so long. I’m comfortable out here.”

The Clarke family moved to Las Vegas two summers ago from upstate New York, where all of the siblings (six boys and three girls) were active in a youth wrestling club. The club included several females.

Because of the experience, Meghan doesn’t wrestle like someone who can only she her opponents as a blur. She rarely can’t find where her opponent is on the mat, even though her vision hinders her depth perception and sometimes causes balance problems.

Legally blind since birth, she’s never tried playing sports with a ball because she would be unable to catch it.

“This is the only sport I’ve ever known,” she said. “I like the contact of wrestling and being able to be physical.”

Meghan has yet to win a match this season in the 145-pound division but doesn’t blame the results on her vision. Rather, she’s more suited to compete in 132 or 138 pound classes and is working to trim weight to qualify.

Shadow Ridge has one of the best programs in the state, winning the Sunset Regional crown in 2010 and placing fifth at the state meet last year. If the sisters wrestled at several other schools in Southern Nevada, Gledhill believes they’d be in the varsity lineup.

“They both will give you a run for your money,” Gledhill said.

Gledhill is aware of about a handful of other female wrestlers around town, including ones at Clark, Rancho and Western highs. Ideally, the coach would love to see participation among girls continue to grow, which could potentially merit discussions of forming an all-girls league. He plans on taking the sisters to some national tournaments this spring so they can experience competing against other females.

“It’s a no-win situation for the guys when they are wrestling the girls. They are expected to beat them, and when they don’t, it is bad,” Gledhill said. “When you see them win a match, the crowd goes nuts for them. It is awesome to see. When the crowd sees a girl out there, they are backing the female wrestler all the way.”

Spencer McKee, a senior on the Shadow Ridge varsity team, said the sisters are sound in their technique and bring a strong work ethic to the team. “They deserve so much more respect than guys because of the competition level they face,” McKee said. “The guys can be stronger and outmuscle them. But they have the drive to compete. We all think it’s awesome when they win.”

McKee has faced a female wrestler a few times during his career and tried to use the same strategy and aggressiveness as when wrestling another male.

“The girls are here to wrestle and win,” McKee said. “I won’t let up on them.”

In Clarke family, the siblings never back down either — both the boys and the girls.

“I’ve never seen a family like ours with nine kids wrestling,” Emily said.