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This wrestler proves she belongs on the mat
This is a strange column to write. It's about a sophomore female wrestler from Andover, Keli Hinton, who loves the sport as if it had been created for her.

But we all know it wasn't. Wrestling has been mostly a man's domain for decades.

Still, after spending 15 minutes talking to Hinton, it is clear she belongs in this sport, because she cares about it as much as any of the guys.

By men's standards, Hinton isn't an outstanding wrestler. She doesn't win many matches, although she has beaten a few boys.

But wins and losses don't register with Hinton. She wrestles because the sport captured her passion.

"She wanted to quit one time about a year ago because of peer pressure,'' said Hinton's father, Tab. "Some of her girlfriends didn't feel it was feminine and right for her to wrestle.''

But Keli couldn't stay away. She went to a practice at Andover a few days after quitting, just to watch, but within 10 minutes she was out on the mat, working on her moves.

"I just like the technical difficulty of wrestling,'' she said. "There were a lot of people who told me I couldn't participate in this sport because I was a girl. That I wasn't allowed. I'm very stubborn at times, but I don't do things to show people up.''

Proving a point is not Hinton's goal. Reaching college as a wrestler is.

During summers, she wrestles across the region, and occasionally the country, in boys greco, freestyle and folkstyle tournaments. She did compete last summer in the women's nationals, in which she placed third in the 108-pound class.

"A lot of the girls I wrestled there were from Pennsylvania, California and Minnesota, and they all have their own women's wrestling teams in high school,'' Hinton said. "When I tell them I wrestle against guys, they all tell me I'm crazy.''

Hinton concentrates on the technical aspects of wrestling because she knows she will never be as strong as her male opponents.

She caught the wrestling bug in the sixth grade, when she often would attend her younger brother's practices with the Andover Kids Club.

When she asked her parents about wrestling, too, they were supportive. The decision was hers.

"It took a little getting used to,'' Keli's father said. "I figured she would get out on the mat, the boys would beat her up, and she would be done with it.''

That never happened.

Hinton's determination seems to grow stronger with each loss. And especially with the few wins she has gained along the way. She pinned an opponent just last week.

"I was happy about it,'' she said. "I was glad I could help my teammates out. Without my teammates, I would be nowhere.''

There was not a controversy in Andover when Hinton tried out for the wrestling team last year.

She showed up, and she wrestled.

"She's been with us two years now, and I don't know that anybody really ever thought anything of it,'' said Andover wrestling coach Bill Coffman. "There was never a very serious reaction.''

Hinton is one of two 112-pounders who compete for Andover's varsity team. The other, Tyson Wall, has wrestled the most varsity matches, and competes against Hinton almost every day in practice.

"It was never strange,'' Wall said. "She's a friend and I knew her.''

When Hinton wrestles, it's always like the finals of the state tournament for her, her dad said.

"These boys she wrestles against will just about chew a leg off to keep from getting pinned by her,'' Tab Hinton said. "They're very intense wrestling matches, which is why it's a lot harder for her. It's no disgrace to lose to another guy, but when you lose to a girl you're going to be embarrassed.''

Keli never had much interest in basketball. She tried volleyball, but says she doesn't have much ability.

Wrestling is what she does best.

"When I first started, a lot of people really liked it and came up to me to tell me I was doing a really good job,'' Hinton said. "Then I would ask them if they had girls, would they put them in wrestling? They all said 'No.' They hadn't even thought of it.''

This wrestling thing is rampant in the Hinton family. Keli's brother, Adam, is 8-1 for Andover's eighth-grade team. And there is another female wrestler on the way. Twelve-year-old Katie Hinton is following in her sister's footsteps.

"Keli has never lost her interest, and now it's a very, very high interest,'' Tab Hinton said. "Most of it is her determination. She fights a lot of heavy odds. She's had referees against her, other coaches against her, and she has had to try and overcome the physical limitations of being a woman.

"She has literally wrestled her way into being accepted.''

The fight is far from over. Hinton would like to attend college to wrestle and has her eyes on Minnesota, which has a top-flight women's program.

"This is just something I do,'' Hinton said. "A lot of people make a big deal of it. But I don't notice that big a difference between me and the guys.''

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Sisters begin revolution at Andover schools

By David C. Austin
J-A Sports Editor

ANDOVER, Kan. (August 26, 1999) While most junior high girls are dreaming of their first dates and boyfriends, Keli and Katie Hinton were dreaming of hitting the mats and football fields in competition.

Under the pads and helmets of the Andover Middle School football team is Katie Hinton, the first female football player in the team's history. She is following in the footsteps of older sister Keli Hinton who has spent the last two years as a member of the Andover High School wrestling team.

Keli began wrestling while in junior high school as a member of club teams. She also played on the Parks and Recreation baseball teams.

Last year she split time between the varsity and the junior varsity squads for the high school.

"It is one of those deals where there are no set rules that they say a girl can not participate in a boys sport," Athletic Director Mark Templin said. "It actually isn't that uncommon anymore to see a girl participate in a predominatly boys' sport...Keli is the first female wrestler at Andover. If they really want to participate in a sport we won't discourage them."

Keli, fresh off a third consecutive trip to the national girls' wrestling tournament, is looking forward to wrestling again this winter as a junior.

And now younger sister Katie, is in the midst of preseason action for the seventh grade football team.

"I like to have challenges," Katie said. "I have always enjoyed playing football with my brother and his friends so I decided to play for the school."

She is well into the preseason and is hopeful of a starting position, although she isn't sure which side of the ball she wants to be on.

"I like playing both defense and offense," Katie said. "I just really like this game."

Some players have bet Katie won't last through the season while others are more encouraging. Football is not the first time Katie has dove into the sports world normally dominated by males. Like Keli, Katie has wrestled for four years on a club team. She hopes to make the schools' team next year as an eighth grader.

"Some of the guys have bet one another on when I will quit," Katie said. "Some have laughed at me, but I don't let that bother me. I am trying new stuff and enjoying it. My family and a lot of my friends are real supportive and I remember that."

At first, Katie said she was ignored by her teammates but is accepted by them now.

In the past six months, the United States has witnessed a major popularity push in women's sports. Record crowds turned out in Pasadena, Calif. to see women's soccer and the WNBA is gaining popularity with every day. The 2004 Olympics is slated to feature a women's wrestling team for the first time and Keli hopes to be a member of the inaugural squad representing the U.S.A.

"I am not afraid to try," Keli said. "I will try to make that team."

Keli has already talked seriously with a college in Minnesota and appears to be on the verge of solidifying a wrestling scholarship. At the girls national wrestling tournament in Rochester, Minn., Keli took third place in her weight class. This was her third year at nationals.

"When I first went to nationals there where six girls in my weight class and this time there were quite a few wrestlers there," Keli said. "I am glad to see that women in sports are finally gaining more and more (popularity)."

The two sisters plan to continue participating in the male dominated sports world well into their college careers. They will also use one another as supportive role models.

"Keli is a big influence on me," Katie said. "She is my role model and she makes me want to do well at sports."

Keli appreciates being the big sister.

"I am really proud of Katie," Keli said. "She is going out of her way to do something she believes in. When she finds something she is good at she sticks with it."

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