The freshman Richardson wrestler stepped on the mat, clueless, nervous, frozen in place.

After just three weeks of practice, Frances “Avery” Parsons was about to compete in the first wrestling competition of her life. She would also be the first girl from Richardson High School to even be on the wrestling team.

Parsons’ sight narrowed, focusing on her opponent as the crowd faded into the background and the voices were silenced. The whistle blew. Parsons’ first reaction was trying to delay an attack. Her opponent struck and knocked her down on the mat. Hoping to postpone a loss, Parsons exhausted all the energy and strength she had to keep the opponent from pinning her on the back.

That first match was a loss.

It all began in World Geography class, when teacher and wrestling coach Tracy Cleveland asked if any girl would be interested in joining the wrestling team. The idea of female wrestlers is not totally strange, as more female wrestling competitions are being televised. However, girl wrestling was quite foreign to Richardson High School.

“I thought joining would be fun and interesting,” Parsons said. “I told my friend, Sarah [Gibbons], about it, so we could form a team and train together.”

Sarah, whose father was a body builder, enjoyed wrestling as a kid. Backed by the support of friends and in spite of the destructive criticism of others, she and Parsons decided to join the team.

With some training squeezed into a couple of weeks before district competition, both wrestlers placed at the competition, earning some triumphant moments when they defeated their opponents for their first time.

“I just didn’t want give up; all I could think of was to make the coaches and the team proud,” Parsons said. “It was such a great feeling to finally win.”

As both ninth graders advanced to regionals, they were met with formidable competition. Having seniors with years of wrestling experience as their opponents made advancing to the state competition a tough challenge. Still freshmen, Parsons and Gibbons lost in Regional’s, while their male teammate, senior Matt Zwall, placed third and advanced to State.

Them being only two females on the team, Gibbons and Parsons couldn’t participate in the off-season tournament. However, both have high hopes for the future, as they constantly try to recruit more girls to the team.

“There’s no reason for girls not to join; it’s just like any other sport,” Gibbons said. “Also, it’s a good workout, it builds strength and confidence, and it’s just another way to get scholarships.”