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It all started when she was seven.
Sheena Kubas brought home a Little Guy wrestling pamphlet and asked her dad
what
it was all about.
The self-styled tomboy decided wrestling was something she wanted to try.
Now the 16-year-old
Missoula Big Sky freshman is a pioneer of sorts. Friday,
she'll become the first female to wrestle in the 22-year history
of Jug Beck
Rocky Mountain Classic at Sentinel gym.
She's also believed to be the first female varsity wrestler
at the Class AA
level in Montana.
Kubas isn't trying to make a statement or ruffle feathers. She's just
participating
in a sport that she likes and that she's good at. She plans on
wrestling her entire prep career and believes she can place
at the state
tournament before it's all over.
"I think there is more of a drive on my side,'' Kubas said. "I
know people
are watching me and I know they are going to think bad if I don't give it my
all. They are going to say
I'm weak. If I don't give it all I've got, they
are going to think girls aren't cut out for it.''
Kubas beat a sophomore
in a wrestle-off to earn her varsity spot. She has
won three matches, including two by pin, and lost four times. She also
took
fourth at the Corvallis Invitational as a member of the Eagles' JV squad.
"I wouldn't say she's the best
freshman we've had coming in or anything like
that,'' said Big Sky coach Ed Norman. "She's got a lot of experience
and
we've had freshmen who haven't had near that much experience. She's way
ahead in knowing what to do. She's one of
the hardest workers we have in the
room. I really believe she wants to make a go of this. I can see her making
it for
four years in high school.''
Any doubts about her ability were put to rest in the second week of the
season when
Kubas pinned an opponent from Lake City, Idaho, in 57 seconds.
"He was shocked that I got him and pinned him right
away,'' Kubas said.
"After that, I watched him from my side of the bench to the other and he
sagged his head the
whole time. He sat there looking pretty mad.''
She made quite an impression at the Corvallis tournament too.
"People
there were pretty shocked,'' she said. "I had people I didn't know
coming up to me, asking me if I was going to be
at other tournaments. They
were saying, 'I want to watch you, it's so awesome to see a girl wrestler.'
I've gotten a
lot of support from people. Others have a big problem with
it.''
At a dual in Kalispell last week, Kubas was pinned
in the second period by
Jared Eystad, the second-ranked 112-pounder in the state. She suffered an
injured shoulder and
a bloody nose. On her way to the training room, she
said the Kalispell student body hooted at her.
"I had blood
on my lips, blood on my nose and blood on my teeth,'' she said.
"It was pretty embarrassing. It hurt my feelings,
cause I'm out there trying
the best I can and people are putting me down. It was hard. I know people
are saying things
behind my back, because people overhear it and tell me
about it.''
On most road trips, she's had to change in public
bathrooms and in Corvallis
Kubas wasn't able to shower. She also said some of her opponents have been a
little tentative
before the matches.
"At first they come out and they look nervous,'' she said. "But once you
lock up or
push them, they are right back at it with you. They don't want to
lose, just like I don't want to lose.''
Her teammates
and coaches, though, have been big supporters. Members of the
team encouraged her to give it a try. Her boyfriend is senior
wrestler Kris
May, who asked her out before the season started.
"We've got a great bunch of guys,'' Kubas said.
"Everyone in that room is
great. They treat me like one of the guys. They protect me and look out for
me in a way.
I think it makes them proud that they've got a girl on the
team.
"Kris is proud that his girlfriend is on the
varsity wrestling team. He has
no problem with it. No one gives him crap about his girlfriend being on the
varsity wrestling
team.''
"She was accepted,'' Norman said. "I talked to everyone the first day and
said how it was going
to be. We aren't going to treat anyone different.''
Kubas said her older sister thinks she's crazy, and her mother
worries about
her getting injured.
"My mom doesn't like it too much,'' Kubas said. "She's proud of me
and she's
glad that I get out there and I'm working so hard. She's always afraid of
her little girl getting hurt. My
dad always tells me how proud he is of me
and that makes my day so much better.''
Girls wrestling on boys' teams
is becoming common across the United States.
Last year, 200 girls in Michigan completed the varsity season and 272 girls
from
36 states competed in the first U.S. Girls' Wrestling Association
national championship meet. This year, organizers expect
between 350-500
girls to compete at the championships.
The recent edition of Wrestling USA Magazine featured a spread
of the
top-ranked high school girls in the nation. Kubas isn't ranked, yet.
She'd like to make a strong showing
at the Rocky, but faces a stiff
first-round challenge on Friday. She'll face Great Falls High senior Aaron
Hartnell,
the top-seed at 112. Hartnell is a two-time Rocky champion and is
22-0 this season.
"If I don't place, I'll
feel bad,'' Kubas said. "But you always have to look
for what's coming tomorrow and keep pushing yourself. If you
worry about
what happened today, you'll forget about what you want to do tomorrow.''
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1. Sheena Kubas. January 15, 1999 Missoulian article about Sheena Kubas, a freshman 112 lb. wrestler at Missoula Big Sky
High School who was the the first female to wrestle in the 22-year history of Jug Beck Rocky Mountain Classic and the the
first female varsity wrestler at the Class AA level in Montana. Kubas beat a sophomore in a wrestle-off to earn her varsity
spot. She has won three matches, including two by pin, and lost four times. She also took fourth at the Corvallis Invitational
as a member of the Eagles' JV squad. Any doubts about her ability were put to rest in the second week of the season when Kubas
pinned an opponent from Lake City, Idaho, in 57 seconds. Her teammates and coaches have been big supporters. Link to article
about Sheena:
http---www.missoulian.com-archives-index.inn-loc=detail&doc=-1999-January-15-376-sports4.txt
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