craigdailypress.com

Ashlee Griffiths isn't your typical 12-year-old girl.

Sure, she's got a cute smile and long blonde hair, but the girly appearance ends there.

Her favorite color is blue, not pink. She listens to 1960s music, not the popular music found on the airwaves today, and her sleepovers consist of playing with sheep, not dolls.

And she wrestles.

Not just for fun, or to pass time: Griffiths takes the sport seriously.

So much so, she's been competing since she was 5 and practicing two nights a week for nearly seven years.

The hard work paid off Saturday.

Griffiths rolled through the eighth annual United States Girls Wrestling Association state championships last weekend in Bennett, finishing with an undefeated record and a gold medal.

The 78-pound sixth-grader at Craig Intermediate School won each of her three matches in convincing fashion - 13-2, 7-2 and 16-0 - including two victories against 14-year-olds.

So, how does a 5-year-old girl decide to become a wrestler?

"She got tired of sitting in the bleachers and watching her brother (Charlie) wrestle," Ashlee's mom, Donna Griffiths, said. "I think she wanted to play the part. Daddy used to always brag about Charlie and be in his corner, and she liked that part of being in the limelight and being the center of attention."

She became the center of attention the first time she stepped on a wrestling mat. And it was against a boy, no less.

"I remember my first match," Ashlee said. "I was crying, and he was crying. My dad had to carry me on the mat because I was so nervous, but I took him down and pinned him, and I was happy."

It would be a happiness that has stayed with her since.

"It made me better not as nervous and more confident," she said about her first victory. "After the first match, I was more confident about myself since I pinned the first guy I ever faced at a tournament."

It wouldn't be the last time she won against a boy.

Ashlee likes to defeat boys.

She likes when they underestimate her, and she likes to pin them even more.

"It's different because I'm a girl : all the guys think they can beat you because you're a girl," Ashlee said. "If a guy wrestles a guy, they don't always think they can beat them. That's why I want to beat them more."

Mom doesn't mind that her daughter is different from most girls, but she did admit she still gets nervous when Ashlee tangles with someone of the opposite sex.

"She wrestles against boys most of the time," Donna said. "When high school comes, it may be a different story. But now, with the boys, they are at the same strength. But, then again, you're always going to get nervous when it's your kids."

But Donna doesn't see any nervousness in her daughter's eyes when she takes the mat.

"She's stubborn, and I think it's just something that you have to have in a kid" to be a wrestler. Donna said. "There's a lot of pain you endure. It takes a special kid to be able to do it."

Ashlee proved to be that special kid Saturday. She said she wasn't nervous when beginning the USGWA championships at Bennett High School.

"I was just ready to have fun," she said. "It didn't matter because a lot of them are older than me and stuff. I just went out there to win it, and I did."

Including a 16-0 tech pin win in her final match.

"I don't think so," she said, when asked whether there is ever a point in a match when she thinks she's won. "They can catch you off guard and pin you really fast. It's never over till it's over."

And now that it's over, what comes next for Craig's 12-year-old female wrestling champion?

Ashlee plans on wrestling at Craig Middle School next year - where she will be the only girl on the team.

"I want to take it to college," she said about her passion for wrestling. "And hopefully the Olympics. That's my main goal - the Olympics - but my first goal is to win a state title in high school and get to college, then the Olympics."

Despite the old adage "ladies come first," Ashlee doesn't look for special treatment because she's one of a few competitive wrestlers in the state.

"He (coach Billy Bingham) won't let me get a bye, he won't let people take pity on me because I'm a girl, and I wouldn't want it any other way," she said.

Mom agrees. Donna said she never imagined her daughter would become a wrestler, let alone a state champion wrestler.

"It doesn't matter what she does," Donna said. "We just take it year by year and see how's she's doing and if she still wants to do it. I guess when she stops having fun she'll quit. But, right now, she's still having fun."

And then some.

"I'll always be having fun," Ashlee said. "There's so much left for me to learn. There's tons of stuff to learn. I don't think I'll ever stop learning. I'm going to keep on going : and not be scared of anybody."

As for her future being limited because she's a girl, Ashlee was quick to respond.

"It doesn't matter if I'm a girl," she said. "I'm just as good as a lot of other guys. It doesn't really matter what gender you are, especially when you get on the mat."