“Riverview girl set to compete in WPIAL wrestling tourney - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review” |
| Riverview girl set to compete in WPIAL wrestling tourney - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Posted: Cindy Moroney prefers lauding her daughter Megan's excellent grades and interest in veterinary medicine. Conversely, Megan's father, Chris, declares his offspring is destined for the Marine Corps. But Megan Moroney, a Riverview wrestler, is focused on the present. The 5-foot-2 freshman will compete in the 103-pound bracket at the WPIAL Class AA individual wrestling championships Friday at Chartiers Valley. Moroney (11-12) won more than half her matches this year via decision or pinfall. "Aside from making sure she has places to change, I treat her like any 103-pounder," Riverview coach Joe Murphy said. "I even moved her up in weight against South Allegheny, and she only lost 5-0. "WPIALs is going to be tough for her. There are no slouches." Teammates Evan Scott (125 pounds) and Nick Delmonaco (215) also will compete at WPIALs. But inevitably, all eyes will be on the Raiders' other qualifier. "I've always been aggressive. I got in fights with boys when I was younger and was always jumping into football games or skateboarding," Moroney said. "My friends that are girls support me (wrestling), but my guy friends don't want to see me get hurt." The debate over females in wrestling -- a physically intimate, male-dominated sport -- recently has erupted. Last Thursday in Iowa, 112-pounder Joel Northrup withdrew from his first-round state tournament match with Cassy Herkelman, one of two girls to ever qualify for the event. Northrup, a favorite for the title, cited religious beliefs. The forfeit made national headlines. "The boys may try not to grab me in certain areas, but I don't think I should be treated any differently," Moroney said. "We're going out for the same purpose -- to win." Locally, there's been a smattering of formidable female wrestlers. Last season, Brittany Faust compiled a 13-13 record for Knoch but didn't compete in the postseason. She's now wrestling at Missouri Valley College. Inevitably, male opponents face this conundrum: rough up on a girl, and you're a bully; lose, and you're emasculated. Murphy understands both sides. "I had one of my guys lose to (Faust) last year, and I just said if you keep thinking about it, it's going to affect you for a long time," he said. "Between coaches, it's understood you don't go out to beat (girls) up. There are some guys like that, but I haven't seen anyone trying to prove a point with Megan. They just want to take care of business and get off the mat." Growing up, Moroney often followed the lead of older brother Marcus, now a 152-pound teammate. Megan eventually wanted to wrestle, but her mother was reluctant. "I wasn't going to let her join and then she did the crying thing, so I let her go to practice and figured, 'She'll quit soon enough,' " Cindy said. "Well, she didn't quit. She got tougher and tougher, and she loves it. "Thing is, she's such a cute girl. You just won't see her wearing any dresses." And so, in one year, the petite tomboy who enjoys watching Ultimate Fighting, became a varsity starter who can bench presses 10 pounds more than her weight. Murphy has coached girls before. The Pertinaci sisters, Christina and Amanda, wrestled for Riverview the past couple seasons. "The biggest thing I learned is the girls talked all the time and drove me bananas," Murphy said, with a laugh. "Megan is a bit more quiet. There's a difference in her attitude. She has a good toughness about her, and she puts in the work. "She's only been wrestling a few years, so we'll have to see how the talent develops. If she works hard, she might be able to do something down the road." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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