Marlboro's Wilkie is a one-of-a-kind wrestler
Earns All-America at Junior Nationals
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

ERIC SUCAR staff Marlboro's Jessie Wilkie, the only female on a District wrestling roster, recently finished eighth at the Junior National Wrestling Championships in North Dakota, earning All-America status in the process.

Jessie Wilkie had tried all of the sports youngsters compete in.So why not look for something else, she asked herself. That led her to the wrestling mat.

"Honestly, it was something different," the Marlboro High School sophomore said of her reason for giving the sport a try. "It's both a physical and mental challenge. I think it's the most demanding sport."

While some of her girl friends at Marlboro thought that her wrestling was rather strange, most have been behind her as she redefines the way people look at the sport.

Wilkie's first foray into the sport came in the seventh grade at Marlboro Middle School, when she and three other girls went out for the first-year team. She would be the only one to stick it out and still be wrestling as an eighth-grader, and then on to high school last winter.

It was during her very first year back in seventh grade that Wilkie became convinced the sport was for her. She made it to a wrestle-off for a starting position on the varsity team, and that was enough of a sign to stick with it.

"I got more confidence in myself," she said of getting to the wrestle-off. "It made me more determined."

Eric Jay, one of Marlboro Middle School's wrestling coaches, was not surprised that Wilkie was still there in eighth grade. There was never a doubt, he said, that wrestling wasn't a novelty to her, that she was there to compete.

"Basically, we allow anyone to sign up," he said. "Those that hang have what it takes, and she did. She outlasted the others.

"What drew me to Jessie was her desire to learn," he added. "She's like a sponge. She just wants to learn. She's very inquisitive and interested in learning the best techniques and the mechanics of any sport she's in [she also throws the discus in track and field]. That gave her a good foundation."

Good enough to see her win more than her fair share of matches during her two years with the middle school squad.

That success could be attributed to the inquisitiveness that Jay pointed to, and Wilkie never shying away from work.

"She was the first person to practice and the last to leave," Jay remarked.

As if the demands of wrestling itself weren't enough, Wilkie faced just as big a challenge breaking into what is considered a boys' sport, not something meant for girls.

"At the first practice, the guys were a little leery, but the guys accepted it," she said.

It took some time, but eventually Wilkie became just another wrestler in the room, which was her goal all along.

Jay said it was difficult at first for the boys.

"I told them they have to treat her as an equal and at the same time understand she's the opposite sex," he said. "I told them they would be doing a disservice to her if you didn't wrestle your best against her."

Wilkie and the male opponent were both in no-win situations. For the guy, he's wrestling a girl, he has to win. Wilkie had the double-edged sword. Some guys might hold back because they really don't know what to do, while others are looking to show her that wrestling is no sport for a girl. Wilkie has handled both situations and found that in the end, it doesn't matter who you are wrestling, it comes down to the one-on-one battle. One thing the guys find out is that they are facing a student of the sport, who doesn't make mistakes.

But she's more than just a tactician, as Jay pointed out.

"She's strong and has a low center of gravity, which makes it difficult to shoot in for a takedown," he said.

In trying to break into a male sport, Wilkie received help from two directions - her parents, and an ex-Marlboro star, Nick Parisi.

Wilkie comes from a family of firefighters, and her mom, Jill, who was a firefighter herself, knows a little something about stepping into a man's shoes.

"I could let her know what it's like in a man's world," she pointed out.

For Jill, it was the way the Marlboro Middle School coaches and teachers were encouraging her daughter that made it that much easier for her to go along with Jessie's decision.

"All the teachers were very supportive," she said. "They had her best interest at heart. If they hadn't done that, it wouldn't have worked out."

While at the middle school, Wilkie was a fixture at Marlboro High School wrestling matches, studying everything that was going on during a match. By the eighth grade, she was taking notes for Marlboro High School head coach William Wernst and assistant Bill Terrell. In this way, she got to meet Parisi, the best wrestler in school history. He was not only an idol she looked up to, but became a friend and a big supporter of hers.

"He told the guys on the team to 'look out for her,' " recalled Wilkie, and they have.

For Wilkie, who also throws the discus for the Marlboro girls track and field team, a huge benefit of wrestling is that you learn a lot about yourself. No one is out there on the mat with you during a match. It's the ultimate one-on-one challenge that you either rise up to or shrink before.

"You're against someone else, it's definitely a test," she said. "It gives you more of a sense of pride and confidence in yourself after you've won a match."

While Wilkie is the only girl on the Marlboro wrestling team, she doesn't see herself as a trailblazer. There are states where girls wrestling is accepted and very popular. Wilkie sees the day when New Jersey schools will have enough interested girls to field complete teams and the girls will be competing against one another for titles just like the boys. That may be a ways off, but Wilkie believes it will arrive.

Wilkie got her first taste of what it would be like competing against girls when she went to the Team New Jersey wrestling camp at the Blair Academy. The Marlboro sophomore was a member of Team New Jersey that competed last week at the Junior National Wrestling Championships in Fargo, N.D. The team's head coach was Terrell. The camp was to prep the girls for the nationals. For the first time, she had the opportunity to hang out with the other wrestlers and just be one of the girls for a change. What she and the other girls had in common, she said, was that "they love the sport."

If Wilkie needed any confirmation that she had made the right decision in wrestling, she received it at the Junior Nationals last week, where she finished in eighth place and earned an All-American certificate.

"It opened my eyes," she said of the competition. "It told me I'm going to be doing this the rest of my life. I'm happy."

Being an All American, she added, will do wonders for her confidence.

Getting to meet girls from around the country and trading girl stories with them and comparing wrestling notes was a highlight for the Marlboro sophomore. She discovered, like she did at the Blair Academy, that they are all in it for the same reason.

"We had everything in common," she said. "We love wrestling. We'd rather be building up a sweat in a gym than getting a tan."

One thing she did learn in Fargo was that there was an advantage to wrestling against the guys.

"The biggest difference is that guys are stronger in their upper bodies," she pointed out. "That helped me because I'm so used to relying on my legs that I was prepared for it [takedown attempts]."

Wilkie struck up friendships with some of the girls in Fargo and will be communicating via the Internet during the coming year. She is looking forward already to a return trip to the Junior Nationals next summer.

Right now, Wilkie's goal is to continue to work hard and improve so that when the 2007-08 high school wrestling season gets going, she will challenge for a varsity position. Her goal is to wrestle a varsity match for the Mustangs.

Jay won't be surprised if that turns out to be the case.