Lodi native earns women's wrestling scholarship

It isn't easy being the only girl.

Marissa Foreman

Lodi native Marissa Foreman discovered that firsthand when she went out for the wrestling team as a freshman at Argonaut High School in Jackson.

The coach, who'd never had a girl on his team before, would make practices harder in hopes that she would quit. Teammates would tease her and treat her as an outsider, thinking she'd eventually give up.

But she never did. Now her perseverance — and her wrestling skills — have translated into a full-ride scholarship at Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Mo., one of a handful of colleges with a women's wrestling program. She was set to sign her letter of intent to the school today.

"The (boys on my high school team) were really mean at first," said Foreman, who moved from Lodi to Camanche after eighth grade. "It was really discouraging. I'd go home crying and not wanting to do it. But I loved the sport. Now I get more respect from the boys. I think it's because I can beat everybody in my weight class and below. I never missed a practice, and I worked as hard, if not harder, than half the boys on the team."

All four years of high school, Foreman wrestled the boys, competing in dual meets and tournaments. But she wrestled girls, too, finishing 12th at nationals last year and sixth in the state.

Foreman says she is much closer with her high school coach now, as he's grown to respect her toughness. Despite tearing tendons in her ankle in January, she continued to show up at every practice, working her way back as quickly as possible.

"The harder (our coach) made practices, the more guys left. But I never left," said Foreman, who wrestles in the 118-pound division. "Over the years, when I got hurt, he told me he wished more of the team had my heart and aggressiveness." Foreman suffered a dislocated collarbone at nationals two weeks ago, preventing her from competing at a national event in Michigan this week. But the setback won't keep her off the mat for long.

"An injury is not going to stop me," she said. "I'm way too driven to give up."