Clarke Central High School freshman Isabella Miller sits in the wrestling room the in old gym on Nov. 15. “I feel like I have to be the best and always know there’s always gonna be someone watching me and seeing me wrestle. I don’t want girls who want to wrestle look at me and say, ‘Oh, she’s not doing well. I don’t want to wrestle,’” Miller said. Photo by Naomi Hendershot
The ODYSSEY Media Group will provide viewers with stylized profiles that center on people in the Athens community telling their own stories.
As the only girl on the wrestling team, freshman Isabella Miller is constantly working to prove her ability.
A musty smell fills the air, with fluorescent lights illuminating the gym full of sweaty teenage boys. But in this room, every day after school, there is also one girl — freshman Isabella Miller, working as hard as she can to prove her spot on the team.
Despite being the only girl on the team, Isabella refuses to let that discourage her from wrestling.
Miller came from a small town in Washington where she was one of several girls on the team. When she first entered the CCHS wrestling gym, full of boys, she felt extremely out of place. Yet, she cast her doubts aside and tried out for the team anyway.
When Miller made the team as part of the 160 weight class, she was sure the coaches and her teammates would be harsh towards her. Luckily, the team was supportive — but that didn’t stop her from feeling like an outsider. Not to mention that the exercises were harder than in Washington and demanded more from her. Every day after practice, her muscles sore and her mentality weak, she contemplated quitting the team.
When Miller approached her mom about quitting, her mom wouldn’t let her.
“She told me she didn’t raise a quitter,” Miller said.
This sentiment had been passed down from Miller’s grandfather to her mother, and now to her.
“My grandpa passed away when I was three. (My mom) said when she was going through hardships he would tell her to, ‘Give them hell,’” Miller said.
Being the only girl on the team comes with a lot of pressure. At matches, all eyes are on her because she stands out from the rest of her teammates. Isabella views her position as the only girl on the team as an immense responsibility. She wants to do her best to encourage other girls to pursue wrestling.
Before Isabella goes to wrestling practice or a match, she thinks of what her mom and grandpa said, and she gives them hell.
