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To excel at any sport, an athlete must have perseverance and dedication. For a female competing in an all-male sport, those qualities become increasingly evident.
Ashleigh Gagnon, a female on the Kaiserslautern High School men’s wrestling team, exemplified those characteristics to become the first female to represent the school and compete at the Department of Defense Dependent School’s European Wrestling Championships.
Gagnon wrestled in the 113-pound weight class at the championships held Feb. 17 to 18 at the Wiesbaden Fitness Center on Wiesbaden Army Air Field in Wiesbaden, Germany.
Gagnon, who has wrestled on the KHS team for the past three years, was one of two females to compete at this year’s championships. Although she didn’t make it to the quarterfinals, Gagnon’s participation in the tournament served as a source of pride.
“I am proud of myself and all the other females that came out and tried their best and made it here. It feels great to make it this far,” Gagnon said.
Gagnon was one of 20 KHS wrestlers who made it to the championships. Of those, 10 earned a spot in the quarterfinals, and five earned medals ranging from first to fifth place in the finals.
Gagnon said it was her older brother who inspired her to take the mat and start wrestling. But wrestling was not her first choice of sports.
Now a first lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps, Anthony Gagnon was the 2005 DODDS European wrestling champion in the 145-pound weight class.
“My inspiration was my brother but I’ve always wanted to box. I can’t really box because my jaw is already messed up, so the next best thing was wrestling,” Gagnon said.
“I have raised each of my children in the same way, regardless of their gender, and I’ve encouraged them to set goals and pursue their interests, no matter how varied or against the norm those interests may be,” said her father, Col. Robert Gagnon, the deputy commanding officer for the 21st Theater Sustainment Command. “The fact that my daughter chose to pursue her interest in an ‘untraditional’ woman’s sport illustrates her strong character. The experiences she’s had participating and competing will serve to prepare her for future challenges as a woman in whatever career field she pursues.”
“There was no change in the attitude and treatment of her and the wrestlers on our team. All our wrestlers are treated the same and all of the players support each other,” said Brian Daly, the assistant KHS wresting coach.
“Her first year here, she took some lumps like most first-year wrestlers. She came back last year and started winning some matches, and this year she made it to the European championship,” Daly added, “Don’t give up because practice is hard. Everything about the sport is hard, it’s not an easy sport,” Gagnon said.
“We only have 20 wrestlers on the team out of a school of 800 people, and I’m the only female on the team. So it’s something I can say I did and be proud of and go on to college and finish,” she said.
Gagnon plans to continue her wrestling career with intramural wrestling in college. She has plans to attend Old Dominion University where she will study to become a trauma room surgical nurse.
Gagnon said, “I picked nursing because I love helping people. Seeing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan just inspires me to go out there and help people.”
