HHS wrestler breaks down
barriers in first-place finish
First girl in state to finish on
top in varsity tourney
By Jonathan Menard
June 02, 2011 at 2:25 pm
At 5’1”, 103 pounds, Cammi LaRosee's body seems custom-made
for cheerleading and gymnastics, two sports that the Hahnville High School
upcoming senior excelled in when she was younger.
But LaRosee chose a far more aggressive sport to pursue as
she grew older -- high school wrestling. And she has been surprisingly
successful competing against boys her size.
In November, LaRosee became the first girl in the history
of Louisiana to ever finish in first place in a varsity tournament. Now, LaRosee
is infatuated with the sport and spends all of her time working out and
practicing to become even better.
"When I'm not able to practice, I miss it so bad. It's
crazy how much I miss it," she said. "It's like when a family member goes out of
town or when a brother or sister goes to camp for a long period of time. You
miss them so bad while their gone and for me that's how much I miss wrestling if
I'm not able to practice."
LaRosee first got into wrestling in the eighth grade
while she was watching basketball tryouts due to a cancelation of her
cheerleading practice. One of her friends, Thomas Jones, told her that J.B.
Martin was starting a wrestling team and that she should give it a shot.
"My mom used to be a police officer, so I knew
some self-defense moves because she made it mandatory that we go to at
least a few classes," LaRosee said. "So I told my twin sister, Carey,
about it and we just fell into it." The twins didn't ask their mother, Maureen’s
permission before joining the team. She actually didn't find out until
two weeks later. "She was surprised," LaRosee said with a chuckle.
"She was a big tomboy too when she was growing up so she understood." From that point on LaRosee and her twin sister
would split their practices by going to cheerleading for the first half
and then heading to the mats for wrestling. "It wasn't that big of a deal because it was all in the same gym, so one half of the gym was cheerleading and the other had mats, so I would just switch up," she said. “I like to stay busy.” She said her coach, Dan Erwin, told her mother
not to buy wrestling gear for the girls because he wanted to see if they
would stick it out. So LaRosee said the rest of her junior high year
was spent "testing the waters." "A lot of guys, when they figure out they are
going against girls they are worried because if they beat a girl it's
like you beat up on a girl. If you lose to a girl, it's like, ‘Dude, you
just got beaten by a girl.’” |
Freshman season
Though there was some reluctance from boys who had to
compete against her, LaRosee decided to stick with wrestling.
She began wrestling with the JV team during her freshman
year at Hahnville and said she absorbed new moves like a sponge.
"Me and my sister would practice with the JV team and then
we would go to the varsity practice and soak up as much as possible by taking
part in their workouts, which at the time were grueling to me," LaRosee said.
After seeing how much time they were dedicating to
wrestling, Erwin told the girls' mother to get them wrestling shoes and
kneepads.
"That was a big stepping stone for me," LaRosee said. "But
then I was like, ‘Where do I get wrestling shoes?’”
Erwin said that LaRosee’s drive to be the best caught his
attention.
“She loves it when she gets told that she cannot do
something,” he said. “That comment just pushes her more. She would be
competitive finger painting.”
Injuries halt twin’s
career
LaRosee's sister, Carey, was also a good wrestler but
suffered several injuries during her junior high season by separating her
shoulder twice. Then, in her freshman season, she suffered a concussion.
"That was scary for me," LaRosee said. "We are always
together and even now we have the same classes together. It was hard to watch
her get hurt and watch her struggle to recover."
During her junior season, Carey suffered yet another
concussion and was forced to give up the sport.
"Now she has accepted the fact that my mom had to take her
out of wrestling," LaRosee said. "It was a big decision on my mom's part because
she hated to take her out. We are both so competitive and she wants to wrestle
so bad."
Watching her twin suffer also made LaRosee a more hesitant
wrestler. She says that she won't finish some dangerous moves because she is
scared she will suffer an injury.
"It's good to be cautious and be safe but you're a wrestler
and injuries are going to happen," she said. "I've been focusing more on being
less hesitant."
First girl in state
to win varsity wrestling tourney
LaRosee got the chance to see her first varsity action this
past season during her junior year. She started the year at 114 pounds and was
wrestling in the 119-pound division. That's the toughest and most competitive
division because the wrestlers are strong as well as quick.
"I was doing OK there, but the guys were a lot taller and
stronger," LaRosee said. "For years my coach was pushing for me to drop weight
so that I could wrestle in a lower division and be able to win."
"I was 102 pounds at John Ehret when I won my very first
place," she said. "It was such an amazing feeling being the first woman in
Louisiana to win at a varsity level. So it was kind of like making history even
though no one knew about it."
LaRosee said that Hahnville High School was going to buy
and deliver flowers to her the next school day, but Erwin found out about it and
had it canceled, saying it would give her a big head.
"He was right," she said. "Even without the flowers I got
big headed and I did very poorly at my next meet. It was because I thought I was
the bomb now.
"Getting my butt whipped served as a good reminder."
She has to work twice as hard to compete against boys
Since then, LaRosee said she has performed much better at
recent meets. She has also gotten used to being in a male-dominated sport
because she not only practices two days a week at Hahnville, but also practices
three days a week at Rummel High School.
"My first couple of years I was very apprehensive when
approaching any of the guys. It was very nerve-racking just being around there,"
she said. "Now, I got to know a lot of the guys and I have made good friends
with people from everywhere.
"They all respect me."
That goes for LaRosee's male teammates, who she said she
now knows better than their girlfriends.
"The guys don't walk in anymore like, ‘She's just a girl,’"
she said. "They respect me as a wrestler and the guys on my team have become
like my brothers."
Her coach agrees.
“I don’t think of her as a girl wrestling...she is just
another wrestler on the team,” Erwin said. “In order to compete against the boys
she has to work twice as hard just to keep up with the strength factor and she
has to be twice as sharp with her technique because of the strength factor.”
Keeping body in
wrestling shape is tough
But there is one drawback to wrestling at a certain weight
class. LaRosee said that her body should not be at 103 pounds naturally and that
when wrestling she has 10 percent body fat, far too low for a female athlete.
"I have to be really careful about what I eat. After my big
win I went to Acme Oyster House with my mom and gained eight pounds the next
day," LaRosee said.
LaRosee works out about three hours a day and said that she
has begun eating baby food while exercising because of its low sodium content.
“The baby food was portioned and I ate throughout the day
at least seven times with plenty of water and I took vitamins,” LaRosee. “I have
been advised that 103 pounds is a medically-safe weight to be at to compete
against a boy.
“I am very
careful.”
And that's the part of wrestling that shocks her friends.
"When they see me work out they're like, ‘Oh my God, are
you insane? You're going to kill yourself,'" LaRosee said. "But I tell them I
have to work out to keep up with the guys. They don't like the fact that I have
a strict diet during the season."
But her friends do enjoy one part about wrestling.
"They love it because they see that I'm wrestling against
boys and it blows their mind," she said.
Qualifying for
Nationals
Because of her tournament win, LaRosee has been invited to
compete in the Women’s Nationals, which will be held in Fargo, N.D. from July
15-17.
“My dream is to compete against other girls nationally at
112 pounds,” she said.
To get ready for Nationals, LaRosee is hoping to travel to
Plainview, Texas for a wrestling camp that will take place June 16-18.
“The purpose of attending wrestling camp is to enhance
skills and techniques, lifelong values such as commitment, communication,
leadership, teamwork and accountability, and to prepare for Nationals,” she
said. “I hope to represent our parish and state well.”
Anyone interested in helping sponsor LaRosee’s camp or
Nationals’ trip may make checks payable to River Parish Wrestling. The checks
can be mailed to 119 Ivy Lane, Luling or you may call (985) 210-8898 and leave a
message to have your donation picked up.
You may also contact
wrestling coach Dan Erwin at Hahnville High School at (985) 758-7537 or
derwin@stcharles.k12.la.us.
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