There might come a day - and depending on whom you talk to, that day might come sooner than later - when the two girls competing for starting spots on the Cherry Hill West varsity wrestling team aren't such an oddity.
West coach Zack Semar sees a trend that's pointing increasingly toward girls' high school wrestling leagues. "In the last 10 years, girls' involvement has grown 100-fold," he said.
But until that day comes, West wrestlers Simms, a senior, and Gabby Falabella, a junior, are linked even as their paths to the sport came from polar-opposite directions.
"If anything, we hope we can encourage other girls to go out for wrestling," Falabella said. "I think it's a great thing for females to learn - not only for self-defense but just for conditioning and for life in general. It keeps you well-rounded."
The calling
Five years ago, Falabella - completely contrasting Simms, who was a cheerleader and on the dance team before joining the wrestling team - took up jujitsu and fell in love with fighting.
"My parents were going through a divorce at the time," said Falabella, who wrestles in the 113-pound weight class. "I was really upset about everything, and those classes are really what kind of saved me. It got my mind off everything. It was great. It was a way to get out anger and frustration."
Now, Falabella, who competes in jujitsu against both genders, aspires to be an ultimate fighter. She already trains to do so although, legally, she can't fight until she's 17 years old. The need that mixed martial artists have for a grappling background is part of what pushed Falabella into wrestling in her sophomore year.
Her father also dabbled in mixed martial arts, and encouraged her to try it.
"Plus, I transferred to Cherry Hill West from Kingsway when I was a sophomore," Falabella said. "So it was a way to make friends. And it really worked out."
