Tasha, 15, is a North Montomery High School female wrestler.

Tasha Borta and Katelynn Todd think it's only fair that they be allowed on the North Montgomery High School wrestling team -- even though their teammates and a lot of their competitors are male.

"I think it's really important, because you shouldn't stereotype a sport. Guys and girls can do any sport they want," said Katelynn. She and Tasha are both 15 and freshmen at the Crawfordsville school.

After joining the wrestling team, the girls said they became stronger, better athletes and more goal-oriented. They also made friends from all over the state. They don't believe any of this would have been possible if they hadn't become wrestlers.

Laura Pappano, a Massachusetts-based journalist, is encouraged by stories like these. She would like all sport teams to be coed. In a phone interview with Y-Press, Pappano explained why she believes all people should be judged by their ability, not their gender, when playing sports.

Pappano is a writer-in-residence at Wellesley College and co-author of the book "Playing With the Boys: Why Separate is Not Equal in Sports" (Oxford University Press, $28). Her co-author is Eileen McDonagh, a professor of political science at Northeastern University.

"I want to think of sports not as male or as female, but as sports that we ought to be playing at whatever level seems appropriate for us," Pappano said.

However, in Indiana, girls can traditionally join a male team only if there is no equivalent team for females, according to the Indiana High School Athletic Association, which governs Hoosier high-school sports. No Indiana school has a girls' wrestling team, so female wrestlers may join male teams.

Pappano and McDonagh argue that all teams should be a mix of boys and girls, and rules for female athletes should be the same as those for males.

J.D. Minch, wrestling coach for North Montgomery High School, has no problem with girls wrestling.

"I learned a long time ago that you can never judge without providing an opportunity," he said. "The girls that I have coached have all seemed to give their best in practice and competition."

Tasha and Katelynn agreed that ability matters more than gender in sports.

But girls today need more than great athletic ability. They need tough skins, Tasha and Katelynn said. That's because one of the things the girls have had to put up with is opposition from some male wrestlers.

Typical comments? "It's against my religion" and "I don't want to hurt you." Tasha and Katelynn have heard it all. But that has not stopped either from sending male opponents crying to the locker room.

"They were upset and bawling," said Tasha proudly, about two of the three boys she wrestled and won against in varsity matches. Her junior varsity record was 8-6, and she was also the county junior varsity champ. Her goal is to make the varsity team when the season starts in November.

Tasha, who wrestled in the 112-pound weight class, said her arms aren't as strong as those of the boys she wrestles. But she often turns to her own strength -- versatility -- to win.

Added 103-pound wrestler Katelynn: "I know I'll never be able to out-muscle a guy. But maybe I can out-maneuver them." Her varsity wrestling record was 1-0 when the season ended in February. Her junior varsity record was 2-12, and she's determined to improve next season.

Pappano would like to see sports culture change so girls don't feel compelled to compare themselves to guys at all -- only to athletes with similar abilities.

The mother of three is troubled that segregated sports continue to negatively influence her own children.

Her daughter was upset after she signed up for a youth golf tournament last year when she was 12. Boys her age played 18 holes; girls played nine.

"Girls are still getting some messages that somehow boys are just better at certain things than girls are, which is absolutely not true," Pappano said.

Tasha said guy wrestlers used to call her a "man." She took it as a compliment.

Some of the girls' teammates are proud of them. "I think it's great to see girls wrestling and see them compete as hard as the guys," said Casey Bushong, 18, a senior wrestler at North Montgomery.

Tasha and Katelynn didn't set out to be wrestlers when they were little. Both began in seventh grade.

Tasha was already involved in cheerleading, but her dad had been a high school wrestler and encouraged her to try it. Her little brother wrestled, and she began watching matches, thought it looked fun, tried it and fell in love with the sport.

Katelynn went to a meeting to learn more about the wrestling team, talked to the coach and got hooked. Her family wasn't too keen on the idea at first.

"My mom was totally against it, but now she's a diehard wrestling mom, and my friends think it's really cool."

A year ago, she suffered a concussion when she butted heads with an opponent during a match.

But that didn't turn Katelynn away from wrestling -- even though some people think girls can get hurt too easily. One boy even forfeited his match with Tasha because he said he was afraid he'd hurt her. (She claims it was because he knew she would win).

Both girls and Pappano agree that coed sports offer more than just stiff competition. When girls and boys co-exist on the playing field, it helps them work together and respect each other outside sports, too.

"At the beginning of the season, we were like outcasts from the team, but now we're good friends," said Katelynn. "They respect us and we respect them."

REPORTER: Lucy Knorr, 13.

CONTRIBUTORS: Quinn Andrews, 13; Eric Chen, 15; Max Gabovitch, 15; and Alyse Phillips, 13.

Copyright 2008 Y-Press