13-year-old girl has wrestling in her blood
By:Sean Moylan
13-year-old Brandy Price first caught the wrestling bug watching her older cousin Aaron grapple in a match in Pennsylvania five years ago.
Immediately, she knew it was something she wanted to do.
"The first time Brandy asked if she could wrestle, I said, ‘girls don’t do this. How about karate?’ " recalled Dave Price, who was worried at the time that his young daughter might get hurt out on the mat.
Even karate classes could not quench Price’s thirst for action. She continued to ask her father if she could wrestle.
Finally, after moving to the local area four years ago, Price’s father saw and heard some positive things about Tony Arroyo’s Junior Greyhounds wrestling program and decided to let his daughter join.
The rest, as they say, is history.
In the wrestling season that just recently wrapped up, Price took first place in her weight division at the Middle Atlantic Women’s Championship. Competing against boys, she placed second in her weight division at this year’s Grapevine Tournament, an event she won last year. She posted a 6-6 mark at her middle school and recorded two pins on her way to a second-place finish at this year’s Princeton Tournament.
Amazingly, Price accomplished all of these feats despite missing three weeks after being injured in a match.
"She’s a pretty tough kid," added Price’s father, whose family has a long history of producing great wrestlers, including himself.
Brandy Price is tough. Even so, there are levels of adversity she probably would love to avoid.
According to Dave Price, there are three types of wrestlers his daughter goes up against: the guys who are scared to fight a girl; the good, professional ones who do not care who they go up against and the mean one who will try and hurt a girl.
Although most of the wrestlers fit into the middle category, there was one from the latter group. It got so bad that Dave Price stepped in and stopped the match. He probably would have done the same if it were his "son" as well.
Still, the Prices do their best to take such incidence in stride and learn more and more about wrestling. Brandy is a fierce competitor and she enjoyed her win in the championship round at the Middle Atlantic Women’s Championships this year.
"I was kind of surprised by that (championship)," said Brandy Price.
Still, she likes wrestling with the guys. At a thin 5-foot-3 and 95 pounds, Price has no problem staying with Coach Arroyo’s physically challenging workout regiment.
"I’m fine with the pushups and crunches," added Brandy, who also lifts weights with her twin sister Brooke, who plays AAU basketball, soccer and track.
After four years, Brandy has become a fixture in the Junior Greyhounds’ program. More often than not, you can find her smiling and laughing at practices. Although she’s the only girl currently in the program, there’s no strangeness or novelty to her position. She’s there because she wants to be there any they want her there. Plus, she always makes weight.
"I like to hang out with the guys," laughed Brandy, who prefers wrestling boys than girls.
Brandy’s dad, however, knows she is moving closer to high school age and has Brandy exploring other options.
"I’m trying to get her into more girl events," noted Mr. Price, whose daughter recently started wrestling freestyle. "There’s more girls stuff in freestyle."
Brandy Price plans on wrestling in a Pennsylvania Tournament later this month. And next year she may go to the National Championships in Michigan. Between Brooke’s basketball and Brandy’s soccer, Dave Price finds himself driving his daughters to some event nearly every night. It is a labor of love.
Beigng twins, the Price sister are highly competitive. Brandy has a way of stopping her sister from teasing her, though.
"When she gets on my nerves, I wrestler her," laughed Brandy, who plays soccer and runs track with her sister.
As is the norm, Price’s wrestling career started slow. As a 65-pounder her first season, she went 2-13. the next year she improved to 5-10 and placed second at Grapevine. Then, last year, she was 10-5 with 5 pins, won the Grapevine Tournament and placed third in the Women’s championship. She was also voted the "Most Improved Wrestler" on the Junior Greyhounds.
"(After matches) most of the guys would come back and say this girl can wrestle," noted Tony Arroyo, who loves having Brandy as part of the program.
If the members of Looking Glass were ever to re-record "Brandy" after seeing this wrestler in action, the words would probably be, "Brandy you’re a fine girl. What a good wrestler you would be. You half can floor any wrestler 1-2-3."
However, those lyrics would be way too corny to describe Brandy Price she’s feminine but tough. Most of all, she just like being a Junior Greyhound and just one of the "guys."