Albert set to wrestle in World meet in Poland

By Peter Jakel
Camera Sports Writer

Some criticize Fairview's Cathilee Albert for wrestling.

Some disapprove.

And others object.

Yet none of that matters to Albert because she's good at it.

The junior-to-be at Fairview High School competed on the junior varsity boys wrestling squad in the 130 and 135-pound weight classes during the winter before winning the 16-and-under girls wrestling national championship earlier this summer.

That championship has extended Albert an invitation to wrestle in the Women's Cadet World Championships in the 143-pound weight class in Poland this August.

"I'm really nervous because I've seen pictures of the women down there and they are like 5 feet tall and they weigh as much as me," Albert said. "I don't know what to expect. I have no idea what I'm getting into."

Albert has also won the Rocky Mountain Regional Open Women's Championships and competed in the Open Women's Nation Championships this offseason.

Albert has to come up with $900 to make the trip to Poland, but she said she thinks her parents are going to foot the bill.

That's a surprise, considering Albert's mother, Barbara, hasn't been really supportive of Albert's decision to wrestle for some valid reasons.

"My mom hated the idea of it because my sister always wanted to do hockey or football and they said no there's no way," Albert said. "She hates it because she doesn't like watching kids get thrown on their heads.

"I got a concussion and sprained my top vertebrae and broke the top of my teeth off and she spent a lot of money to get that fixed."

Other FHS parents have told Fairview head coach Jim Heun they will not allow their sons to practice with the team if Albert is a member of the squad.

Heun's answer was simple — those sons won't wrestle. And they didn't during Albert's season last year. Albert wrestled and fit in well with the guys who could handle her presence.

"She's respected in our room," Heun said. "She comes out with black eyes and bruises because she's really going at it. There are some guys who have a chip on their shoulders about wrestling a girl and they don't hold up at all. They just want to run her out of the sport. They come at her and she comes right back at them."

Albert didn't mind being one of the guys, but there is a limitation to how much of her feminine side she will give up to be accepted.

"I love being one of the guys and hanging out with them, but there's an extent to where I don't want to really be one of the guys," Albert said. "I don't want to be a guy or act like a guy. I don't want to be bulky. I worry about my voice getting deep. I've only seen one wrestler who doesn't look like a man."

Albert might be avoiding a physical bulk up but it's a different story academically. Since Albert made the decision to wrestle in the second semester of ther freshman year, her grades in high school have jumped from around a 1.0 grade point average to a 3.2 or better this year.

Her explanation for the sudden turn academically is that wrestling keeps her from going out with her friends and finding some sort of trouble.

"I give up every Friday night to cut weight instead of go out with my friends," Albert said. "Last year I was more worried about hanging out with people and going to parties and getting in trouble instead of sports.

"Wrestling means so much to me that I wouldn't want to do anything to ruin it. I just don't want to do anything to mess it up."

Wrestling will probably have to mean a little bit more as she prepares for the World Championships.

"It's going to be hard during the summer for her to train as consistently as she needs to," Heun said. "The hardest thing is going to be getting some good workouts. She's very strong but she hasn't spent much time in the weight room. She could be a whole lot stronger."