When most girls hear the word wrestling, they back away from the idea of ever participating in a sport where you have to tackle another person to the ground. Freshman Naomy Ramirez is not one of those girls. This year, Ramirez is the only girl trying out for Westside’s wrestling team.

Ramirez wanted to begin wrestling because she felt it would allow her to take out her anger with school and everything else going on in her life. Although this is only Ramirez’s first time wrestling at the high school, she wrestled at the middle school during her seventh and eighth grade years, which makes her a little more comfortable with the idea.

“At first I was scared to be wrestling with mostly guys this year but they treated me like one of them, so I am not so scared anymore,” Ramirez said.

In order to prepare for this winter, Ramirez has recently started attending pre-season workouts to get in shape, along with going to last week’s wrestling meeting to learn more about the upcoming season. Ramirez is excited to start the new wrestling season.

“My favorite part about wrestling is slamming the guys to the ground and knowing that I can do what any other guy can do,” Ramirez said.

Besides wrestling, Ramirez has also participated in Cross Country and track in order to stay in shape and active throughout the school year.