Paris Harrell, 15, is the only girl on the Mountain View High School co-ed wrestling team.
“I do feel like I’m paving a path,” Harrell said. “Another girl has told me she plans on joining the team next year.”
With wrestling organized by weight class, first-timer Harrell is able to practice and compete with peers of similar size. She admits she was initially apprehensive about wrestling against boys. That, along with learning the technical aspects of the sport, has been challenging this season.
“(In the beginning), I was pretty nervous,” Harrell recalled. “I didn’t really know quite what to do with myself. I had a little bit of a difficult time just understanding how to do it and building the confidence to actually fight.”
Harrell quickly caught on, and won her first match of the season on Jan. 31. Two weeks later, she competed in the Central Coastal Section (CCS) Championship.
The photo story was published in the Mountain View Voice.
Paris Harrell, 15, is the only female member of Mountain View High School’s wrestling team. She sits with her teammates watching a fight against Homestead High School at a home meet in Mountain View, California, on Jan. 31.
Paris Harrell ties up her hair in a ponytail before setting up the Mountain View High School big gym for a home meet against Homestead High School in Mountain View, California, on Jan. 31.
Paris Harrell waits to be picked up after a practice at Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California, on Jan. 30.
Mountain View High School sophomore Paris Harrell takes a break from wrestling Adan Scafidi, a freshman at MVHS, in the Los Altos High School wrestling room in Los Altos, California, on Jan. 30. The two athletes are in the same weight class and can practice against one another.
Paris Harrell secures her sprained ring finger to her middle finger in between fights during a practice for the CCS Championships in the Cupertino High School wrestling room in Cupertino, California, on Feb. 12.
Paris Harrell wrestles Ava Aufderheide from Homestead High School during a meet at Mountain View High School in Mountain View, California, on Jan. 31.
Francisco Hernandez, Mountain View High School's wrestling coach, encourages Paris Harrell during a fight against Ava Aufderheide, a student from Homestead High School, during a home meet in Mountain View, California, on Jan. 31. Seconds later, Harrell pinned Aufderheide and won her first fight of the season.
Paris Harrell wrestles Carolyn Ma, a Saratoga High School senior, during a practice for the CCS Championship at Cupertino High School in Cupertino, California, on Feb. 12. Wrestlers selected for CCS from Mountain View High School, Los Altos High School and Saratoga High School practiced with the Cupertino High School athletes.
Chandlee Harrell congratulates his daughter Paris, after she won a fight for the first time during a home meet against Homestead High School in Mountain View, California, on Jan. 31.
The Mountain View High School wrestling team's medical supplies box at a practice at Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California, on Jan. 30.
Paris Harrell warms up during a practice at Los Altos High School in Los Altos, California on Jan. 30.