2 WNC girls grapple their way to national recognition
by Andrew Pearson, [email protected]
ASHEVILLE ” Conventional standards were no match for Christian Bell and Tasheba Jackson when the two girls chose to wrestle for their high schools.
Bell initially dealt with the stereotype that a cheerleader couldn’t try the sport for the first time as a senior at East Henderson. Jackson also endured her share of gender bias at Reynolds until she cracked the school’s starting lineup as a sophomore.
Over time, Bell and Jackson gained acceptance as female wrestlers, but they haven’t stopped there. On April 2, both earned All-America recognition by placing 10th in their respective weight classes at the U.S. Girls Wrestling Association’s national tournament in Detroit.
“I was shocked; I didn’t think I would do that well,” Jackson said. “I’m really proud of Christian for placing, too. After our last matches at the tournament, we both hugged each other. I think we’ve both helped each other improve as wrestlers and it was a proud moment.”
‘As dedicated as boys’
Bell (130-pound weight class) and Jackson (138-pound weight class) train together under Norman Osteen, whose Strong and Courageous club has become best known for producing some of Western North Carolina’s top male wrestlers the past 17 years.
Both Bell and Jackson have made an impression on Osteen, who transports grapplers across the country to different tournaments.
“These two girls are as dedicated to wrestling as any boy,” Osteen said. “And Christian and Tasheba are only going to continue to get better. Especially with Tasheba being so young, I think it’s possible that she could win a national championship one day, I really do.”
Championships were a remote goal for Jackson when she began competing at Reynolds two years ago. Rockets wrestling coach Jeff Foster invited her to join his team, but the feeling wasn’t mutual among some upperclassmen.
“My freshman year, they tried to get me kicked off the team,” said Jackson, who won eight high school matches against boys last winter. “But I think everyone saw that I was dedicated and started to treat me the same as anyone else. It takes a lot of heart and dedication to wrestle and that’s why I love it. It’s awesome.”
Before her first match at East Henderson, Bell served as a manager for the Eagles’ wrestling team. She has earned a spot on Gardner-Webb’s cheerleading team for next year but wants to continue training as a wrestler in some capacity.
Like Jackson, Bell remembers the reaction from classmates when she started wrestling.
“Pretty much everyone laughed in my face because I was the only girl,” Bell said. “It made me want to prove everyone wrong who said a cheerleader couldn’t wrestle. After the first week, people could tell I was doing pretty good, and they tried to help me. But at first, no one wanted to work with me.”
Hoping it catches on
Osteen trained Olympic silver medalist and former McDowell High student Sara McMann in the late 1990s and believed at the time that her success might create a boom for female wrestling in the area.
It never happened, but Bell and Jackson have renewed Osteen’s hopes for the future.
“It’s rare to see a girl want to start wrestling in high school, but Christian and Tasheba are exceptions,” Osteen said. “I think before it’s all said and done that other girls are going to see the success these two have had and it will be inspiring. The sky is the limit for them, and I hope other girls take notice.”
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