PORTLAND (AP) – Deanna Rix slipped off her headphones, tucked her blond hair under a tight skullcap and walked onto the mat.

A few minutes later, she defeated Noble’s Heath DeVoll 5-2 in the 130-pound weight class to win her 100th high school wrestling match. She became the first female interscholastic wrestler in Maine to reach the milestone.

The 100th win Thursday night achieves the Marshwood High School student’s first goal. The next goal, she says, is to win the state tournament.

“I*m proud of this as a dad,” said Rix’s father, Matt, the wrestling coach at Marshwood. “Probably because it’s never been done before. It was nice to see the hard work, dedication and determination pay off for her.”

Her 100th career win was also her 22nd of the season. She’s 16-0 at 130 and 6-1 at 135. In the win over DeVoll, Rix took a 2-1 lead after the first period on a two-point takedown, then recorded a one-point escape and a two-point takedown in the second.

DeVoll recorded his only points on an escape.

“Deanna, she’s a defensive wrestler,” DeVoll said. “She waits for you to do something and she’ll counter with something else.”

Because girls’ participation in wrestling is so new, official records for the sport have not been established in Maine or nationwide.

“For a female wrestler, to go against males, this (100 wins) has happened, but it’s not common,” said Kent Bailo, founder of the U.S. Girls Wrestling Association in Ortonville, Mich.

In 1998, Casey Barnoski of Kalamazoo, Mich., finished her career with 125 wins at Comstock Park High School. Barnoski competed in the 119 and 125 weight classes.

It’s still a rarity for girls to participate in traditionally male-dominated sports such as hockey, wrestling and football, partly because there’s a preconceived notion that competing against a boy is unsavory for a girl – not to mention awkward.

“At 13, 14 or 15, does a girl want to be in physical contact with a boy?” Bailo asked. “You’ve got to be pioneerish in your mindset. And boys, they don’t want to wrestle a girl.”

Rix started wrestling at age 4. Nearly 14 years and 100 wins later, Rix stripped off her skullcap, shook hands with DeVoll and the Noble coaches, and walked off the mat to her teammates, having reached her goal.

Rix will attend Northern Michigan University on a full scholarship for wrestling in the fall.

“People have said to me, You’ve inspired me to wrestle,”‘ Rix said after the match. “People have sent me e-mails and cards telling me this, and kids send me pictures of them wrestling. And it inspires me.”

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