LEONIA — As the coaches on either side of the mat confer on who to send out to wrestle at 182 pounds, one fan calls out to the Leonia/Palisades Park bench.

“Don’t be surprised if this girl wins, she’s pretty good,” he says.

The girl he's talking about is Teaneck senior Erin Emery.

She's part of a national surge in high school girls participating in wrestling. In September, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association formally sanctioned an official state championship for girls wrestling. New Jersey became the 12th state to join the movement, and the first in the Northeast.

Even though Emery is a girl on Teaneck’s wrestling team, she doesn't really stand out on this January morning. She spars and does some light exercises before the team's match against Leonia/Palisades Park. She knows what she's doing as she confidently works with her partner.

As the bouts go on, Emery sits on the bench, watching intently as her teammates – all boys – wrestle. Between matches, she goes back to the group behind the bench to send out the next Highwayman with a loud cheer.

When it's her turn, Emery doesn’t hear the praise from the stands. She's in the middle of the pack. She wrangles her headgear and strides to the mat.

Wrestling against boys has been the norm, but Emery doesn't see the big deal.

“It’s at the point where wrestling girls is weird for me,” Emery said, smiling.

But it won't be weird for long.

There will be a girls-only region tournament at Red Bank Regional on Feb. 17, and winners will advance to the NJSIAA championships in Atlantic Citytwo weeks later.

“I really think it’s going to take off,” Teaneck coach Jim Nonas said. “Girls see the sport and see MMA events and colleges can offer scholarships, it’s a huge opportunity for these girls. I’m telling them 'you’re getting in on the ground level here.'”

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“No, girls don’t wrestle”

Girls wrestling in North Jersey is not a new phenomenon. But with the NJSIAA officially sanctioning the sport, it's being followed more than ever.

Teaneck had three girls when the season started last year, and Nonas notes that he’s had as many as seven. Becton, Elmwood Park, Saddle Brook and Lakeland (among others) each have girls competing on boys teams this winter.

Deidre Mammano of NV/Old Tappan was the first girl to compete in the Bergen County Holiday Festival in 1997. She lost in the prelims.

Then there was Kim Salma of Fair Lawn. She was the first female in New Jersey history to place in a district tournament, and was the first to win a match at regions in 2003. She was just inducted into the school’s athletics Hall of Fame.

Paula Plazas wrestled for four years at Cliffside Park, graduating in 2007. Her little brother was wrestling while she would take piano lessons. A couple of times piano lessons were canceled. So Paula went to wrestling practice and she was hooked.

But she was met with disdain.

“I went up to the coach and said ‘is there a team I can join?’” Plazas remembered. “He said ‘No, girls don’t wrestle.’ And he said it to me in a way that gave me the inspiration to prove him wrong.”

At Cliffside Park, Plazas wrestled for four years, ran track and played softball. But she had to earn her stripes in the wrestling room.

Plazas remembers, when she was a freshman, one of the older boys trying to trip her or step on her while she was doing sit-ups or push-ups on the mat. The matter was quickly handled by team leaders, but when she came to matches, people still assumed she was the scorekeeper.

“I would come out in a singlet and everyone would be surprised,” Plazas recalled.

She won six matches in her career against boys and finished third in an all-girls state tournament in Hackettstown (an unofficial state championship).

“She would battle,” Cliffside Park coach Marc Cabrera said. “And to this day when I have girls on my team, I have her talk to them.”

Paula, now 31, said her 2-year old son is ‘definitely’ going to be a wrestler. She wouldn’t change a thing about her career.

“I would tell girls, try to keep going no matter what anyone tells them; people out there say wrestling is a man’s sport; no it’s not, it’s an athlete’s sport,” Plazas said. “Just keep moving and try your best and stay positive.”

“She’s my ticket to Atlantic City”

On March 2, the NJSIAA will crown girls wrestling champions for the first time. The tournament will coincide with the boys championships in Atlantic City. It’s the biggest stage for high school sports in New Jersey.

Jackson defeated Manalapan in the first full-team girls wrestling match in New Jersey in December.

There are no full girls teams in North Jersey. Yet.

The only all-girls tournament near North Jersey took place last weekend in Bloomfield. Natalie Vega from Elmwood Park finished second. Emery had two pins and won her weight class easily.

“She’s my ticket to Atlantic City,” Nonas said. “When she wrestles girls, you can see how good she is.”

When it comes to girls in their wrestling sanctuary, coaches don't take a different attitude. Do you have what it takes or not? That’s the only thing that matters. Effort and work is respected.

“The door is always open,” Cabrera said. “I’m not going to look at you as a girl, I look at you as a wrestler. I respect any wrestler who steps on the mat win or lose.”

She’s a champ

Emery, 17, is one of the best athletes at Teaneck High School. She's a strong soccer and softball player. She started as a wrestler for Teaneck last year and went 12-18, yes, against boys.

She’s a three-time girls state champion competing in that same all-girls tournament in Hackettstown that Plazas once competed in.

Her story is familiar. Her older brother wrestled. She wanted to do it too.

“I want to get on the board at our high school,” Emery said. “We have a board that lists state champs and region champs and county champs. If you win, you get to be on that board.”

Emery lost her bout on Saturday, but Teaneck beat Leonia/Palisades Park 40-37 with a last-match pin. She’s happy her team won but disappointed she didn’t do her part. She knows she’s wrestling against boys who are probably stronger, but she says she prefers it. It’s more of a challenge.

“It makes me tougher mentally,” Emery said.

There’s no worry about how Emery is accepted or treated by the boys on the team any more.

She’s accepted just like anyone else in a singlet.

She’s a wrestler.