Sun Feb 12 2012
With a determined look on her face, she walked through a dark tunnel where the sounds were muffled.
After a few more steps, the lights and sounds opened before her and quickly gave her the chills.
Without even wrestling her first match of the day, this was the atmosphere she had worked so hard for.
It took Crestwood wrestling phenom Paige Nemec four years to make it to Columbus for the state wrestling tournament and she wasn’t going to let a second of it pass her by.
“It was an awesome feeling to walk out of the tunnel and down onto the floor,” Nemec said. “It was a great feeling to actually be down there wrestling after all of the years of coming and watching.”
Wrestling at 103 pounds, Nemec’s memorable weekend will be forever stamped in Ohio history, as she became the first female wrestler to ever qualify for the state tournament.
The journey began for Nemec back when she was five years old.
“I was watching my cousin Sean wrestle, and I asked my dad if I could wrestle, and he said, ‘You can when you turn five,’ ” Nemec said.
From that point on Nemec’s career was one filled with breaking down barriers and overturning stereotypes in a male-dominated sport.
There were those who said she didn’t belong.
There were those who didn’t think it was right.
And there were those who would criticize.
It didn’t matter to Nemec. She brushed all of it aside, choosing to push forward and ignore it all in pursuit of her dream.
In the process she became one of Crestwood’s all-time best and transpired into a role model for youth — both boys and girls — throughout Portage County, proving that nothing is impossible.
“It is pretty cool to be seen as a role model,” Nemec said. “It makes me feel proud of everything I have done and that my hard work has paid off. I really want to help out the younger wrestlers in the off-season and next year.”
Nemec’s career record for the Red Devils was 115-34, becoming the first female wrestler in Ohio high school history to reach the 100-win plateau.
The list of accomplishments only begins there.
She is a sectional champion, three-time top-three finisher at the PTC Tournament, three-time Ohio State Girls Wrestling national champion and five-time Ohio State Girls Wrestling state champion.
All are accomplishments to be proud of, but it is the trail she blazed on the high school scene that may be remembered more than anything.
“I worked really hard to improve my technique, because I knew that was going to be the key to beating a lot of the stronger boys,” Nemec said. “I also was in the weight room all year long, starting right after last year’s state tournament with my wrestling coach Dave Wrobel and some other teammates. I had to get as strong or stronger than all the 103s.”
Nemec’s impact and influence on Portage County wrestling would have been difficult to predict back when she was five years old, but is something now that will never fade.
“I know I put 110 percent into everything I did, and I don’t have any regrets,” Nemec said. “I had an amazing career and have met so many influential people along the way. It was a great experience in my life, and I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
•••
Contact Tom Nader at tnader@recordpub.com
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