Put me on the mat.
As a preschooler, Marina Goocher made that request while watching her older brother wrestle.
And, when she was 5, her parents did thatwhich later led to four national titles in middle school and high school and media attention for winning more than 100 matches in her high school career, all against male opponents.
As a college freshman, Goocher made the same request.
Although there isnt a womens wrestling team on campus, mens wrestling coach Grant MacKenzie listened.
He trained the engineering major almost daily and created a womens wrestling club just for herwhich led to Goochers first collegiate national championship.
Competing in the 130-pound weight class, Goocher traveled to Florida last month and took home the National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) title.
Yes, it was in Florida, but it wasnt a vacation. It was a business trip, she said. I was there for one reasonto take first.
Goocher chose to attend 蹤獲扦-Dearborn for its engineering program. But she also hoped to wrestle, to make her dream complete.
I thought I could wrestle co-ed like I did in high school, but found out the NCWA rules are different, said Goocher, who attended Riverview Community Schools. When I emailed [MacKenzie] to be on his team, he could have just told me that I couldnt wrestle with the guys, there was no womens team and it would have been the end. But he didnt.
Instead, MacKenzie invited her to meet the team. He kept working with Goocher and teaching her moves to further her success. And he created the 蹤獲扦-Dearborn womens wrestling teamwhich is the first NCWA womens program in Michigan.
A lot of work goes into pioneering a womens wrestling team, she said. I am so thankful for Coach MacKenzie and the 蹤獲扦-Dearborn athletic department who has made this possible for me. I was determined to get that first place.
MacKenzie said he wasnt surprised at Goochers performancehe knew she had what it took to be a national champ.
When the guys wrestle, they want to get right to the mat. Marina wants to learn, so I create lessons for her. Shes methodical, calculated and determined. Shes got the mental strength and passion for the sport, he said. I knew her potential to win. My guys are great too, but I wish they could have her focus.
Goocher said when she started wrestling as a kindergartenerwhen her kneepads nearly covered her entire legshe would be one of the only girls competing in the tournament.
But now when she watches youth wrestling, there are several females.
Times are changing. Where there was once one or two girls, there are now 20, she said. I want to be a pioneer for womens wrestling in Michigan for the future female wrestlers to come.
