11.19.2004:Female Wrestler Tag Teams with ACLU to compete with boys

from  November 19 online edition of Salt Lake City Utah Tribune:

    Candace Workman doesn't look much like Cael Sanderson or Rulon Gardner, but like them, the 4-foot-11, 95-pound Vernal wrestling phenom wants to bring home the gold someday.
    But the feisty 14-year-old - a reigning national champion - had to grapple with authorities just to get to the mat for a Spanish Fork tournament next month. She tag-teamed with the American Civil Liberties Union to win a spot in the 800-competitor meet after being denied entry because she's a girl.
    "I want to go down there and show them I'm just as good as the boys," she said Thursday. "It was wrong of them to try and exclude me like that."
    Last year, the Vernal Junior High student pinned top honors in the 13-year-old 95-pound class at the U.S. Girls Wrestling Association Championships in Michigan.
    Nonetheless, Spanish Fork parks and recreation officials gave Candace's entry in the Dec. 4 tournament an initial thumbs-down because they received complaints when she competed in the event last year.
    "Some boys dropped out because they were scheduled to wrestle her," said Dale Robinson, parks and recreation director.