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<p>NANTICOKE &#8212; It&#8217;s nothing new to see a female put on a singlet and a hair net and step on the mat for a high school wrestling team.</p><p>In fact, there have been girls wrestle for Luzerne County high school teams in the past.</p><p>But what Nanticoke Area&#8217;s Krystal Daniele and Megan Kocher are doing is unprecedented.</p><p>Daniele, a senior, and Kocher, a junior, are thought to be the first females to wrestle multiple years for the same Wyoming Valley Conference team at the same time.</p><p>They are also successful on the varsity level at what they do, something no female wrestler has done before in the history of District 2 athletics.</p><p>Daniele became the first female ever to win a medal at the District 2 Individual Wrestling Championships when she took fifth place in the 126-pound weight class during 2014 Class 2A Tournament.</p><p>The following year, Kocher made her mark at the tournament becoming the first female in tournament history to win a match by decision at the tourney when she earned a win in the consolations of the 113-pound weight class. Kocher followed that performance by picking up her first career pin last month at the Lackawanna Trail Duals.</p><p>Sure, it&#8217;s a major accomplishment for the two Trojan wrestlers, but it&#8217;s not something they brag about, or expect recognition for.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s no different than when a boy wins his match,&#8221; Kocher said. &#8220;It&#8217;s the same thing.&#8221;</p><p>Kocher and Daniele, who also play field hockey for the Trojans and have been involved in that sport for several years, both have a background in martial arts as well. There is somewhat of a connection between karate and wrestling so they decided to give it a shot.</p><p>Three years ago, they approached the Nanticoke Area athletic director, asking when and how to sign up for the wrestling team &#8212; the rest is history.</p><p>&#8220;I thought it would be a lot easier, but I&#8217;m OK with the challenge,&#8221; Daniele said. &#8220;I thought I would be a little more successful than I am but it happens. I&#8217;m not too beat up about it because I still go out there and have fun.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s just as difficult to me as it is for any other person out there. The difficulty level is not higher or anything; the only thing is that guys are bigger. That&#8217;s where the difficulty comes in.&#8221;</p><p>If there&#8217;s one thing bothersome for the two, it&#8217;s how they have to weigh in. Generally, the wrestlers from both teams will convene in a locker room with the referee and get their weight checked before a dual or tournament. But the females have to be weighed in separately, and not with the referee present but with another female official around.</p><p>It&#8217;s not such a big deal for Daniele, who says &#8220;Guys can be kinda gross so I&#8217;m OK with it.&#8221;</p><p>But Kocher has opposite feelings.</p><p>&#8220;Honestly, I think I should get to weigh in with them, too because we&#8217;re not allowed to be naked. I have to wear a sports bra and spandex,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It&#8217;s just annoying to have to wait until they&#8217;re done. I&#8217;d rather go at the same time.&#8221;</p><p>While many states have a female wrestling league, it&#8217;s not yet that popular in Pennsylvania. There are, however, many all-female tournaments available in the state, including the Pennsylvania Women&#8217;s Wrestling Championships, which will be held March 13 at Susquehanna Township High School near Philadelphia.</p><p>Daniele has participated in all-female tournaments in the past and took third. Kocher prefers not to attend tournaments with just girls and instead wants to prove she&#8217;s as good as the boys, which she has done and has another year to show even more.</p><p>&#8220;When I was on junior high, I wrestled a few girls and they were all nuts,&#8221; Kocher said. &#8220;If there was a tournament that said &#8216;no girls allowed&#8217; I would be pretty mad. So why would I go to one where there&#8217;s no boys allowed? I think it&#8217;s stupid just dodging boys because they think I can&#8217;t beat them.&#8221;</p><p>This isn&#8217;t just a one-time scenario for Nanticoke, either. The Trojans have another female currently wrestling on the junior high team in Katie Pegarella, a sixth-grader who appears to be on track to set even higher standards for female wrestlers in the area.</p><p>Daniele wishes more females would get involved in the sport, and at an earlier age because there are so many lessons to be learned.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve learned a lot of life lessons like things are going to be harder than you expect,&#8221; she said. &#8220;You just have to push through them to have some success.</p><p>&#8220;Once you start wrestling, and you&#8217;re dedicated and have the determination, it&#8217;s like a drug; you can&#8217;t stop doing it. You can&#8217;t just not do it. I don&#8217;t have it in me to stop wrestling.&#8221;</p><p>Hazleton Area also has a female wrestler currently on the team with junior Hope Kinney, but she has only seen action in one varsity match.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Nanticoke Area High School wrestler Krystal Daniele stretches with her teammates during warm ups before a recent match at Hanover Area High School. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_wrestlers02.jpg</photo0><caption0>Nanticoke Area High School wrestler Krystal Daniele stretches with her teammates during warm ups before a recent match at Hanover Area High School. </caption0><photoCredit0>Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_wrestlers03.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Nanticoke Area High School wrestler Megan Kocher, center, shares a laugh with a teammate during a recent meet at Hanover Area High School. Also shown is female wrestler Krystal Daniele, left. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_wrestlers03.jpg</photo1><caption1>Nanticoke Area High School wrestler Megan Kocher, center, shares a laugh with a teammate during a recent meet at Hanover Area High School. Also shown is female wrestler Krystal Daniele, left. </caption1><photoCredit1>Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_wrestlers04.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Krystal Daniele has her hand raised after winning a match by forfeit during a recent meet at Hanover Area High School. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_wrestlers04.jpg</photo2><caption2>Krystal Daniele has her hand raised after winning a match by forfeit during a recent meet at Hanover Area High School. </caption2><photoCredit2>Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_wrestlers05.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Krystal Daniele, left, and Megan Kocher are both members of the Nanticoke Area High School wrestling team.. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_wrestlers05.jpg</photo3><caption3>Krystal Daniele, left, and Megan Kocher are both members of the Nanticoke Area High School wrestling team.. </caption3><photoCredit3>Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_wrestlers01.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Megan Kocher wrestles with a Nanticoke teammate during warm ups before a recent match at Hanover Area High School. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_wrestlers01.jpg</photo4><caption4>Megan Kocher wrestles with a Nanticoke teammate during warm ups before a recent match at Hanover Area High School. </caption4><photoCredit4>Pete G. Wilcox|Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Nanticoke Area High School female wrestlers having success against their male counterparts</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dave Rosengrant</p><p>drosengrant@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Dave Rosengrant at 570-991-6398 or on Twitter @tldrosengrant</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Not in a league of their own