Female Faces in the Crowd

October 22, 2008 – If you’re not already familiar with Sports Illustrated “Faces in the Crowd” you should be. Each week, the magazine features six student-athletes from various sports. And guess what? In a media property not generally known for repping those with an xx chromosome, girls seem to get props equal to the guys.

In addition to featuring athletes in sports such as soccer, volleyball and cross country, the magazine highlights girls who are particpating in less traditional pursuits.

Middle school wrestler Kiera Gabaldon was one of the athletes highlighted in a recent edition. Here is the magazine’s summary of Kiera’s accomplishments:

Kiera, a seventh-grader at Houck Middle School, won two national wrestling titles: the Women’s Body Bar Freestyle (novice 111 pounds) and last year’s U.S. Girls’ Wrestling Association tournament (elementary 91 pounds). At the Oregon state boys’ meet she was second in freestyle and third in Greco-Roman.

Another recent entry highlights Elizabeth Mitchum and Kaci Poole, junior kickers at Pelion High in South Carolina, who are believed to be the first two girls to score points for the same team in a varsity football game; on Sept. 12 each kicked an extra point in a 42-13 victory over Wagener-Salley.

And from the coaching ranks comes Kim Terrell-Kearney, 43, the head bowling coach at Delaware State. Terrell-Kearney defeated Trisha Reid 216-189 to win the U.S. Women’s Open for the second time. (She also won in 2001.) She was a two-time college All-America at San Jose State and the 1989 pro tour rookie of the year.

It’s so great to honor these female athletes in a national forum. If you know someone you think should be featured, it’s easy to nominate them. Just go to sportsillustrated.com to fill out a form and tell about the athlete’s accomplishments.