Don’t tell Searra Inman that wrestling is just a sport for boys.

Only a freshman at Brandywine High School, Inman is a girl who is quickly earning respect for her work on the mat.

“I have a thing about guys saying they’re better than girls (in wrestling) and I want to prove them wrong,” Inman said. “It’s also a good warm-up and good conditioning for other sports.”

Inman, who also competes in track, soccer and cross country for the Bobcats, barely broke a sweat on Jan. 6 in her wrestling matches against Parchment’s Zack Leckie and Comstock’s Teague Roellchen.

The 5-foot, 103-pounder pinned Leckie in 23 seconds and pinned Roellchen in 45 seconds.

Those wins helped Brandywine beat Parchment, 63-3, and Comstock, 48-33.
Inman improved her record to 11-8 with her wins against Parchment and Comstock.

“She’s doing awesome this year,” Brandywine wrestling coach Rex Pomranka said. “She’s raw, but she listens and she works hard. Sometimes she works harder than some of the guys. We’ve had some other girls wrestle for our program. It’s an equal opportunity sport. I told her that this is a guy sport and that I wasn’t going to treat her any different. She’s all gung-ho and her parents are gung-ho about it.”

Inman credits much of her success to her father Chris, her mother Pepper and her older sister Mikayla. Chris and Pepper were cheering on their daughter against Parchment and Comstock and just as excited about the two pins.

“I’m really thankful that my mom and dad let me do this,” Inman said.
Mikayla, who is 17 years old and home-schooled through the Brandywine Innovation Academy, has made an impact on Searra with her participation in motocross and dirt bike racing.

“I definitely look up to my sister.”

The reaction from teammates and opponents to Searra’s wrestling have mostly been positive.

“My teammates are pretty fun to hang out with,” Searra said. “They mess around with me a lot. It’s good. One of my opponents (on Jan. 6) didn’t want to shake my hand, but that’s okay. I know it’s hard to get beat by a girl.”

A bigger challenge for Inman is learning the proper moves that are needed to become a consistent winner on the mat.

“I think the biggest challenge is memorizing the different positions that the coaches have taught me,” Inman said. “When you’re out there and the coaches tell you something you’ve got to think about it and process things and remember what you’re doing.”

“She’s making mistakes, but she comes back and corrects her mistakes and goes after it,” Pomranka said.

It appears that Pomranka will have plenty of time to train Inman as she doesn’t plan on making wrestling a short-term experience.

“I plan to keep doing this the next three years,” Inman said. “I’m hoping to get a few scholarships out of this. I want to get some good mat time and get some good muscle on me.”

And maybe a few more handshakes.