Marlee taking down her opponent in the nationals.
WANTAGE — From as far back as she can remember, Marlee Smith of Wantage has been involved in sports. It wasn’t until second grade that she began to play with the boys.
“She was cheering as a cheerleader and my husband was coaching football. He was one kid short, so he turned to me and said, ‘I’m putting her in,'” said Crissy Smith, Marlee’s mother. “She was this little thing but a tough kid, so we threw football pads on her and she went out there and that was the end of cheerleading.”
Football was the transition Marlee needed to explore another predominantly boys sport, wrestling.
Alexis Tarrazi 