Female wrestler, Marlee Smith, competes in nationals

Marlee taking down her opponent in the nationals.

By Alexis Tarrazi – Straus News

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.

Q&A with UFC Fighter and Sparta native Jim Miller

By Alexis Tarrazi – Straus News

Photo by Al Bello/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Pictured from left: Jim Miller punches Kamal Shalorus during their lightweight bout at UFC 128 at the Prudential Center on March 19, 2011 in Newark.

SPARTA — Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter and Sparta native, Jim Miller is returning to the local area to take on former Strikeforce number one lightweight contender Pat Healy.

With a record of 22 wins, 4 losses and zero draws, Miller is ready to claim one more victory this weekend at the Prudential Center in Newark on Saturday, April 27.

Originally from Sparta and still living in Sussex County, Miller, 29, trains twice a day, five to six days a week at four to six hour sessions, out of Whippany and Fair Lawn with wrestling, Jiu Jitsu, live sparring and more to prepare for fights.

Female wrestler competes with the boys

Sierra Blasone is the only female wrestler on Sparta High School’s male wrestling team.

BY ALEXIS TARRAZI – Straus News

SPARTA — Women and wrestling? Not exactly what comes to mind when thinking of the sport. Yet females across the country are making headlines.

Danielle Coughlin, a teen girl in Massachusetts, became the first female wrestler to win the state championship last week. A mixed martial arts competition with nuances of wrestling — the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) — also brought women to the limelight when it held its first female match on Saturday.

Making headlines in Sparta, Sierra “Sissy” Blasone, a sophomore at Sparta High School, is the only female wrestler on the varsity team.

This is the third and final installment in a series of articles that featured women playing in men’s sports.