COAL TOWNSHIP, Pa. — McKenzie Knarr made history earlier this year, becoming the first girl ever to win a varsity wrestling match at Shamokin Area High School in eastern Pennsylvania.

But Knarr, a 113-pound freshman, doesn’t view herself as a trailblazer in a sport where girls nationwide are increasingly being given a chance to compete against boys. In fact, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations, more than 11,000 girls competed in wrestling programs across the country in 2014-15, the most recent academic year for which data is available.

But what makes Knarr’s recently completed first varsity season unique is her main reason for trying out in the first place: She wants to develop her skills for her true passion — mixed martial arts.

“I want to do an MMA fight at my gym,” said Knarr, who also trains at Elite Performance Fighting Club in Shamokin. “I am OK with my hands, but not I am not OK with my ground work. I thought going out for wrestling would help me with that and be a great experience.”

She told the Sunbury, Pennsylvania Daily Item that joining the wrestling team was a logical step toward what she wanted to accomplish.

“Wrestling is a good background to have,” she said. “With being in high school, it’s like getting free lessons. I am able to go out there and wrestle with kids that have been doing it forever and learn from teammates like Devin (Pietkiewicz) and Jake (Carpenter).”

One might think a girl coming out for wrestling at Shamokin — let alone with the plan that the sport would be secondary to her — would get some resistance, but there was none.

“We know why she is here and what she wants to do,” Shamokin wrestling coach Todd Hockenbrock said. “She wants to do MMA, but she also wants to wrestle and we are happy to have her.”

From the first day she stepped onto the mat, she had the respect of her teammates.

“For her to get into a sport like this in high school without ever doing it is amazing,” said Pietkiewicz, who won a sectional title last weekend. “We all respected her for taking such a chance and stepping into the sport.”

Even with her MMA background, stepping into the wrestling room and competing at the varsity level was not easy.

“I told her if she was going to do something she needed to see it through,” her father, Brian Knarr said. “But she had a tough time learning something new and having to cut weight. Personally, I didn’t like what it was doing to her. So I gave her a chance to get out.”

McKenzie balked at that.

“I told her I was going to pull her out and she said ‘Don’t,’” Brian said. “She wanted to fix it and she did.”

It was a lesson that demonstrated her resolve was growing along with her fighting and wrestling skills.

“Definitely my resolve has been strengthened going through this,” she said. “I am learning a new sport, but I have great teammates that have supported me since Day 1.”

Knarr said she’s been frustrated to have a few forfeits because of boys not wanting to wrestle her. Late last year a scheduled match between two rival schools across the state in Johnstown drew attention when speculation grew that one of the schools might exploit a policy adopted by Pennsylvania’s Roman Catholic bishops in 2014. The policy states that wrestlers at Catholic schools are not permitted to compete against girls. If an opponent sends out a female foe, the Catholic school would be forced to forfeit the weight. Ahead of its match with Bishop McCort Catholic High School, Westmont Hilltop stacked its roster with 12 female wrestlers. The match ended up being postponed by inclement weather.

Why MMA?

Knarr grew up in a home where combat sports were often front and center.

“When I was little my parents always watched UFC and it got me interested in fighting in general,” she said. “Everything about fighting and combat sports … I just like everything about it.”

It fits perfectly with her.

“Growing up I was always aggressive in whatever sport I did, including cheerleading,” she said with a smile. “Fighting just seemed to be the perfect fit.”

The older Knarr, who was never into organized sports as a kid, got into combat sports later in life and had his first fight when he was 35.

“When I got into it I just wanted to do just one fight,” Brian said. “I have done three. Even though my last one didn’t go the way I wished, you learn lessons no matter the outcome, and that is something McKenzie is learning.

“I would love to do two more fights and see where it takes me.”

Brian said when his only daughter came to him and told him she wanted to do MMA, he reacted in a way that might surprise some people.

“I thought it was awesome,” he said. “Combat sports do nothing but make you a better person – they make you stronger, physically and mentally.

“They teach you to be a good sport and getting beat is part of life, just like winning is.”

Nagy writes for the Sunbury, Pennsylvania Daily Item.