Wrestler Candace Workman has set the bar very high for girls who wrestle in Utah. She is loved and accepted by her teammates and she finished second in the state at 103 pounds.

Not all girl wrestlers have it so good.

Take Murray High wrestler Bailey Roberts.

Roberts is a 119-pound junior varsity wrestler. Her record is 2-17. Her pair of victories both came from forfeits.

Yet a short conversation with Roberts and her team reveals that although she has yet to record any real victories, her time spent pinned to a mat has earned her something: respect from some of her teammates.

Though a handful of girls have wrestled for high school programs, acceptance from teammates doesn't always come quickly. Including Roberts, this season five girls tried out for the Murray High wrestling team and were systematically weeded out through the grueling training and conditioning program; all, that is, except for Roberts.

Not all her teammates are thrilled she's still on the team. She isn't, after all, very good. Still, her determination has won over some on the team.

"She doesn't move off the whistle a lot. She doesn't sprawl, she needs to work on her speed and, oh yeah, she needs to work on her strength, too," said Murray team captain Kevin Sierer. "At the start of the season she was getting creamed by guys and now she goes out and at least gives them a challenge."

Wrestlers and coaches alike are hard-pressed to describe her skills as anything more than mediocre. Even Roberts said "come back and interview me when I'm good."

But the sophomore has

continued to look past her shortcomings and has simply stuck it out.

"I believe if you want to wrestle, you should wrestle, but she's proved that she wants to wrestle. She's proved it by sticking it out and working to get better," Sierer said.

And work she has. What the sophomore lacks in wins has been made up for in determination and tenacity.

"We had five girls who tried out and she's the one that stuck it out. At the start of the season I think some of our guys were hard on her, questioning why she was here, but she never faltered," said Murray coach Todd Thompson.

And therein lays Roberts' greatest, and currently lone, success.

Whether she relishes continuous losses or is just too stubborn to quit, the consistently overmatched wrestler is unflinching.

"It's tough, but if it was easy then a lot of people would join up. But it's really not and you have to work really hard. Wrestling helps you get that mentality that, like, you can't just quit," said Roberts.

Roberts' gritty determination has yet to overcome her athletic inexperience, a drought the sophomore is hoping to snap next season.

"I'm going to wrestle next year and my senior year, too. I want to get fifth or higher at state but don't get me wrong, if I got first I wouldn't have any complaints," said Roberts.