Killingly — There are plenty of pithy anti-smoking slogans — "don't make an ash of yourself" may be the league leader — but "dad, if you quit smoking, I'll try wrestling" is peerless.

In this case, it launched Linda Holeman's career. Here is a young woman, a junior at Ledyard High, with 21 wins over boys this season. And all because her dad was a Marlboro Man.

"My dad asked me to try wrestling," Holeman was saying Saturday, where she made the quarterfinals of the Eastern Connecticut Conference wrestling tournament and finished sixth. "To be honest, I didn't like that he smoked. So we made a deal. If I tried wrestling, he would quit.

"My first day was pretty tough because I didn't want to touch any boys. But I started liking wrestling so much, it wasn't about the deal I made with my dad anymore. I do it because I love it."

Holeman is the only girl on her team. Her coach, Allyn Quibble, a former Ledyard great, can't recall her wrestling against another girl all season. And yet she has 21 wins in the 138-pound class, even though she weighs but 131.

Such stories about girls and women who break barriers and boundaries are often told for their rhetorical usefulness. But this is about a boundary breaker who isn't good because she's a girl. She's good because she's good. Period.

"We count on her for wins because she's a good athlete. Period," Quibble said. "When I first saw Linda, she impressed me with her ability to out-wrestle kids her age, girls or guys. I have confidence in her to be in the (State) Open next year — or this year for that matter. I bet she does well next weekend (at the Class S championships).

"She's very technically sound. Sometimes, she makes it look easy. She wrestles with the guys in the room every day. I don't treat her differently. She does everything that everybody else does."

Holeman grew up in New London and attended Jennings School. She took to wrestling early at age 11, with her sister, Lana, who was six. Turns out Lana provided some inspiration.

"I went to girls' states when I was 11. My sister was wrestling as well," Holeman said. "One of the girls she was wrestling purposely did an illegal move and hurt her. I was in the finals. Instead of thinking of myself, I was thinking about how mad I was about what happened to my sister. I won that match. Ever since, I've thought, 'This is my sport and I'm going to do everything I can.'"

Girls' wrestling is growing on the youth, high school and college levels. Still plenty of stigmas, to be sure. But no other sport teaches toughness and accountability any better. Heaven knows toughness and accountability are becoming endangered species now.

"I love to be able to overcome what people think about girls in wrestling," Holeman said. "People think 'oh, you lost to a girl. How can you lose to a girl?' They shouldn't be thinking that way. I'm here on an all boys' team. But my coach knows the potential I have to keep up with the boys. Girls can have as much technique as the guys."

Quibble: "Wrestling is a sport that, yes, you can have strength and size against you. Physically, men are different than women. But I think Linda is proving that wrong. Wrestling is growing so big with girls. In Div. I, Sacred Heart (University in Fairfield) has girls' wrestling now. So does Iowa. I think she's Iowa caliber."

Holeman understands the potential awkwardness of the girl/guy dynamic grabbing various body parts rolling around on a mat. Maybe it makes wrestling a little harder for her. But then, this is 21 wins later now.

"Sometimes, hands slip," she said. "I was at a dual meet a couple of weeks ago. I was wrestling a boy. I know their hands can slip. We went out of bounds and instead of him pushing himself up (off the mat) by using the mat, he purposely pushed off of my butt. That was unnecessary. Sometimes, I worry. But not too much. I'd tell all girls that you have the empowerment. Don't let any guy tell you differently. You can do anything you want."

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro