When you think of hobbies for little girls, dolls, playing house and dressing-up sound like a pretty typical day of events. That’s not the case for Oak Harbor’s Kayla Miracle, who at the age of six, has already claimed the state title for freestyle wrestling.

At only five-years-old Kayla surprised her dad with a question one day.

“When we were driving home from somewhere in our truck she looked over at me and she asked, Dad why can’t I wrestle,” Lee Miracle said.

Not sure if it was a great idea, Lee told her to go ask her mother. With no hesitation from mom, Kayla was on her way to shortly becoming a state champion in the 40 pound weight class for both girls and boys.

“Her dad didn’t think she was going to like wrestling,” Jeannette Miracle said. “She said, ‘I love this I’m going to be a state champion this year’, and sure enough she was pee wee 40 pound freestyle champion.”

Lee was amazed at what Kayla was able to do on the mats.

“I honestly thought she’d get beat up and quit,” he said. “She really proved me wrong. She came in and destroyed any kid that was close to her size.”

You don’t have to look far to see where Kayla gets her desire to wrestle. The roots run deep for Lee, who grew up in Ohio and has wrestled since he was old enough to walk. He grappled in college at Heidleberg University and was a member of the All-Navy wrestling team in 1993. He has also coached for several years in California and Washington and runs the King of the Rock wrestling club in Oak Harbor.

It’s obvious the energetic first grader loves what she does, but there’s one thing she enjoys above all else.

“I like beating up all the boys,” she said, smiling.

The family wrestling history along with 11-year-old brother Shawn pushing her, has helped Kayla become a force to be reckoned with on the mats.

“Her brother’s probably been a really big influence on her,” Lee said.

In fact, Kayla’s reaction to a dispute with Shawn, is when her father knew she was a tough one. After arguing with her older brother Kayla came out of her room and started whipping on Shawn with a flashlight.

“That’s when I knew this girl was mean and I’d have to watch her,” Lee said.

Wrestling is something that her parents can see her doing far down the road, but are leaving it completely up to her.

“I would actually be surprised if she said Dad I don’t want to wrestle anymore,” Lee said. “If she said that I would be fine with that.”

Competing in high school is another strong possibility for Kayla.

“Wrestling for girls going the way it’s going, definitely,” her mother said.

Originally Kayla was going to compete at the women’s nationals later this month but her parents opted against it due to certain rules. She weighs 43 pounds and would be forced to wrestle in the 50 pound division, which is the lowest weight class. Not only would she be wrestling opponents seven pounds heavier, but she could be facing anyone up to the fifth grade, who weighs 50 pounds.

“It’s not that I don’t think that she could do well because I’ve seen her wrestle girls that old and beat them,” Lee said. “I just think that we’ll hold off until next year when she’s gained a little bit of weight.”

Her next challenge will come in April when she travels to the Reno World of Wrestling where she will compete against kids of similar age and weight. This will be the first time attending the event but her parents feel good about her chances.

“I firmly believe she has a shot to be the champion down there,” Lee said.