Seeling Redefines Stereotypes

Drag Racing Motorcycles

ATLANTA (CNN/SI) -- Ever since her father put her on a motorbike at the age of 6, Angelle Seeling has loved racing. Instead of dresses and dolls, she grew up with grease and dirt.

"I don't even remember having any little girl friends when I was little," Seeling says. "All I ever remember is what I used to do with my cousins which were all guys, my brother, the guys that lived around the block. I don't remember doing anything that a typical little girl would do."

And now, at age 28, Seeling does not have a typical job. In fact, she is the only woman today to drag race motorcycles on the NHRA circuit. A far cry from her original line of work.

"I got through nursing school knowing that I had to become a nurse to be able to afford my hobby of motorcycle drag racing," she said. "I would bring a binder to school with my notes that had all these motorcross and motorcycle drag racing stickers all over it and everybody said, 'Whose binder? Is that your brother's binder or something?' I'm like 'No, it's mine' and I tried to explain but they never really understood what I was doing."

At first, many people didn't. Not only was she a woman, but Steeling was considered too small, at 5-1 and 105 pounds, to handle a 500 pound bike.

"I had some friends tell me that I was crazy to even think that I could do this. That I was too small to handle the bike. They used the word 'manhandle.' 'You have to be able to manhandle it' and 'You're even a small woman to trying to be womanhandling it' and I just, I never believed that. I said I think if there's a will there's a way. There's got to be a technique. I can be taught how to do this, I know I can!"

In 1996, Seeling brought that determination to George Bryce, a former racer himself, who taught her how to drag motorcycles. Bryce decided to take a chance on her and is now the owner and crew chief of her Winston pro stock team.

"We felt like we were always under the microscope. One of the technical people came to me after the first race and said, 'George, what are you going to do next, have a spidermonkey ride the motorcycle?'"

For Seeling, it was as if trying to get people on the circuit to accept her as an equal had become more difficult than winning the high-speed races on the track.

"There were a lot of comments going around like, 'Oh my God, I don't want to be in the other lane when she's going down the track' and I've even heard that someone said that I was going to be like a flag flying in the wind, just holding on for dear life. People wouldn't say my name, it's 'the girl' and 'You need to go back to the kitchen.'"

Last year, her second-place finish on the circuit silenced most of the skeptics with three victories and a national elapsed time record. This season she is the pro stock bike points leader. Still, she hasn't convinced everyone.

"We've had a lot of backlash from other people that don't expect me to do this," she says. "So when you get out there and you set the world's record, people think you're cheating. So we've heard a lot of that."

Maybe she hasn't been totally accepted by her peers, but being the only female on the tour hasn't been all bad. Angelle is one of the most popular racers with the fans and her sponsor, Winston.

"They [Winston] like the girl part for the marketing aspect of it, Seeling explains. "They're like, 'We want your hair to be long.' I can't cut my hair. They want my makeup to be fixed. [For] the guys, it seems so easy for them to brush their hair and throw some cold water on their face. And for me, I'm always in my trailer trying to keep my makeup from running and keep my hair from being knotted."

Aesthetics all aside, Seeling says she knows she can compete.

"We proved that we can set records but we haven't yet proved that we can win the championship and that's what my goal is."

And, she knows the competition now knows she can compete and win.

"Now they don't see me as some little girl that doesn't know what she's doing. They see me as someone they have to beat."

Rise to National Prominence: In 1993, Hile-Nepfel was selected to be an assistant coach for the East team in the Olympic Sports Festival held in San Antonio, Texas. She helped guide that team to a silver medal finish. The memories were fond for Hile-Nepfel, who in 1978 was selected to participate on the West squad in the first Olympic Festival in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The Makings of Legend On The Hilltop Throughout her legendary playing career on the Hilltop and now as a top coach, Hile-Nepfel is no stranger to achieveing excellence at the highest level. She was a two-time All-American at USF and was twice a finalist for the Wade Trophy, awarded to the nation's top collegiate player. She is the leading scorer in USF history (female or male) with 2,324 points. In 1985, Hile-Nepfel became the first woman inducted into the USF Hall of Fame. Her jersey No. 15 is retired alongside those of other USF hoops greats Bill Russell, K.C. Jones, Bill Cartwright, Mike Farmer, Phil Smith and Brittany Lindhe, as well as coaches Pete Newell and Phil Woolpert. The USF record book is owned by Hile-Nepfel. She currently holds 11 career, nine single-season and five single-game records.

Hile-Nepfel excelled in the classroom as well, earning academic All-American honors twice and receiving the Anne Dolan Award as USF's outstanding female student-athlete in both 1979 and 1981. She has been nominated for the Academic All-American Hall of Fame.

Beginning the coaching journey: Following her graduation from the Hilltop in 1981 with a degree in sports administration, Mary played professional basketball in Italy. She entered coaching as an assistant at Long Beach State in 1982. During her three seasons at Long Beach State, the 49ers won two conference championships and advanced to three NCAA regional finals. While at Long Beach State, she earned her master's degree in physical education. Hile-Nepfel joined the coaching staff at the University of Hawaii in 1985 as an assistant. The following year she moved to Chaminade University, where she served as assistant athletic director.

Community involvement: Hile-Nepfel is a past member of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association Board of Directors and served as the Division I representative for the West Region. Mary is also active in the community, serving as a guest speaker for various events, helping with fund-raising efforts for local high school sports at an annual San Francisco celebrity luncheon, and coaching in basketball clinics for both girls and boys throughout California. In addition, she heads the annual Mary Hile Basketball Camp, held at USF each summer.

Mary Hile-Nepfel Coaching File: 15th Season as Head Coach 209 Career Victories - Most in USF Women’s Basketball History 102 West Coast Conference Victories Three NCAA Tournament Berths 1996 NCAA Sweet 16 District VIII Coach of the Year - 1994-95 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year 1989-90 & 1994-95 Assistant Coaching Stops: Long Beach State (1982-85) & Hawai'i (1985-86)

Mary Hile-Nepfel Playing File: Kodak Regional All-American - 1978-79, 1979-80 & 1980-81 Academic All-American - 1979-80 & 1980-81 All-Northern California Athletic Conference 1977-78, 1978-79, 1979-80 & 1980-81 USF's All-Time Basketball (Men's & Women's) Leading Scorer - 2,324 career points Career Rebounds - 1,602 Field Goals Made - 970 Professional Basketball Player - Italy (1981) USF Hall of Famer (1986) #15 Retired (1981)