Jack Plunkett / Associated Press
Eastwood's Tressa Yocum, top, pinned Amarillo's Clarissa Dalke on Saturday to win the 165-pound wrestling state title.
News Page
First girl wrestler in Wisconsin state meet sparks debate
Associated Press 3/1/04
The first girl to compete in Wisconsin's state high school individual wrestling meet won an ovation but also sparked debate among coaches and wrestlers about her appearance in the previously all-male event, a newspaper reports.
Tomahawk sophomore Alyssa Lampe was the huge favorite of cheerleaders and fans who whooped and hollered when she won a preliminary match at Madison's packed Kohl Center Friday.
But The Green Bay News-Chronicle reported Monday that some coaches and wrestlers felt the situation of a girl wrestling boys reflected disparities from Title IX - the 1972 federal law barring discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded educational programs.
And some simply didn't agree with having boys and girls of high school age wrestle.
"It's wrong," one Division 1 coach told the newspaper, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The situations that wrestlers find themselves in is not right for a boy and girl at that age. It puts a lot of pressure on the boys to make sure they are putting their hands in the right spot."
Lampe disagreed with that idea.
"It is just the same thing as two guys wrestling," Lampe said. "There are places you can't ... you don't even think about that."
Lampe, competing at 103 pounds in Division 2, took a 4-1 lead on the way to her victory over East Troy's Braden Mayotte.
She lost by first-period pin in the quarterfinals later Friday to Lodi freshman Jake Madigan and then fell to Mosinee's Jerad Kern in her quarterfinal wrestleback.
She finished the season with a 33-12 record, including victories over three state qualifiers. Ten of her losses were to wrestlers who qualified for the state meet.
Lampe said she started wrestling to provide practice competition for her brother, and she hopes to use this year's experience to improve next season.
Tomahawk assistant head coach Bob Garrou said there's no doubt about her talent.
"She's a pretty little girl that just happens to be a damn good wrestler," he said.
Lampe said she didn't think about being the first girl at the state tournament.
"I just see myself as a wrestler wrestling other wrestlers, boy or girl, it doesn't matter," she said.
Lampe, who is 55-19 during her high school career, had the support of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association to compete in the state meet after qualifying for it.
The decision stems at least in part from the passage of Title IX, which gave impetus for the expansion of girls interscholastic sports.
Title IX is blamed for contributing to decisions by many high schools and colleges to drop wrestling, and it also required the WIAA to change some longstanding rules - including those barring competition between boys and girls.
In 1978, a U.S. District Court said qualified girls must be allowed to participate on boys teams if no girls team is offered in a sport.
The WIAA welcomed the state meet appearance of Lampe, whose victory was chronicled by more than 50 media outlets.
"In order for girls athletics to continue to grow, the exposure is so vital," said Tom Shafranski, an assistant director for the WIAA.
But a number of wrestlers and coaches, who would speak only on condition of anonymity, told the News-Chronicle they didn't agree with allowing girls to wrestle boys.
"We are losing programs because of Title IX every year, but here we can have a girl come and wrestle in the same sport that is being taken away around the country to help girls sports," one Division 2 wrestler said.
"But if a boy wanted to play volleyball and that school didn't offer it (for boys), then the boy couldn't play with the girls. (Lampe) shouldn't be allowed to wrestle."
Shafranski said the WIAA considers it a matter of offering girls the chance to compete.
"Our position is one that we want to give girls the opportunity to participate - whether it's wrestling, football or other contact sports," he said.
Shafranski also said growing interest could eventually cause the WIAA to offer girls wrestling.
But Lampe said if the WIAA offered both boys and girls wrestling, she still would want to compete with the boys.
Jordan Crass of Medford, who won a third state title Saturday and is a UW-Madison recruit, sees nothing wrong with Lampe wrestling boys.
"If people think it's bad because she's beating boys, too bad," he said. "I say start working harder then, boys."
------------------------------------------------------------
First female wins state wrestling bout
The Tomahawk sophomore sparked debates the entire weekend at the WIAA state tournament
By Paul Adamski
News-Chronicle 3/1/04
MADISON - When the final buzzer sounded and the victory was hers, Alyssa Lampe dropped her head between her legs and plunged her face into her hands to cry.
Accordingly, she slowly lifted her head to a thunderous applause from the wrestling faithful that packed the Kohl Center on Friday morning and flashed a weighty smile that scarcely told her story.
Lampe's emotional outburst was tempered, somewhat surprising considering the historic circumstances in which the Tomahawk High School sophomore had just starred.
Five days after she became the first female to qualify for the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association wrestling individual state tournament, and seven minutes after claiming a 7-5 victory in a Division 2 preliminary bout at 103 pounds, it was clear to see why Lampe's celebration was subdued.
"I don't really think about (being the first girl at the state tournament)," Lampe said. "I just see myself as a wrestler wrestling other wrestlers - boy or girl, it doesn't matter."
While Lampe didn't think it mattered that she was a girl, it did to many.
Cheerleaders cried and women of all ages whooped and hollered their approval. Alas, some wrestlers and coaches didn't always see eye-to-eye.
Lampe, who is 55-19 during her high school career, was poised as one could be considering the magnitude of her actions.
She jumped to a 4-1 lead and was clearly stronger and had better technique than East Troy's Braden Mayotte in the opening-round match. If not for her long, flowing blonde hair, ravishing smile and appealing good looks, one would be hard-pressed to figure Lampe for a girl on the mat.
She flows into moves one after another, has splendid technique, lusty arms and seems to have that wrestler's edge.
"She's a girl all the way," said Tomahawk assistant head coach Bob Garrou. "She's a pretty little girl that just happens to be a damn good wrestler."
Lampe lost by first-period pin in the quarterfinals later Friday to Lodi freshman Jake Madigan and then fell to Mosinee's Jerad Kern in her quarterfinal wrestleback.
The 1-2 record was far from a disappointment. And, her 33-12 record looks better when one considers 10 of those defeats came to state qualifiers.
Lampe beat three state qualifiers this season and came out of a sectional that had five wrestlers with 30 or more wins.
THE EFFECTS OF TITLE IX
Lampe's breakthrough sparked a ferocious debate the entire weekend.
The growth of girls sports in Wisconsin coincided with the passage of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded educational programs.
Title IX gave needed impetus for the development of girls' interscholastic sports and expanded opportunities in all educational programs and activities.
Title IX has been one of wrestling's worst enemies since its inception. Year after year, wrestling is dropped in college and high schools around the country to balance the sports.
In the years since 1972, nearly all Wisconsin school districts have experienced some problems in providing equity between the boys' established programs and the girls' growing programs.
Most of the problems at the school-district level have been settled by enlightened leadership and compromise, according to the WIAA. But, it is not unusual for controversies to result in complaints, frequently through the federal Office for Civil Rights or litigation through the courts.
At the state level, it has been necessary for the WIAA to change longstanding rules. For example, WIAA rules prohibited all competition between boys and girls. In 1978, the U.S. District Court ruled that qualified girls must be allowed to participate on boys teams if no girls team is offered in a sport.
This decision, which applies to contact and noncontact sports, is consistent with other court decisions throughout the country. As a result of this ruling, the WIAA changed its rule.
The WIAA supported Lampe's decision to wrestle and was pleased to have her at the tournament.
"In order for girls athletics to continue to grow, the exposure is so vital to help promote girls involvement in athletics," said Tom Shafranski, an assistant director for the WIAA.
Lampe's victory was chronicled by more than 50 media outlets, and Shafranski said national television networks contacted the WIAA and asked to be informed of her performance in the tournament.
In the matter of boys competing on girls teams and girls competing on boys teams, Title IX requirements and subsequent case law generally allow students to cross over only if there is no team for one sex and athletics opportunities for that sex have been limited in the past.
In Wisconsin and many other states, this approach allows girls on boys teams under certain conditions, but it does not allow boys on girls teams.
The Department of Public Instruction and the WIAA philosophy tolerates the apparent unfairness to boys in this situation only because that alternative would be more discriminatory.
But, is it fair? Many wrestlers and coaches, who would speak on the subject only if their names where left out of this story, say no.
"We are losing programs because of Title IX every year, but here we can have a girl come and wrestle in the same sport that is being taken away around the country to help girls sports," said one exasperated Division 2 wrestler. "But, if a boy wanted to play volleyball and that school didn't offer it, then the boy couldn't play with the girls. (Lampe) shouldn't be allowed to wrestle."
Shafranski disagrees with that position.
"I'm sure that there are political pressures on some of our coaches and communities to not allow this kind of activity," he said. "Our position is one that we want to give girls the opportunity to participate - whether it's wrestling, football or other contact sports. We think that is (in) the best interest of girls athletics."
Garrou, who wrestled for the University of Wisconsin-Superior before it dropped its program in part because of Title IX, sees the situation from both sides.
"If universities use Title IX the correct way, it's a great thing for everyone," Garrou reasoned. "If you talk to a lot of women in their 50s, they never had the opportunity to really play sports. That is a shame. That is wrong.
"I'm for Title IX to give women the opportunity to be in athletics, but I don't think it should come at the cost of wrestling or baseball at the university level."
MAKING WAY FOR THE GIRLS?
Jill Brandl Gurtner, the first female to officiate the WIAA wrestling state tournament, has run a girls' folk-style state tournament in Middleton the past five years. The last was Jan. 20, and it drew 50 girls.
There also is a girls state tournament in Kenosha that is run by the United States Girls Wrestling Association. It draws about 100 girls from a handful of Midwest states. Lampe took second last year.
"Hopefully, women's wrestling will help balance Title IX," Brandl Gurtner said. "If we can get girls wrestling started, it should only help the boys programs."
Shafranski believes its just a matter of time before the WIAA offers girls wrestling. "That's something on the horizon," Shafranski said. "(The girls state tournaments) are signals that we have opportunities for expansion of wrestling."
A girls' wrestling program could pose problems, too. Lampe said if the WIAA offered boys and girls wrestling, she would want to wrestle with the boys.
Shafranski said the WIAA's stance is if a sport is offered by the school for both boys and girls, then the girl would have to compete with the girls. But, if the school doesn't offer the sport for girls, she could wrestle with the boys.
The Department of Public Instruction and the WIAA are committed to the concept of separate athletics programs for boys and girls. On the surface, this seems to contradict civil-rights decisions in which courts have consistently held that "separate but equal" is in fact unequal.
According the WIAA Web site, if all sports activities were open equally to boys and girls, the number of female athletes would be severely curtailed.
"Guys would dominate women's sports," Garrou said. "But, if you think girls can do well in a guys sport, then go for it because women are not usually going to dominate in a boys sport."
LASTLY, THE REACTION
Brandl Gurtner said she struggled with the issue of girls wrestling boys at first, but, during the past five years, she has come to the conclusion that they are as serious and as dedicated and they love the sport just as much as the guys.
"I never wanted to see a girl out on the mat just to prove a point or use it as a stunt," Brandl Gurtner said. "But, since I've been working with the girls the past five years at Middleton, I have found out that isn't the case with these women."
Still, many wrestlers and coaches found Lampe's participation at the state tournament wrong. It wasn't that they were trying to take anything away from her accomplishment, it was that they didn't feel boys should be wrestling girls at this age.
"It's wrong," one Division 1 coach said. "The situations that wrestlers find themselves in is not right for a boy and girl at that age. It puts a lot of pressure on the boys to make sure they are putting their hands in the right spot."
Lampe disagrees.
"It is just the same thing as two guys wrestling," Lampe said. "There are places you can't ... you don't even think about that."
One member of the Wisconsin Wrestling Coaches Association said the state should look to Japan for answers. Japan was the first country to basically start girls wrestling, working on the basis that boys and girls wrestle each other until they reach fifth grade, then they wrestle in separate tournaments.
Garrou argues it is the same as guys' cheerleading.
"They toss the girls up, and they are catching them and holding them the same way that (Lampe) has to hold the guys when she's wrestling.
"There is no difference between a guy grabbing a girl in cheerleading then Alyssa wrestling a guy. It's very similar."
Jordan Crass, one of Wisconsin's best high school wrestlers and a UW-Madison recruit, sees nothing wrong with Lampe wrestling.
"In our state, there is not a lot of opportunities for girls wrestling," said Crass, a three-time Division 1 state champion from Medford Area. "If people think it's bad because she's beating boys, too bad. I say start working harder then, boys."
It's an argument that has been going on for a long time, well before Lampe stepped on the mat. With women's wrestling becoming an Olympic sport and more and more women finding a love of the sport, it's safe to say the debate will continue.
One thing is for sure, the record crowd at the Kohl Center surely won't forget the actions of Alyssa Lampe for a while. And, by chance they do, Lampe has two more years of high school to remind them that girls can indeed compete with the boys
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Eastwood's Yocum takes state crown
Pablo Villa 2/29/04
El Paso Times
|
Jack Plunkett / Associated Press
|
AUSTIN -- It took one season for Tressa Yocum to give Eastwood High School something it hasn't had in three years -- a state champion.
Yocum earned the distinction of being the city's lone wrestler to capture state laurels this season by pinning Amarillo's Clarissa Dalke at the 3:21 mark in the 165-pound final. It was the third pin of the tournament for the junior who floored every opponent she faced in the competition.
"It feels good," Yocum said. "She was a little slippery at first, but I got her."
It appeared Yocum would win handily in the early stages of the match. Yocum went up 4-0 after a takedown and back points. But the junior from Amarillo fought back, scoring a reversal and eventually whittling the score down to 5-2 at the end of the first period.
But that's when Yocum turned it on.
"She's a phenomenal wrestler," Eastwood girls head wrestling coach Tony Dubeansky said. "It means a lot to her to get this. And it feels great. It really is just being in the right place at the right time."
Yocum ended her season with an unblemished 30-0 record. All of her wins were earned by pin. And the most impressive aspect of her season? It was her first year wrestling.
"She had wrestled before," Dubeansky said. "But this was the first year we had her. She really was primed and ready for this."
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Persistence pays for Katy's Terry
By NIKI HERBERT
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle2/29/04
Melissa Terry , had been to the state wrestling meet three consecutive years and returned home empty-handed each time.
Last season, Terry placed third.
So when the Katy senior approached this year's state meet, she practiced harder than she ever had.
After four consecutive trips to the state wrestling meet, Terry finally won with a 2-1 double-overtime victory over Langham Creek's Ana Ramey.
Terry, the Chronicle's Girls Athlete of the Week, won the 95-pound division and set the tone for the Tigers to place third at the meet.
"It was a relief," Terry said of her state championship. "Four years of working for it and finally getting it feels great. Practice really pays off.
"There were doubts. There were times I wanted to quit. I was tired of doing it. But you've got to fight those feelings. You can't let those thoughts get in your head. I practiced hard all week."
Terry finished the season with a 12-4 record. One of the blemishes on her record came at the hands of Ramey in the Class 5A Region III final. They went 2-2 against each other this season.
"She made me work harder," Terry said of Ramey. "I used to be able to beat her in 30 seconds. But she stepped up her game. I now had competition. It made me want it even more. We know each other's moves. We know each other well. I just didn't go into the match very nervous. I was ready."
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The UIL Girls State Preview & Predictions
By Mike Stockton
Well it is time for my first Stockton Report. I have been watching ladies wrestling for the last six years in this state and am amazed at what I see. I have decided to give my opinions on all the weight classes for this year's tournament. I have spoken to some of the ladies, many of the coaches and even looked at tealeaves for a couple of the weight classes.
So here they are:
95 - This will be a tough weight class that is up for grabs. Melissa Terry from Katy is the only returning placer after finishing third last year. The best first round match maybe Ana Ramey against Jasmin Flores, Flores was upset at Regionals and Ana beat Terry in a tough Regional final in Allen. I predict Flores vs Terry in the finals with Terry coming out the victor. Little Lighting Ana will finish third.
102 - This one has the makings of another good final. I see Lindsey Bohenski from Caprock against Lara Hamilton from Katy Taylor. Coach Tank's Bohenski has battled her teammate all year for this spot and will come out at the top of the award stand when all is said and done. Lillian Marques from Coppell should finish third.
110 - This might be the deepest of the weight classes; Molinar, McSloy, Hernandez, Ashby, and Lewis. You could pick'em and still have a great champion. Lewis and Molinar have battled each other all year long switching back and forth, as have Ashby and McSloy. I think you have to go with the one who is peaking at the right time. Molinar over Ashby in a tight final match. Lewis finishes third. For those of you keeping track, Molinar should go over the 100-win mark sometime next year. She would be the first girl in the short history of women's wrestling in this state to do it.
119 - Another great weight class!!!! However the semi finals match between Jessica Allen and Deseree Cazares could have been one of the great finals of the tournament. I think the dark horse in here might be Katherine Barreda from Frisco. She went 5-1 and had to wrestle back just to get in and she has also had leads against Cazares in three separate matches just to watch Cazares take them away from her. I see Cazares first, Barreda second and Allen third.
128 - You have the returning State Champion in Rachel Billerbeck not even in the finals of this one. Hope Jones from Caprock will defeat Billerbeck in the semis and then get the fun task of going against Astrid Gomez of Hereford. Gomez will go down in Texas Women's Wrestling history with names like Tori Adams and Suekoilya Shelly. She will end her high school career with a second State Championship to go along with her two 2nd place finishes. Billerbeck will finish third.
138 - This is not the weight class that it was last year. Shelly, Gomez, Diana Mato, Houston Shephard, and Glory Dalton made up a great weight class. This year Katy's Teri Lopez looks to be the best in a small field. Jade Prudent from Houston Lee should give Lopez a run for her money. I see an upset in this one; Prudent shocks Lopez in the finals. Arlington's Candy Guevara finishes third.
148 - Here is another weight class with the defending State Champion in the field: Annie Thomas of Palo Duro. Like the Billerbeck before her, she won't repeat as champion. She beat Sarah Smith from the Woodlands in the Semi-finals last year, this year Smith beats her in the semis. However my second dark horse pick of the tournament is Emmy Thompson of Fossil Ridge. I think she beats Smith in the finals. Felica Woodall of Katy finishes third.
165 - This is one of the tougher weight classes to pick. I like Clarissa Dalke from Amarillo and Jennifer Miller of Arlington Martin. They will meet in the semis, if I am forced to pick I will pick Miller. She looked near impossible to beat at The Colony last weekend. Dalke then finishes third. I think Cheryl Avery of Langham Creek will get the task of meeting Miller in the finals.
185 - I talked about 110 being a deep weight class this one might be just as deep. Loving-Powell, Fennell, the freshman phenom McClendon, Surratt, and Katie "the Hammer" Klammer make up another great group. Loving-Powell finished second last year and is undefeated this year but she should face McClendon in the semis. The Hammer versus Jester in the other semi. This will lead to a Loving-Powell/Hammer final. The Hammer pounds nails into Loving-Powell this year. Jester will revenge her loss to McClendon at Regionals and take third.
215 - Now here we have a defending State Champion who will repeat. Lisa Obregon of San Antonio Lee will dominate again. Look for Courtney Green of Arlington to finish second and Amber Hicks of Waller to finish third.
Now we get to the team title. Over the last few years everything has come down to who puts people in the finals and wins matches. With the picks that I have made for the finals five teams have more than one lady in the championship matches: South Grand Prairie, Frisco, Katy Taylor, Katy, and Caprock. SGP should have two champions but they are only sending two girls to Austin. Frisco will have two runner-ups but the same problem as SGP. Katy Taylor will have two runner-ups like Frisco but could score some points with the addition of Gesche Weiss at 215. Katy High has sent five girls to Austin. They should have one champion, one runner-up, one third, and one fourth that should be more than enough to finish second.
A new champion will be crowned when the ladies of Amarillo Caprock win the title just like every tournament they have been in this year. They should have one champion, one runner up and score points at all four of their other weight classes.
When all is said and done this should be a great State Tournament for the ladies. The wrestling has improved greatly over the last six years and you deserve everything you get. After the end of the finals, I will probably be sitting back with a Cuban looking at my cards at the poker table wondering how I missed that many picks. Good luck ladies and go to the forum now and argue over everything that I have said.
Until the next Stockton Report, I am
Michael Stockton
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Saturday's UIL girls state wrestling results
01:14 AM CST on Sunday, February 29, 2004
From Staff Reports
CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET
TEAM STANDINGS
1. Amarillo Caprock, 71
2. Amar. Palo Duro, 64.5
3. Katy, 55.5
4. Katy Taylor, 46
5. South Grand Prairie, 38
6. El Paso Eastwood, 24
7. Waller, 24
8. Converse Judson, 23
9. Hereford, 22.5
10. Amarillo, 22
11. Keller Fossil Ridge, 20
12. Arlington, 19
13. Coppell, 18
14. Hurst Bell, 18
15. Hou. Langham Crk, 17
16. San Antonio Lee, 17
17. Arlington Martin, 16
18. Katy Mayde Creek, 15
19. Arl. Sam Houston, 15
20. Lake Highlands, 15
21. El Paso Irvin, 13
22. Pflugerville, 12
23. Austin Crockett, 11
24. Houston Lee, 10
25. SA Reagan, 10
26. Dallas Samuell, 8
27. El Paso Hanks, 8
28. The Woodlands, 7
29. Austin LBJ, 4
30. Klein, 4
31. Amar. River Road, 3
32. Arlington Seguin, 3
33. Frisco, 3
34. Pharr San Juan Alamo, 3
35. San Antonio Madison, 3
36. Austin Bowie, 1
THIRD PLACE MATCH ROUND
95: Lisa Hoang, El Paso Irvin d. Maria Wisener, Keller Fossil Ridge
9-6.
102: Lindsey Bohenski, Amarillo Caprock d. Awbrey Lowe, El Paso Hanks
9-8.
110: Tashia Lewis, Arlington Sam Houston won by default over Kim
Hernandez,
Converse Judson.
119: Sara Cevallos, Katy Mayde Creek d. Sarah Macias, Austin Crockett
9-5.
128: Hope Jones, Amarillo Caprock d. Rachel Billerbeck, Pflugerville
2-0.
138: Candy Guevara, Arlington p. Jade Prudent, Houston Lee, 3:55.
148: Brittany Jones, San Antonio Reagan d. Sarah Smith, The Woodlands
3-1
TB.
165: Jennifer Miller, Arlington Martin p. Casey Atnip, Converse Judson,
2:56.
185: Katie Klammer, Lake Highlands p. Erica Martinez, Amarillo Caprock,
4:21.
215: Lisa Obregon, San Antonio Lee p. Gesche Weiss, Katy Taylor, :59.
ROUND 2
95: Melissa Terry, Katy d. Lisa Hoang, El Paso Irvin 13-4; Ana Ramey,
Houston Langham Creek p. Luz Hernandez, Austin LBJ, 3:39; Maria
Wisener,
Keller Fossil Ridge d. Cristina Aguilar, San Antonio, Robert E. Lee
7-3;
Jasmin Flores, Frisco p. Stephanie James, El Paso Riverside, 1:24.
102: Lara Hamilton, Katy Taylor p. Maria Salas, Houston Lee, 2:27;
Lillian
Marques, Coppell p. Kasha Chaney, Samuell, 1:29; Awbrey Lowe, El Paso
Hanks
d. Tiffany Larriba, Southlake Carroll 4-3; Lindsey Bohenski, Amarillo
Caprock p. Raquel Contreras, San Antonio Madison, 4:10.
110: Crystal Molinar, South Grand Prairie won by default over Kim
Hernandez,
Converse Judson; Laurie Ashby, Katy Taylor won by disqualification over
Tashia Lewis, Arlington Sam Houston; Tosha McSloy, Katy Mayde Creek p.
Bethany Pina, El Paso, 5:52; Ashley Underwood, Amarillo River Road p.
Leslie
Salazar, San Antonio Reagan, 4:03.
119: Deseree Cazares, South Grand Prairie d. Jessica Allen, Klein 8-4;
Brittany Owens, Amarillo Palo Duro p. Sara Cevallos, Katy Mayde Creek,
:54;
Katie Canalichio, San Antonio Madison p. Tiffany Garcia, El Paso
Chapin,
1:52; Sarah Macias, Austin Crockett d. Katherine Barreda, Frisco 9-4.
128: Stephanie Haver, Katy d. Rachel Billerbeck, Pflugerville 12-6;
Astrid
Gomez, Hereford d. Kirstan Sifford, Austin Crockett 17-0; Hope Jones,
Amarillo Caprock d. Amy Herrera, Arlington Seguin 8-0; Semaj Langston,
Arlington Sam Houston p. Tiffany Sanders, Friendswood, 1:35.
138: Teri Lopez, Katy d. Hannah Skinner, Amarillo 8-0; Amenda Howland,
Amarillo Caprock p. Candy Guevara, Arlington, 1:12; Geneva Matthews,
Austin
Bowie d. Sarah Hendrix, Hurst Bell 12-8; Jade Prudent, Houston Lee p.
Amanda
Muncer, Coppell, :15.
148: Annie Thomas, Amarillo Palo Duro p. Sarah Smith, The Woodlands,
4:23;
Emmy Thompson, Keller Fossil Ridge d. Nina Loera, San Antonio Lee 5-3;
Brittany Jones, San Antonio Reagan d. Yadira Aguilera, Arlington Sam
Houston
2-1; Nina Rodriguez, Amarillo Caprock d. Felicia Woodall, Katy 10-7.
165: Tressa Yocum, El Paso Eastwood p. Aumaya Vernone, Samuell, 1;28;
Clarissa Dalke, Amarillo p. Jennifer Miller, Arlington Martin, 1:51;
Jamie
White, Pflugerville p. Becky Grimes, Waller, 2:18; Casey Atnip,
Converse
Judson p. Cheryl Avery, Houston Langham Creek 0:51.
185: Theresa Fennell, Amarillo Palo Duro p. Jayme Loving-Powell,
Converse
Judson, 5:41; Jessica Surratt, Hurst Bell p. Katie Klammer, Lake
Highlands,
3:38; Erica McClendon, Arlington Seguin p. Kacee Ravenberg, Katy, 1:11;
Erica Martinez, Amarillo Caprock win by forfeit over Carrie Clark,
Leander
Vista Ridge.
215: Shanda Roberts, Amarillo Caprock p. Gesche Weiss, Katy Taylor pin
1:39;
Amber Hicks, Waller p. Courtney Green, Arlington, 4:28; Lisa Obregon,
San
Antonio Lee p. Valerie Ward, Arlington Sam Houston, :42; Yeini Fong
Pharr,
San Juan Alamo p. Meagan Hill, El Paso Riverside, 3:49.
ROUND 3
95: Maria Wisener, Keller Fossil Ridge d. Luz Hernandez, Austin LBJ
7-6, TB;
Lisa Hoang, El Paso Irvin d. Jasmin Flores, Frisco 17-4.
102: Awbrey Lowe, El Paso Hanks p. Kasha Chaney, Samuell, 3:51; Lindsey
Bohenski, Amarillo Caprock p. Maria Salas, Houston Lee, :38.
110: Tashia Lewis, Arlington Sam Houston d. Tosha McSloy, Katy Mayde
Creek
5-2; Kim Hernandez, Converse Judson p. Ashley Underwood, Amarillo River
Road, 2:37.
119: Sara Cevallos, Katy Mayde Creek p. Katie Canalichio, San Antonio
Madison, 4:31; Sarah Macias, Austin Crockett d. Jessica Allen, Klein
18-10.
128: Hope Jones, Amarillo Caprock d. Kirstan Sifford, Austin Crockett
15-2;
Rachel Billerbeck, Pflugerville p. Semaj Langston, Arlington Sam
Houston,
2:38. 138: Candy Guevara Arlington p. Geneva Matthews Austin Bowie pin
1:52;
Jade Prudent Houston Lee d. Hannah Skinner Amarillo 8-2.
138: Candy Guevara, Arlington p. Geneva Matthews, Austin Bowie, 1:52;
Jade
Prudent, Houston Lee d. Hannah Skinner, Amarillo 8-2.
148: Brittany Jones, San Antonio Reagan d. Nina Loera, San Antonio Lee
12-2;
Sarah Smith, The Woodlands d. Nina Rodriguez, Amarillo Caprock 6-5.
165: Jennifer Miller, Arlington Martin p. Jamie White, Pflugerville,
1:00;
Casey Atnip, Converse Judson p. Aumaya Vernone, Samuell, 1:42.
185: Katie Klammer, Lake Highlands d. Erica McClendon, Arlington Seguin
9-0;
Erica Martinez, Amarillo Caprock win by disqualification over Jayme
Loving-Powell, Converse Judson.
215: Lisa Obregon, San Antonio Lee p. Courtney Green, Arlington, 2:47;
Gesche Weiss, Katy Taylor d. Yeini Fong, Pharr San Juan Alamo 7-3.
• • •
GIRLS COACH OF THE YEAR:
Ronnie Johnson, Amarillo Caprock
OUTSTANDING WRESTLER OF THE MEET:
Astrid Gomez, 128 pounds, Hereford
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OLYMPIC QUEST
Patricia Miranda
Going to the mat for gold
Saratoga wrestler could take her place among the pantheon of sports heroes as women get first chance to compete
2/29/04
Colorado Springs -- Every night for the past year, the last thing Patricia Miranda sees before going to sleep inside her tiny cinderblock dorm room at the Olympic Training Center is a sign she taped on the wall near her pillow:
"I'm Gonna Win the Olympic Gold!"
If everything goes according to plan, the 105-pound wrestler might do that in Athens this summer, making history in the process. Women's wrestling is the only new sport added to the Games this year, and with a growing collection of international medals around Miranda's neck, the 24-year-old from Saratoga is one of the most promising Olympic hopefuls on the mat today.
Growing up on the Peninsula, there were no girls wrestling teams for Miranda to join, so she perfected her snap-downs and headlocks on boys. She was the first woman on the Stanford wrestling team, where she grappled for five years and beat a man just once.
Although Miranda had to fight for her place on the mat, her coaches say she could do for wrestling what Mia Hamm and Brandi Chastain did for women's soccer, and inspire waves of grade-school girls to wrestle as they do in Japan and Canada.
"Most people don't realize women wrestle, and it's not even entirely accepted by men in the wrestling community," said national women's wrestling coach Terry Steiner. "But Patricia could be a hero for millions of girls who watch the Olympics."
It's overwhelming for Miranda to think about her possible place in sports history, so she tries not to dwell on it. Although she's ranked No. 1 in the United States in her weight class and has a 2003 World Cup championship trophy atop her TV, she must win at the Olympic trials in Indianapolis in May to make the Olympic team.
"I consider myself extremely lucky, but the next step after feeling lucky is complacency, and I can't afford that," said Miranda. She's worked too hard, and withstood too many jokes about female Jell-O wrestling to let the emotion of the moment throw her off her game.
In Saratoga, Miranda was the first girl to wrestle at Redwood Middle School in 1990. Miranda, whose best friends were boys, simply followed her pals when a P.E. teacher formed a new wrestling team.
"I didn't know it was a big deal at the time," she said.
She was pretty evenly matched until she entered Saratoga High, where again she was the first female to wrestle, but this time the boys were bigger than she was.
Fifteen pounds lighter than the smallest men's 125-pound weight-class wrestler in college, she had to bulk up by "lifting weights and eating cheese."
She admits she wasn't very good, and that's exactly why she refused to give up.
"I'd get scared every time I stepped on the mat. But afterward, I got to look inward and ask myself, 'Did I run, or did I fight?' "
Her only victory against a man came after she wore out an Oregon competitor in seven minutes, clinging to his leg and refusing to let go.
"After the referee raised my hand, I thought back to the first time I started questioning myself in the sport, the times I cried in the bathroom as a kid, wondering if I was just a joke," she said.
Not only did she have to convince herself to ignore defeat, she had to convince her father to let her wrestle.
"If Patricia's life were a Greek tragedy, I'd be the chorus," said Jose Miranda, a Brazilian immigrant who feared that his daughter's future in America would suffer if she put education second to sport.
That, and the fact that his girl was going up against men with more muscle.
"I'd see her with the skin on her face all rubbed from the mat, and contorting into these positions that looked just impossible. It scared the hell out of me," he said.
Her father came around after his daughter kept a promise to maintain a 4. 0 grade-point average in high school. She graduated with honors from Stanford in five years, with a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in international relations. She deferred an acceptance to Yale Law School until September in her quest for gold.
Now Dad has a ticket to Athens.
"If she wins a medal, she will win it on her own," Jose Miranda said. "She didn't come from an athletic family that flew her around the country to clinics. In fact, she had the opposite. We tried to stop her."
The adversity Patricia Miranda faced on the mat and at home is what honed her into the intense athlete she is today, said her former Stanford coach, Chris Horpel.
"Patricia was dealing with huge weight discrepancies and the gender issue, but because of it she became the example on the team of how to work hard," he said. "If she didn't win, she'd work out just as hard if not harder than the men. She'd do more pull-ups, she'd run a faster mile."
Unlike most collegiate women wrestlers, Miranda was treated as an equal on the Stanford team, expected to come to every practice even though she made the starting lineup only 12 times in her college career.
While women's wrestling has not hit the American mainstream as it has in countries such as Japan, the Ukraine and Canada, it's beginning to catch on. In the past 14 years, the number of U.S. high school girls wrestling on boys' teams has jumped from about 100 to nearly 4,000, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
Collegiate women now have their own teams in six schools: Menlo College in Atherton, Lassen College in Susanville (Lassen County); Pacific University in Oregon, Missouri Valley College, Cumberland College in Kentucky, and the University of Minnesota-Morris.
The first women's wrestling world championships were held in Norway in 1988, and U.S. Wrestling added women to its program the following year. Miranda wrestled on the national women's circuit while also competing for Stanford.
At the inaugural residency program for female wrestlers at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, Miranda is adjusting to what feels like special attention after so many years as the exception.
Aside from her world-caliber coach, she has a strength trainer and a sports psychologist. Gyms dot the complex, including a small training room in her dorm. A palm scanner opens the doors to a cafeteria with a host of healthy options and menus listing the fat, calorie and carbohydrate counts for each.
The 30-year-old dorms that house the athletes tell the true story of Olympic sacrifice -- Miranda's room is more like a walk-in closet, has one window at ceiling level, worn carpet and weak fluorescent hallway lighting.
She works out up to eight hours a day except Sunday, and keeps meticulous notes about her diet and exercise. Every day, she records what time she woke up and went to sleep, her meals, her workouts, goals, what she learned, how she felt, what she'll do differently tomorrow.
She keeps a spreadsheet to record how many repetitions of each exercise she does. There's the bono type leg pick, the whizzer position and the gut wrench.
To sweat off pounds in the first week of February, Miranda jogged on the treadmill in leggings, a windbreaker jogging suit, a plastic rain suit and sweats, despite having a fever of 102 degrees. She wore a neck warmer and gloves, and cranked a space heater to full blast. After 45 minutes, she peeled off the layers into a soggy pile, left to take a shower, and re-emerged in a Hello Kitty T-shirt, four pounds lighter.
She needed to drop from her training weight of 115 to 110 pounds to compete in the Dave Schultz Memorial International tournament at the Olympic Training Center two days later.
Inside the Olympic Training Center main gym, Miranda struggled longer than she usually does against her first opponent, from Mexico, but eventually pinned her to win the match. After a feverish nap in the bleachers between matches, she pinned a second competitor from India.
She outwrestled a Canadian before facing the 2002 world champion from Germany. The two women were bent at the waist, circling each other. Miranda, trying to throw her opponent off balance, shot her hands up and put her palm on the German wrestler's forehead.
"That's good! She doesn't like the face!" shouted her boyfriend and fellow wrestler Levi Weikel-Magden, seated in the coach's chair next to the mat.
Miranda executed a single-leg takedown, which earned her a point. Her opponent nearly pulled out of it, but Miranda put her in a headlock.
"NICE!" yelled Weikel-Magden.
The move helped Miranda win the gold medal, with a score of 3-1. The win makes her a two-time Dave Schultz champion.
"Wrestling sick was a good lesson for Patricia," said Olympic women's wrestling co-coach Patricia Saunders.
"I was winded," Miranda said. "I saw openings, but my body wouldn't move. But going up to Athens, this gives me more confidence that I can wrestle technically instead of relying on strength."
