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Destiny: Claire DuPont and wrestling

by Denise Ronald 3/2/04
The Mountain Mail

Lake County Panther Claire DuPont was destined to become a wrestler.
Her father, Art, began using the high school senior as a sparring
partner for her state champion wrestling brother, Camille, when she was five or
six years old.“My family is pretty athletic and active. When I was two, my dad had me
doing pull-ups,” DuPont said.“Dad let Camille practice his wrestling moves on me and I discovered I
really liked wrestling. I wanted to wrestle on my own, but I couldn’t
compete against the boys until the fifth grade.“Basically, the younger kids had to strip to their underwear for
weigh-ins and there weren’t enough girls to have separate weigh-ins. In the fifth
grade they did, and I started wrestling,” DuPont said.
Although her brother was practicing hard for his own career, DuPont
said he always took time to help her get better.
Camille DuPont, who graduated from Lake County High School in 2003,
qualified for state all four of his high school years, won the
125-pound class 3A championship in 2002 and placed third in the 3A 135-pound
bracket in 2003.
“My brother helped me a lot, even though it was tough practicing with
him because he is so much bigger and stronger,” she said.
Working with her brother and competing against males in high school
paid off for the 112-pound grappler during the July 2003 Nationals Wrestling
Tournament for women in Fargo, N.D.
DuPont won the 110-pound national championship in a 16-woman bracket.
She won all four of her qualifying matches and the championship round.
“Wrestling the boys definitely made me tougher,” she said. “Even though
losing isn’t much fun, I knew I wouldn’t get better only competing
against people I could beat every time.”
She placed fourth at the Tri-Peaks League tournament Feb. 7 at Andreas
Field House, giving her male counterparts everything they could handle on the
mats.DuPont placed fourth at the state qualifying regionals at Montrose, but
lost her state berth in a wrestle back in overtime.
“I knew right away I was going to have to wrestle back, so I never
really thought I made it,” she said.
“Losing to a wrestle back is hard … I’m still pretty emotional about
it, but I think it’s a good rule and I can live with it,” DuPont said.
If she had gone to state, DuPont would have been the first female
Coloradan to compete at the state level.
One of the things DuPont said she enjoys most about the sport is the
closeness of the wrestlers, calling her team a “family.”
“There are definitely rivalries, but it’s not like other sports. We
support each other and work to make each other better.”
DuPont said the boys she competes with and against and their coaches
have treated her well.
“At first they weren’t sure if I was doing this just to get attention.
But since I’ve wrestled so long, they know I’m serious about winning and
that I work hard to be competitive.”
The mental and physical challenges of the sport also appeal to DuPont,
who said she likes working for herself and not having to rely on someone
else
for her successes.
“I think more than anything else, I’ve gained a lot of confidence in
myself and my ability to handle things from wrestling.
“This is a tough sport. It takes hard work to be competitive. Now
everything else seems easier.”
To stay fit during the season, DuPont lifts weights most mornings and
in practice each day warms up with live wrestling and working on
conditioning. Off season, she competes in high school track and cross country.
DuPont credits some of her success to her balanced training and the
ability to adjust her attack to the skill of her opponent.
“I don’t have one area I’m stronger in than others. I practice my stand
up, takedowns, shots and turns equally every day so I’m ready for what the
other guy is going to do,” she said.
When she’s not on the mats, DuPont serves as a member of the student
council, is a member of the National Honor Society and enjoys watching
movies.DuPont will attend the Colorado School of Mines in Golden this fall.
She said she would like to practice with the male wrestlers, but believes
she is too small to be competitive.
However, she said she will continue to compete at national tournaments
while in college.
“I would recommend wrestling for any girl. It’s a lot of work, but so
rewarding.“In the near future, I would like to see separate teams for girls. But
it’s going to take lots of girls like me competing against the boys before
it happens,” DuPont said.

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Local girls shine at state meet

By ED ODEVEN
Sun Sports Staff 03/02/2004

March Madness is nearly upon us, and Flagstaff's February Frenzy -- high school regional and state basketball tournaments -- just concluded. Indeed, both consume much of our time and attention as sports fans.
That doesn't mean local prep athletes in other sports haven't garnered their fair share of accolades and noteworthy accomplishments recently. Take wrestling, for instance.

This year, girls wrestling continued to grow and grow in Arizona. And local female grapplers achieved success in the state's biggest competition on Feb. 21 at Deer Valley Middle School.

At the Arizona State Girls Wrestling Championships, Flagstaff High School wrestlers Whitney Roberts, a 114-pound senior, Stacy Naaktgeboren, a 114-pound junior, and Katie Carl, a 126-pound freshman, competed.

Coconino's Leslie Ely, a 118-pound senior, also went to the state meet, as did Mt. Elden Middle School student Shauna Isbell.

This was the first year FHS has had female wrestlers on the Eagles' varsity squad. And they represented their school well at the state meet, which featured 65 competitors.

"It's going to get bigger every year from now on," Roberts said confidently.

Roberts took home a gold medal, finishing the season with a spectacular 32-4 record with 25 pins. Naaktgeboren and Carl received silver medals, while Ely earned a bronze.

"I think it was exciting for all of us to be able to compete at state," Roberts said.

"After we watched the guys (end their season) at state, we still had an extra week left to our season. We put in all that hard work ... and it was fun."

Isbell picked up a first-place trophy in the 96-pound division, while also defeating foes at 91 and 104. She finished the season with a 15-5 record.

Earlier in the season, Isbell placed first in a 16-person bracket at a tournament in Cottonwood against boys. She also earned a first-place award in the Flagstaff City Tournament competing against boys. Isbell is coached by Josh Armstrong.

USA women's assistant coach Tricia Saunders and two Olympic hopefuls were on hand for the Feb. 21 meet. Saunders, a highly decorated international competitor who was the first American woman to win a world title, offered some words of encouragement to Roberts and her teammates.

"She talked to us and let us know the sport is growing and to keep it up," Roberts said, recounting that conversation. "She told us, 'This year is the first year it'll be an Olympic sport (women), so keep your heads up and keep shooting to be the best.'"

While many wrestlers' seasons have wrapped up, Roberts' season isn't over. In fact, the state meet was a warm-up for what's next. She will attend a national tournament, Body Bar FILA Women's Cadet Championships, next weekend in St. Joseph, Minn. Then she'll head to the seventh annual USGWA National Championships Girls Wrestling Tournament in Lake Orion, Mich., March 27-28. An estimated 600 females will be competing at the national championship.

Roberts is weighing offers from Missouri Valley College and Cumberland (Ky.) College, both of which have premier women's college wrestling programs.

Marilee Roberts, Whitney's mother, said Black's deserves a public thank-you for his countless hours of dedicated coaching in getting the girls prepared for the state tournament.

QUICK HIT

Flag High is hosting an off-season freestyle wrestling program open to boys and girls and adults on Tuesday and Thursday nights. It begins at 5:30 p.m. on those nights.