Amy Berridge, front, becomes the first girl to win a match at the individual finals, beating Chris Deneau of Athens.
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By Debbie Warren
Correspondent
Published March 07, 2004
Women’s wrestling usually conjures up the image of bikini-clad females rolling around in a pool of mud or Jell-O. But that image will change this summer when women’s freestyle wrestling makes its Olympic debut at the 2004 Games in Athens.
The timing couldn’t be more perfect for three Brazoswood High School ninth-graders who make up the high school’s first girls’ wrestling team. Caitlyn Swick, Deanna Lovett and Taylor Pratt sit in the ninth-grade building comparing injuries received during the Region III Tournament the weekend before.
“The morning after a match, you wake up sore — your whole body hurts,” Lovett says. “It’s a very good workout.”
Lovett started out as a student trainer for the boys’ wrestling team, so she knows all about wrestling injuries. “Mostly, it’s just nosebleeds, busted lips, cuts, broken fingers, dislocated shoulders — nothing major,” Lovett says nonchalantly.
With well-established Brazoswood female aquatics, basketball, cross-country, golf, power-lifting, softball, tennis, track, volleyball and soccer teams ready and waiting, why would three young girls choose to join the boys wrestling team?
“I’m always ready to try new stuff,” Pratt says.
“I just do it for fun, to show that girls can do everything,” Lovett says.
“I come from a family of wrestlers,” Swick says. “My uncles and cousins wrestle.”
Coach Daryl Williamson has no regrets about giving the girls a chance on the team.
“At first, I was apprehensive, but the girls have worked so hard and done so well this year,” Williamson says. "I'm very proud of them.”
Swick was first to join the team after her mother, ninth-grade assistant principal Kathryn Swick, met with Williamson to discuss forming a girls’ team.
“At first, I was just practicing with the guys, learning the moves,” Swick says. “We were going to wait until next year for me to compete. Then Taylor and Deanna joined and we decided to go ahead and enter the meets with the guys.”
“Once we started, all these girls wanted to join and came to watch us practice, but they chickened out,” Pratt says. “We get kinda wild at practice.”
Pratt was the first to win a match and Lovett earned the first pin of an opponent for the newly-formed team during regionals.
The trio has done very well in its first year, especially considering the Brazoswood athletes are usually wrestling junior and senior girls. At least they are competing with other girls now. That was not always the case in past years.
Nation-al wrestling referee Kent Bailo of Michigan founded the United States Girls’ Wrestling Association in 1999 for the purpose of disseminating information about girls’ wrestling competitions.
“I was tired of refereeing wrestling matches where girls were having to compete against boys and losing 95 percent of the time,” Bailo says.
In the last five years, there has been a steady increase in the number of girls joining wrestling teams in the United States, especially at Texas high schools.
Now, University Interscholastic League competitions include girls’ wrestling events, and more universities are offering wrestling scholarships to women.
These changes could make girls’ wrestling more appealing to parents.
At first, Lovett and Pratt had to convince their moms that wrestling was safe, but now the moms are the team’s loudest cheerleaders. The girls’ male teammates are cheering them on, too. “The boys didn’t like it at first,” Pratt says, “but now we’re all good friends and hang out together. We’re just part of the team.”
“I told the boys to treat the girls like they would their sisters and help them learn the sport,” Williamson says. “Now they get along real well.”
With only three girls on the team, each had to lose a few pounds in order to be the most competitive in their weight class.
“There are about 40 boys on the team, and they have to fight for their spot,” Lovett said. “We just have to maintain our weight.”
After months of avoiding unwanted pounds, the girls are ready once again to enjoy their favorite foods. When asked what they will do during the off-season, they cried out in unison, “EAT!”
They were looking forward to beginning their binge by pigging out during the team’s annual banquet that was just a few days away.
The girls say they will be back to wrestle next year as sophomores, and hope to recruit a few more members for the team.
Some day we may see Swick, Lovett and Pratt representing the United States at the Olympics and wrestling their way to the top.
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Young wrestler adds Games gold to her resume
London lauded for 'flood of support'
ERIC BENDER, Free Press Sports Reporter 2004-03-14
Leave it to father, a former wrestler and now coach, to have three daughters as wrestlers. Youngest daughter Olivia Gunnell, 14, upped her profile on the wrestling scene yesterday by winning a gold medal at the Ontario Winter Games.
It was father Jack Gunnell, wrestling coach at Dorchester high school, who got Olivia and sisters Nicole, 17, and Jasmine, 16, involved in the sport. Olivia has been wrestling for three years, while her sisters have taken up the sport more recently and were not Games participants.
"I like how it's your own individual sport," said Olivia, a member of the London Western Wrestling Club. "It helps you keep in shape, learn techniques. You get stronger, stay on your feet and think faster."
She was third in Canada last year, fourth the year before and placed second in the provincial championships in February. She's been first in Ontario in her age division -- she's a second-year bantam -- and she's also competing in the Canadian cadet (15-16) championships April 1-4 in Windsor. Olivia is also going the Eastern Canadian bantam meet in Newfoundland April 30-May 2.
A Grade 8 pupil at Ryerson public school, Olivia will be joining her sisters at Mother Teresa secondary school, where all three will share the mats next year.
The Winter Games wrestling, which wound up for 175 competitors yesterday at Mother Teresa, was limited to the cadet category. Medals were handed out in 23 weight classes.
"This is a talent identification event," said Tim MaGarrey, provincial director of the Ontario Amateur Wrestling Association.
Dan Huggins, venue leader for wrestling and member of the London Western club, said there were 115 male and 60 female competitors, showing a rising popularity in the sport among girls.
Handing out the medals were two of London's and the country's high-profile wrestling individuals -- former UWO athletic director Glynn Leyshon, who organized and coached the sport at the local, national and international levels, and Peter Michienzi, a 15-time Canadian champion as well as a Pan Am and Commonwealth Games competitor.
"This is a stepping stone to more competitions," said Michienzi, 70. "This is a beautiful experience for them to compete at a high level. There's not enough people who really appreciate how important the Games are to newcomers."
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2004 MHSAA Division 4 Lower Peninsula Individual Wrestling Finals
The Associated Press
3/13/04 3:33 PM
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Results of the 2004 Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 4 Lower Peninsula Individual Wrestling Finals on Saturday at The Palace of Auburn Hills:
Third Place
103 pounds--Devin Hayward, Marlette dec. Ryan Stine, Blanchard-Montabella, 12-9
112 pounds--Joe Dempsey, Hesperia pinned Chris Brownlee, Michigan Center, 4:17
119 pounds--Nick Carey, Union City dec. Chris Sandison, Kent City, 6-1
125 pounds--Noah Boyd, Martin dec. Dylan Centala, Rogers City, 9-0
130 pounds--Clinton Milliman, Bronson dec. Todd Ehlert, Three Oaks-River Valley, 6-4
135 pounds--Randy Dexter, Leslie tech. fall Travis Ferry, Bronson, 18-2,4:18
140 pounds--Jacob Gonzalez, Springport dec. David Williamson, Decatur, 5-2
145 pounds--Josh Woodcock, Manton dec. Adam Ringler, Niles Brandywine, 11-1
152 pounds--Clay Belka, Martin dec. Eric Anderson, St. Charles, 4-2 O.T.
160 pounds--Lance O'Boyle, St. Louis dec. Brian Cady, Decatur, 15-2
171 pounds--Dan Haller, Lutheran Westland dec. Bruce J. Wenzlick, New Lothrop, 16-5
189 pounds--Neal Kemp, Lutheran Westland dec. Alex Gasper, New Lothrop, 8-5
215 pounds--Scott Clark, Kent City dec. Bryce Erickson, Leroy Pine River, 10-0
275 pounds--Rudy Pineda, Montague dec. Eric Browning, Springport, 3-1
Fifth Place
103 pounds--Zach Adcock, Dansville pinned Jake Jewell, Addison, 1:43
112 pounds--Kyle Weisenberger, New Lothrop Pinned Ryan Mercer, Mayville, 2:47
119 pounds--Brian Bannister, Almont Pinned T.J. Cole, Michigan Center, 3:21
125 pounds--Landon Shaffer, Hudson dec. Dan Martin, Mio, 7-1
130 pounds--Zeb Flanery, Hesperia tech. fall Todd Barton, St. Louis, 16-0,4:01
135 pounds--James Tobias, Manchester pinned Josh Essenmacher, Concord, 1:54
140 pounds--Jon Salisbury, Monroe St. Mary Catholic Central dec. Jesse Kindred, Blanchard-Montabella, 8-7
145 pounds--Joe Riksen, Gobles by default Julian Arreola, Hartford
152 pounds--Shane Hernandez, Byron tech. fall Brandon Noble, Lutheran Westland, 19-4,5:00
160 pounds--Korey Caro, Bronson dec. Tom Schneider, Addison, 8-2
171 pounds--Adam Digiovanni, Harper Woods dec. Tom McColl, Bangor, 3-2
189 pounds--Aaron Stewart, Dansville dec. Chris Rhode, Rogers City, 7-1
215 pounds--Matt Shaw, Addison dec. Zach Knapp, Hudson, 8-2
275 pounds--Jamie Llerena, Bangor pinned John Burt, Athens, 4:04
Seventh Place
103 pounds--Amy Berridge, Martin dec. Chris Deneau, Athens, 6-4
112 pounds--Chris Kovach, Gobles pinned Travis Reith, Buchanan, 2:43
119 pounds--Cody Wieand, Watervliet dec. John McCoy, Cassopolis, 10-2
125 pounds--Jestin McWilliams, Byron pinned Cody Jackson, St. Charles, 2:33
130 pounds--Robert Deo, Hudson dec. Josh Ritter, Manchester, 5-4
135 pounds--Lance Bice, Addison dec. Mike Stein, Three Oaks-River Valley, 5-3
140 pounds--Jeremy Ashley, Watervliet pinned Blake Fish, Homer, 2:10
145 pounds--Jason Ratkowski, Bronson dec. Adam Cortright, Springport, 5-4
152 pounds--Louie Posa, Clinton dec. Kevin Latreille, Mio, 6-0
160 pounds--Jameson Lamie, Hart dec. Eric Lefstad, Mio, 11-1
171 pounds--Arron Fitzpatrick, Martin pinned Erich Wicke, St. Charles, 2:26
189 pounds--Jason Lawrence, Saginaw Valley Lutheran pinned Jared McGeathy, Whittemore-Prescott, 2:58
215 pounds--Brandon Warner, Jonesville dec. Brian Snavley, Morley-Stanwood, 6-5
275 pounds--Tim Ackerman, Mayville dec. Shaun Durfey, Addison, 7-1
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Berridge secures all-state recognition
Saturday, March 13, 2004
AUBURN HILLS -- There is no doubt who the crowd favorite is at the high school wrestling individual state finals.
A loud roar of "2" filled The Palace Friday as Martin's Amy Berridge recorded a two-point takedown, approximately 20 seconds into overtime, to knock off Bronson's Drew Ferry, 2-0, in a Division 4 103-pound consolation match.
The win guaranteed a medal for Berridge, who continues to add to her resume of history-making accomplishments.
On Thursday, Berridge became the first female wrestler in Michigan High School Athletic Association history to win a match at the individual state finals when she knocked off Athens freshman Chris Deneau, 8-7.
After that match, Martin head coach Pete Boyd guaranteed Berridge would medal at the finals. His confidence may have been a boost for Berridge, who had to win her last match Friday to be in contention for one of the eight medals handed out in each weight class.
She lost her first match of the day, 6-4, to Marlette sophomore Devin Hayward.
"I really wanted to win that one," Berridge said. "I wanted to get to the semifinals and finals."
She won't do that, but will continue to make history today. No matter where she places, she will be remembered not just as a good female wrestler, but as a Division 4, 103-pound all-stater.
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By David Goricki / The Detroit News 3/12/04
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Amy Berridge, front, becomes the first girl to win a match at the individual finals, beating Chris Deneau of Athens. |
AUBURN HILLS — Amy Berridge of Martin had reason to smile after a referee raised her arm, symbolizing victory Thursday afternoon at The Palace.
Berridge made history with her 8-7 decision over freshman Chris Deneau of Athens. She became the first girl to win a match in the MHSAA Individual State Wrestling Finals.
Berridge, who improved to 42-15, put Deneau on his back in the opening period of the Division 4 103-pound match and led 4-2. She carried a 5-4 lead into the third period and picked up another two points on a reverse to increase the advantage to 7-4. Deneau is 30-5.
“It’s awesome,” said Berridge, a muscular 4-foot-11 senior who is also the first girl to become a two-time state qualifier. “I’m proud of myself, but my ultimate goal is to place (finish in the top eight).
“I knew this would be my biggest challenge. It was awesome to hear the crowd. ... They were all roaring for me when I threw him on his back. I got him with a head and arm move. I thought it would be great to end it in one period (with a pin), but I knew he’d be fighting.”
Berridge has wrestled for six years. Her older sister, Aundria, wrestled and was a regional qualifier. Amy is the fifth girl to qualify for the individual state finals.
Berridge, who will face Devin Hayward (47-5) of Marlette today in the quarterfinals, pinned her opponent in the state team finals last Saturday in Battle Creek. Martin lost to New Lothrop in the title match.
Quarterfinal matches begin today at 11 a.m. with the semifinals at 7 p.m. Championship matches are 4:45 p.m. Saturday.
Anthony Biondo of Clinton Township Chippewa Valley took the first step to becoming a two-time state champion. Biondo, a sophomore, improved to 48-0 with a technical fall victory over Greg Ross of Utica Eisenhower.
“My main goal is to repeat,” Biondo said. “This one (first-round) is big for everyone. You’re nervous and you don’t have a lot of time to get warmed up. Now, I can rest up and get ready for tomorrow.”
Montrose senior Josh Cross, 61-2, is trying to end his prep career as a three-time state champion. He earned his 231st career victory with a technical fall over Shane Hoag of Wyoming at 215 in Division 3.
“I’m kind of fired up to go for my third (state title),” said Cross, who will wrestle at Michigan State next year. “It would be a big deal to be a three-time champion. It was a goal of mine ever since I didn’t make state my freshman year.”
Casey White of Walled Lake Central, the defending champion at 189 pounds in Division 1, improved to 30-0 with a technical fall victory over Steve Carter of Roseville.
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Female wrestler heads to state championship
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
One recent night, a woman from Kent City sat at the edge of her seat at a high school wrestling match, watching in anticipation as Amy Berridge of Martin took on an opponent.
Little did the woman know that Berridge's father, Tim, was sitting right next to her.
"When Amy is wrestling, you look around and see these women in the crowd and it's like Amy is wrestling for every woman out there," he said. "You'll be in the crowd and all these women will be cheering her on."
That scene could be repeated several times this week. Berridge, a senior who has a 39-13 record and is the fifth female to ever qualify for the Michigan High School Athletic Association individual wrestling championships, will step onto the wrestling mats Thursday at the Palace at Auburn Hills on the verge of history.
The only Michigan female to qualify for the state championships two consecutive years, Berridge will attempt to be the first-ever in the state and one of the few in the nation to medal in a state championship.
None of the previous four girls has even won a match at the state championships.
But it is not the uniqueness of being a female wrestler that fully motivates Berridge. She is like any other student-athlete at Martin High School: She goes to school, practices with her teammates after school and then goes home and completes her homework assignments. A smile from her proud dad, a high-five from a teammate, mean as much as anything.
"I'm not really doing it for people's reactions," she said. "I'm doing it for myself. If I was doing it for anybody, it would be for my parents and my team. If my dad was proud of me, that would mean more than someone saying, 'Look, you're the best girl ever.'"
"These kids want her to win," Tim Berridge said of Amy's teammates. "They count on her just like they do a guy."
Amy Berridge qualified for the prep wrestling individual state finals two weeks ago when she finished fourth at a Division 4 regional at Hart.
"I didn't even think about going to state or anything," she said. "I just thought it was for awesome people. I thought I'd do my best and whatever happens, happens."
A wrestling family
Berridge got turned on to wrestling in seventh grade after watching younger brother T.J. and older sister Aundria, who also wrestled at Martin.
"My brother started wrestling when he was pretty little," she said. "My sister did it a year or two before me. My dad always said I should try it, and when I was in seventh grade, I tried it.
"I wasn't really good at first but my dad showed me some things and I got better as the years went on."
Over the years, the raised eyebrows included those of people who spoke out against her being on the mat, wrestling against boys. Those voices are silent now. Berridge is simply viewed as an important part of a wrestling team that nearly won a state team championship Saturday in Battle Creek.
"She's not looked at as a girl, she's looked at as a teammate," Martin senior captain Noah Boyd said. "She works hard, she comes to all the practices, she wins a majority of her matches. ... She's tough."
Tough enough to win more than 140 matches in her career and win a conference championship this year, Berridge has garnered a variety of reactions from opponents over the years. She is ranked second in the nation at 100 pounds by the United States Girls Wrestling Association.
"There are a few different reactions," she said. "Some that don't know about me say, 'I get a girl?' Some are, 'I'm not going to lose to a girl,' and some say they are going to beat me."
Early in her career there were doubters. Martin head coach Pete Boyd recalls a time when a parent from another school came out of the crowd and confronted him for having a girl wrestling on his team.
"I had one guy come down and said girls should not be wrestling on the mat," Boyd said. "I said I hope your kid's not wrestling her because you're going to be sorry."
Assistant coach Ken DeMann has worked with Berridge for six years. He was the junior high coach when she first came out for wrestling in seventh grade.
"She's like any other wrestler, she's gotten better every year," he said. "Not that she was a bad wrestler when she started. I think it comes down to the fact that the team knows she's our 103-pounder. They are confident in her ability."
They should be. She has been taught by one of the most well-respected coaches in the area in Boyd.
"Pete is the kind of guy, he gives the student all the tools they need to be a champion and it's up to the student or athlete to use that," Tim Berridge said.
It helps that Martin has had female wrestlers before. Berridge's sister Aundria wrestled for Boyd when Berridge was a freshman.
"I feel like if you have the qualities to be in a sport, you should," said Aundria Sunnerville, who recently moved to California with her husband. "You shouldn't be discriminated against because of your sex. I was happy and pleased with my community."
Making history
Before Berridge, four girls made the trip to the individual state finals in Michigan.
In 1999, Saginaw Buena Vista's Cynthia Harrold became the first female to compete at the state finals. The next year, Davison's Keristen LaBelle, Caledonia's Lynde Baltrusait and Sandra Padnon of Mason County Central followed suit.
Was it a big deal? LaBelle was featured in USA Today and in a segment on HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.
"We did some bending over backwards to make sure she was on the same mat for every match," said John Johnson of the Michigan High School Athletic Association.
The attention will be there for Berridge this weekend, whether it's welcomed or not. One thing that Berridge's accomplishments, along with that of the previous females to compete at the state meet, could do is garner more attention from female athletes interested in pursuing wrestling.
"Anytime you have a girl who is successful in a predominantly male sport, other girls are going to want to follow her lead," Johnson said.
The numbers are increasing. In the 2002-2003 high school participation survey conducted by the National Federation of State High School Athletic Associations, 239,845 male wrestlers were listed. There were 3,769 females.
"It's fairly unusual for girls to wrestle," federation spokesman Bruce Howard said. "That phenomenon has increased but it is fairly unusual for a girl to medal at a state tournament."
Very few have. Erica Dye of Elizabeth, W. Va., placed second in the state's lowest weight class in 2002. Miyo Yamamoto, an exchange student from Japan who wrestled at a high school in Phoenix, finished sixth in her weight class in the late '90s.
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Female Wrestler Goes For Top Honors
March 10, 2004
MARTIN -- Michigan High School Individual Wrestling Finals start Thursday at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Many people from Martin will be watching the tournament closely. Amy Berridge, a senior at Martin High School, will be competing in the Division Four, 103 pound weight class finals this weekend.
With a record of 41 and 15, she's only the fifth girl to compete in the state tournament. Some competitors go tough on her; they don't want to get beaten by a girl. Amy often uses that as a mental edge over opponents.
Her teammates and coaches think of her as 'one of the guys." but she admits the attention she gets can be too much. "It's nice to get appreciated but sometimes I'm just kinda like, back off, you know, they work just as hard as me and they should get a little credit too," Amy told FOX 17 News at Ten. Amy is ranked second best female wrestler in the country for her weight class.
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Non-CIF Sanctioned Tournaments
Fri, Mar 12 2004
Message:
In reference to a post I made on the CWWA website on CIF limited power
on club tournaments held during the off season. I received a response from
a CIF representative and she made a very valuable point and reminder that
I felt was important enough to post.
As follows:
Reminder to all wrestlers, if you are planning on participating in any
of the club tournaments scheduled during the off season and sponsored by
USAW, AAU, or USGWA you are not permitted to represent your High School or
wear your High School singlet and/or warmups.
Violation of the CIF policy could result in probation or suspension of
you, your team, or your school from competing in the upcoming season.
At all club tournaments you are to wrestle unattached, for a club
program or for Team California.If you have any questions regarding CIF policies or procedures please
contact the CIF office or your Section office.
Note* Each Section office has their own set bylaws on sanctioning
within the CIF guidelines. CIF has no governing power over Club tournaments and
therefore has no sanctioning rights.
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