News Page
Competition Results
NWCA Women’s National Duals
Cleveland, Ohio; January 23rd, 2005-
The USOEC/NMU Women's freestyle wrestling team competed at the Cliff Keen National Dual meet tournament in Cleveland, OH January 21-23, 2005 with two of the wrestlers going undefeated in the competition.
The USOEC Women’s team competed against Missouri Valley College A and B teams, along with Cumberland College’s A Team. Overall, the team preformed to a 1-2 record.
Shannyn Gillespie, the freestyle team’s coach, wrestled all his girls up a weight class, and was pleased with the outcome, “The outcome of our win and loss record does not indicate how well we did overall.”
Mary Kelly and Randi Miller both went undefeated in their respective matches and were both pleased with the outcome of their performance.
{quotes}
Mary Kelly went 4-0 in the tournament by defeating Maika Watanabe and Deseree Cazeres, and by pinning Tabithia Ramsey in 30 seconds in the final match of all her 51kg weight class matches. Kelly also defeated Sadie Kaneda in an exhibition round in the 48kg weight class.
Randi Miller also went undefeated by wrestling to a 3-0 record in the 72kg and 80kg weight classes. In her first match, Miller pinned Alecia McCoy in 1:58. In her second and third matches, Miller defeated Tabitha Golt and Selina Perez.
Also wrestling in the tournament were USOEC wrestlers Liz Short, Amy Borgnini, Teri Lopez, and Ku’u’iini Johnson.
Short went 2-1 in the 48kg class. Borgnini wrestled to 2-1 in the 59kg weight class. Lopez went 0-2 in the 63kg weight class and Johnson wrestled 2-1 in the 67kg weight class.
“I was challenging our women to wrestle up a weight class and see how they could handle it. It is much harder to wrestle up a class, and they performed well and were up to the challenge,” commented Gillespie.
Next up for the USOEC/NMU Women will be the prestigious Dave Schultz Tournament in Colorado Springs, Colorado, February 4th-6th. Following that, the women will continue to prepare for the Trophee Milone International Tour in Naples, Italy, March 7th-14th.
NYAC Christmas Tournament
Manhattan, NY Dec 18, 2004-The USOEC/NMU Women's freestyle wrestling team won 2 silver medals on the first day of the NYAC Christmas tournament, held at New York Athletic Club (Manhattan, NY), Saturday December 18, 2004.
Liz Short was decisioned in a close battle with 5th ranked USA wrestler Katie Kunimoto & Amy Borgnini lost her bid for the gold medal by decision to 2 time World Silver medalist Tina George.
Winning bronze medals in the competition were Sharon Jacobson, Ku'u Johnson, Debbi Sakai, & Teri Lopez. Ku'u Johnson commented "My confidence is growing with each competition". Johnson fell short in hard fought matches to #1 and #3 ranked USA wrestlers Katie Downing and Heather Martin.
Just missing bronze medals in the tournament were Linse Meadows (decisioned by 4th ranked USA wrestler Kaci Lyle) and Dany Hedin who was decisioned in her semi-final consolation bout by teammate Sharon Jacoboson. Meadows performed well as she wrestled up a weight for this international event.
Eight USOEC/NMU Women participated Saturday afternoon. Under the new rules, the championship finals were held the same day as the preliminaries. Head Coach Shannyn J. Gillespie said "The new rules emphasize mental and physical conditioning...they have to be ready to go every 15 minutes." Wrestlers are now given a minimum of 15 minutes to cool-down, warm-up, & get ready to wrestle their next match.
Next for the USOEC/NMU Women will be training in Colorado Springs at the Olympic Training Center Winter Camp January 3-10, 2005 and the Cliff Keen National Dual meet tournament in Cleveland, OH January 21-23, 2005
Name Weight Place
Liz Short 48k Silver
Debbi Sakai 53k Bronze
Sharon Jacobson 57k Bronze
Dany Hedin 57k 5th
Amy Borgnini 57k Silver
Linse Meadows 61k 4th
Teri Lopez 61k Bronze
Ku'u Johnson 70k Bronze
Champ Cup of Canada
MARQUETTE, MI Nov 22, 2004-The USOEC/NMU Women's freestyle wrestling team crowned 3 champions on the final day of the Championship Cup of Canada, held at Lakehead University (Ontario, CA), Sunday November, 2004. Champions Liz Short, Mary Kelly, Sharon Jacobson, & Linse Meadows were all undefeated in pool competition.
Winning silver medals in pool competition were Randi Miller & Elena Mena. Both wrestlers recorded 2 wins and 1 loss.
Brandy Rosenbrock, for the second straight competition, knocked off another countries #1 ranked wrestler. This weekend, Brandy avenged her loss at the Sunkist Open by stopping Canada's #1 ranked Emily Richardson in overtime. Brandy commented “I was confident in either position in overtime”. Brandy has now beaten USA & Canada's #1 ranked wrestlers.
Thirteen USOEC/NMU Women participated in the 3-day competition. The grapplers competed in two duals Friday night, two duals Saturday afternoon, & an individual pool competition on Sunday. Head Coach Shannyn J. Gillespie said “This event allowed all of our wrestlers to compete more than the typical 2-3 matches”. Some wrestlers had as many as seven matches.
Champ Cup of Canada Won Loss Tally
Liz Short 48k 5-2
Mary Kelly 53k 5-1
Debbi Sakai 53k 2-1
Sharon Jacobson 57k 3-2
Dany Hedin 57k 0-2
Amy Borgnini 57k 1-5
Linse Meadows 61k 5-2
Brandy Rosenbrock 61k 2-0
Teri Lopez 61k 1-6
Ku'u' Johnson 70k 1-4
Donell Bradley 80k 2-3
Elena Mena 80k 3-1
Randi Miller 80k 4-2
-----------------------------------------------------
Greenfield wrestling coach keeps it fun
Sunday, January 23, 2005
By MIKE BOGEN, The Republican, Springfield, Mass.
mbogen@repub.com
GREENFIELD - Elena Pirozhkov is doing everything she can for the Greenfield High School wrestling team and, in return, Green Wave head coach Derenik Vartanyan is doing everything he can for her.
While the team is still struggling mightily, the efforts of both the student-athlete and her coach will likely ensure it survives.
Pirozhkov, who is second in the United States Girls Wrestling Association 144-pound class rankings - the result of her finishing runner-up in the USGWA Championships in Lake Orion, Mich., last year - is the only senior on a very young, very short-handed high school team.
Greenfield was 1-12 last year and opened this season with an 0-4 mark in dual meets. The Green Wave, with only 13 wrestlers, three of whom are 80-pound eighth-graders who vie to compete at meets in the 103-pound class, forfeit four to five weight classes at each meet.
That's the bad news. The good news is that with Pirozhkov, 215-pound junior Ryan Dowud the only upper-class wrestlers, Vartanyan is hoping to retain his two sophomores, six freshmen and three eighth-graders and finally have a solid nucleus next year.
That, of course, depends on keeping the kids interested in a team that is losing - not necessarily an easy task.
"Of course, we have the tournament as motivation and we're not going to meets with a big focus on winning and losing. It's more of 'Go out there and get experience,'" Vartanyan said.
"Also, I'm keeping it fun this year," he said. "Last year I was more always on target and I was losing kids. First and foremost, they're here to learn and have an enjoyable experience. Competitiveness comes from learning and realizing they can be better at this."
The other factor, the coach said, is Pirozhkov.
"We're not doing as much wrestling as she'd like, and she isn't getting the experience in practice - except against me, and that's giving up a lot of weight - that she needs," Vartanyan said.
"She's there for the wrestling, but she's a real leader and she connects with the kids," he said. "She understands that for Greenfield to have a team, these kids have to come back, and she's sacrificing for the sake of the program. Elena probably isn't getting all out of the experience she could but, without her, the rest of the team seems a little lost."
What Vartanyan does for Pirozhkov is to generally make her wrestling in her natural weight class a priority, rather than strategically move her to a different class. But, if the Green Wave does wrestle a team it might beat ("Against Dean Tech and Franklin Tech we were close enough to move her up to 152"), then both coach and athlete go after the victory.
The coach is high on his three eighth-graders, Alden Wynn, Myles Mastratataro and Jake Costigan, and well as freshmen James Fournier (130) and Aaron Turrell (heavyweight). Tyler Kudlay (112), Josh Westbrook (119), Patrick Richmond (135), John Hawkins (140) are round out the roster of ninth-graders.
Sophomores Andrew Helms competes at 160 and Alex Pirozhkov wrestles in the 152-pound class. The latter, according to the coach, pushes his sister, like she pushes him.
"Elena's real tough, and a good competitor, but she's got to be self-motivated, except for Alex and me pushing her," Vartanyan said.
The coach believes that between his and Elena Pirozhkov's efforts, he'll have a good turnout next year.
"From the energy I'm getting, yeah, I think the kids will be back next year," Vartanyan said. "And I'm looking forward to seeing them with more experience.
--------------------------------------------------------------
FEATURE: Katie Downing’s long road to success
1/24/2005
Josi Carlson/USA Wrestling
Katie Downing (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) says she is not a spectacular athlete.
But the 24-year old is currently the No.1-ranked U.S. women’s freestyle wrestler at 67kg/147.5 lbs.
Downing credits her success to a long dedication to her sport, not to an incredible athletic prowess.
“I’m a long-term worker,” Downing said. “It takes a lot of investment. If you’re just in it for the bonuses, you’re going to be disappointed.”
Downing started wrestling in 1994 as the only girl on the boy’s wrestling team at her high school in Pendleton, Ind. As a senior she was the USGWA High School Nationals champion. She went on to compete for four years at the University of Minnesota-Morris.
Despite her unwavering commitment to wrestling, Downing has seen her shares of ups-and-downs. In three years at the non-Olympic 147-pound weight class, she has been the 2001 World Cup Champion and was the 2003 U.S. Nationals champion. But trips to the major international tournaments have eluded her.
In 2002 and 2003, Downing won the World Team Trials at 147 pounds. But based on USA Wrestling rules, World Team Trials champions at the three non-Olympic weights (51 kg/112.25 lbs., 59kg/130 lbs., 67 kg/147.5 lbs) are subject to a Special Wrestle-off for the U.S. World Team from a medalist at an Olympic weight class.
Kristie Marano (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC) was the runner-up at the World Team Trials at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. and moved up in weight to face Downing for a trip to the World Championships.
In 2002, Marano defeated Downing in two matches, 5-4 and 12-2, and went on to win a bronze medal at the World Championships. In 2003, Marano once again dominated in two matches, 4-0 and 5-3, and went on to become the 2003 World Champion.
Only four weight classes were competed in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, in the first appearance of women’s wrestling. Downing moved up to the 158-pound weight class for the 2004 season in an attempt to make the trek to Athens.
Downing earned a trip to the U.S. Olympic Trials in May 2004 by winning the bronze medal at the U.S. Nationals at 158 pounds. But in the semi-finals, Downing’s bid was once-again stopped by Marano.
But to Downing, each match lost and won, is just another bump on the long road to success and every one is a learning experience.
“I never expect to get results right away,” Downing said. “I really enjoy the process.”
For now, the process for Downing means doing what she can to maintain her top spot in her weight class.
“I’m really just trying to establish myself at 147,” Downing said. “I feel so much better at this weight and now I can really concentrate on the things I want to work on.”
As a resident athlete at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo., Downing is able to spend most of her time honing her skills. For a woman who started as the only girl on the mats, her current position sometimes seems unreal.
“I live in a situation where women’s wrestling is life,” Downing said. “That says a lot about how far the sport has come. Being here I sometimes forget that other people don’t know about women’s wrestling.”
In an effort to share her knowledge and excitement about her sport, Downing has been writing her own column on the Texas–USA Wrestling web site. “Down With Downing” features workout recommendations and descriptions, advice for wrestler’s male and female, opportunities for female wrestlers and some of Downing’s personal experiences.
In “Realize That You Represent,” Downing urges women to take their role as a female wrestler seriously.
“If there are many people who do not know about wrestling, there are even more who know nothing of women’s wrestling,” Downing says in her article. “In many places, the only thing a community knows of women’s wrestling is through one person. If you are a woman wrestler, you may represent all of women’s wrestling for thousands of people who will never know any other female wrestler.”
For Downing, a history major in college, the articles are a chance to write for fun and maybe help someone who is going through some of the same challenges she has faced in her career.
“It gives me a chance to look back on everything I’ve gone through,” Downing said. “I did high school wrestling, college, now I’m at the National level. I’ve had two shoulder surgeries. I know what frustrated me and I know what helped me; maybe I can help someone else.”
Not only does Downing want to assist individual female wrestlers in pursuing their dreams, she would like to see the sport itself continue to gain popularity. Eventually she would like to coach a women’s program herself and believes that collegiate female wrestling will only get bigger in the next few years.
“The more competitive the college-level gets, the more exciting it gets,” Downing said. “The possibilities are all there for a big improvement by 2008.”
In the meantime for her own career, Downing will be competing in the Klippan Ladies Open in Sweden and the Trophe Milone in Italy in March. She hopes to make her first appearance on the U.S. World Team at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
“She’s probably more determined than I’ve seen her in a long time,” said Terry Steiner, National Women’s Team coach. “She’s done well internationally; we just need to get her in the World tournament. She’s in the No. 1 spot and I don’t see her losing it.”
Not too bad for a woman who isn’t a spectacular athlete.
------------------------------------------
Big day for girl grapplers
Nineteen locals qualify for next Friday's state meet
By J.P. HOORNSTRA, Times-Herald sports writer 1/23/05
Hogans Erin Russell (left) has Etnas Ally Stachen in a vulnerable position even if she cant see it. Russell later pinned Stachen, for the second time in as many matches, taking third place at 134 pounds at Saturdays invitational girls wrestling tournament at Grove Gym. Photo: Mike Jory/Times-Herald |
Saturday's girls wrestling Northeast Regional seemingly meant 72 different things to the 72 wrestlers present at Hogan High on Saturday.
Minutes after Vallejo's Maria Angara pinned Bethel's Aegean Bayongan in the 105-pound final, the two were entangled again in front of the Grove Gym bleachers - Bayongan was demonstrating a maneuver to her erstwhile opponent.
"Don't teach her that!" shouted a black-clad Jaguar fan sitting nearby.
Intra-city camaraderie was a recurring theme; there was an almost playful tone to the all-Hogan 110-pound final between Marissa Gonzales and Jessica Ortiz.
Something greater seemed to be at stake minutes later, when Vallejo's Lauren Knight faced Napa's Lauren Phillipps - the only girl to have beaten Knight twice this season - in the 140-pound final.
Knight ended as one of five first-place finishers for the Apaches, who finished first in the team standings, outpacing second-place Hogan, 159.5 to 81. More importantly, 19 local wrestlers qualified for next Friday's state tournament at Vallejo High.
"I told my girls, 'I'm not worried about team points. I want you to get
No. 1 seeds," Vallejo coach Carl Lastrella said.
Hogan's Krystalle Alcantara built a 12-0 lead on Vallejo's Jennifer Fernandez before winning 14-5 in the 100-pound final. The Apaches bounced back in the 105-pound championship with Angara's pin of Bayongan.
Angara said that although Bayongan is the stronger wrestler, she had the motivation to win the match.
"It's really important for me because I didn't make weight for regionals last year - I had to wrestle 114's," she said.
"If you're used to eating all the time," Angara continued, "it's kinda hard to cut it out."
Gonzales hugged Ortiz after winning the 110-pound final with a first-period pin. Minutes later, snacking on potato chips in the bleachers together, the two wrestlers explained their philosophy going into the match.
"We both wanted it, but we're also concerned with team points," said Gonzales.
"As long as somebody pinned somebody, it was OK," added Ortiz.
Elizabeth Bustamante (116) pinned Rio Linda's Carrie Hovda in the third round for Vallejo's second first-place finish of the afternoon. The Apaches' Jamie Sage (122) topped that with a second-set pin against Tracy's Shakeuse Muinoland in her final.
Knight, ranked first among 132-pound wrestlers in the state, then outlasted Phillipps 12-6 in a close match at 140 pounds.
"This was something big for me," she said afterwards. "I really wanted it. The last two matches (which Phillipps won) I didn't want it as much."
Vallejo's Angela Miller (146) pinned Vintage's Michelle Querin in under two minutes. Freshman Monica Gonzalez then dropped her third match of the year to River City's Rachel Gomez in the 173-pound final.
The upper weight classes are typically sparse - Gonzalez and Gomez were the only wrestlers in their bracket, while Lassen's Melissa Daniels (197) and Mesa Verde's April Frank (237) won brackets by default.
But seeding can be crucial in the lower weight classes at the state level, Lastrella said.
"If you get a first seed, you won't wrestle a first seed from another
section until the semifinals. Once you advance to the semifinals, you automatically place in the top six," he explained.
And if Saturday's result was any indication, the city of Vallejo will be well-represented among the state medalists next Friday.
Local third-place finishers included Joy Quintillan (100, Hogan), Natasha Agtarap (105, Bethel) and Erin Russell (134, Hogan). Hogan's Stephanie Norman (154) finished fourth. Tracy Samonte (105, Hogan), Marcela Games (128, Hogan) and Destiny Mangoat (134, Hogan) placed fifth. Ashley Sage (128, Vallejo) placed sixth.
Said Lastrella, "Most of the best women's wrestling is in the Bay Area. This city produces some of the toughest girls in the state."
------------------------------------------------------
Marshwood’s Lamson rebounds to take down Sanford’s West
By JOHN DOYLE 1/23/05
Staff Sports Writer
NORTH BERWICK, Maine — It’s rare when Colby Lamson is taken down in a match. But the Marshwood wrestler, back on the mat after a lengthy bout with mononucleosis, was not going to let such a rare occurrence ruin his Saturday afternoon at the Southern Maine Classic Wrestling Tournament.
Lamson won the 145-pound division with a thrilling 7-6 win over Dan West of Sanford. Despite leading 4-2 in the final seconds of the second period, Lamson had to struggle to avoid getting pinned by West. The buzzer sounded, and Lamson had new life. He was still trailing, 6-5 in the final seconds of the third period before he took West down from behind to earn the final two points and the 7-6 win.
"I paced myself towards the end of the match," an exasperated Lamson said following the championship bout. "Before the match I was real nervous. Dan has improved 100 percent since last year, and I’d been out three weeks with mono. This is only my third meet back. I knew it was going to be a tough match. I guess someone was on my side."
Lamson’s win helped his Hawk team capture the 29-team tournament at the Barry S. Moore Memorial Gymnasium at Noble High School, edging out Bonny Eagle, 243.5 to 224.5. Noble’s varsity program — the six-time defending Class A state champion — was not on hand as it was competing at a meet in Essex, Vt.
"I knew it was going to be close," Marshwood coach Matt Rix said. "I kind of wish Noble’s first team would have been here. Bonny Eagle and Massabesic were right there. I didn’t think it would be quite that tight, but it was, and it was a great tournament."
Rounding out the top five were Massabesic in third place with 203 points, followed by Sanford with 177.5 points and Noble’s second team with 116.5 points.
Lamson was not the only Marshwood wrestler to give credit to a higher power. Teammate Tony Reyes (171) earned a hard-fought 16-9 victory over Josh Eon of Massabesic.
"I knew it was going to be really good," Reyes said, out of breath following the bout. "I couldn’t have done it without my belief in God. He’s got me so far in this season, and He’s changed my whole attitude."
In one of the more exciting matches of the afternoon, Deanna Rix of Marshwood escaped defeat in double overtime to beat Sanford’s Shane Leadbetter at 130. It was a match many expect to be repeated in this year’s regional finals.
Neither wrestler recorded a takedown in the first two frames of the match, and it was still tied 1-1 after one overtime. Deanna Rix, on bottom, was given 30 seconds to escape Leadbetter’s grasp, and did so in thrilling fashion, getting vertical and pushing away from Leadbetter with just eight seconds left, much to the delight of the near-capacity crowd in attendance.
"A couple of times, I thought I had him, but the referee ruled us out of bounds," Deanna Rix said. "It means a lot for me to win today. This is going to help my standings at regionals."
"She has great hips off the bottom," Matt Rix, Deanna Rix’s coach and father, said. "Female wrestlers, all their power is in the hips. One of her strengths is off the bottom."
Matt Rix said that it meant a lot to him, as a father, to see Deanna do so well in the tournament.
"She’s been doing it so long, I probably don’t appreciate it the way people in the stands usually do," he said. "People ask how I stay so calm. I just sit back and let her do her thing. Anything she does, win or lose, is awesome."
Nate Webster of Marshwood held off Josh Avery of Bonny Eagle in the final minute to earn a thrilling 4-3 win in the 215 finals.
"I know (Avery) was tired in the first period," Webster said. "I know I can out-last some of the 215s. When I wrestle at 215 (pounds) I usually go upper-body. I (usually) like to go low, and get the legs. This is the first tournament I’ve ever won in Maine, it feels awesome."
Earning his first tournament victory was Marshwood senior Gregg Delisle, defeating Nick Doyle of Bonny Eagle 6-0 to win at 140.
"It took a lot to win," a beaming Delisle said. "My family is here, that’s what made me go. And the fact that I hadn’t won first place (in a tournament) yet. I got fifth place last year, which made me want to finish first this year. It feels awesome to win."
At 119, Anthony Moriarty of Marshwood beat Ben Lewis of Noble by virtue of a technical fall, 16-1.
"Marshwood and Noble have always been very competitive, so it felt really good to win," Moriarty said. "It gave me confidence going into my next match."
Marshwood and Noble are scheduled to face each other in a highly anticipated meet in North Berwick on Wednesday.
Mike Embry of Class C Traip finished second at 160, losing in the final match to Al Loignon of Class A Biddeford, 4-0.
"It was easy to get pumped up for the match," the senior Embry said. "This is going to be the last time I see Class A (competition) — ever. It’s tough to lose, but it’s not that discouraging."
Embry said that facing Class A competition on Saturday will help him greatly during the rest of the wrestling season, going into the regional and state tournament.
At 125, Marshwood’s Jon Hussey of Marshwood defeated Jack Lovell of Bonny Eagle, 15-0, by a technical fall. Hussey was named outstanding wrestler in the lower-weight division. Other individual awards went to Doug Williams of Sanford, who won at 152, for outstanding wrestler in the upper-weight division, and to Eddie Baggs of Wells, who had the most pins in the shortest time, with four in 3 minutes, 26 seconds.
-----------------------------------------------------
BY TERRY DEVEREAUX
Correspondent1/23/2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
WALES -- Early in her wrestling career Oak Hill's Nikole Lemay struggled for acceptance.
This year the two-time runner-up at the Western B regional is not only a part of the team -- she's a captain. The senior came up big scoring two wins for the Raiders, who went on to tie both Gardiner and Cony 42-42 in a tri meet on Wednesday. But due to the tiebreaker system the Raiders lost both contests.
Lemay began wrestling as a freshman and has been hooked ever since. Although females are allowed to compete against males in Maine high school wrestling, few have chosen to compete on more than a short-term basis.
"When I was a freshman, some of my friends talked me into joining the team," Lemay said. "They said it was fun."
Even though Lemay was a varsity starter at 103 pounds that season, she wasn't immediately accepted by her male teammates.
"They were kind of rude to me," she said. "I'm not sure if it was because I was a girl, or just because I was a freshman."
This season, competing at 112 pounds, Lemay sports a 17-6 record with 15 pins. She narrowly missed going to the finals at the Gardiner Tiger tournament, losing 11-8 in the semifinals to Bucksport's Booky Nesin.
Oak Hill's Ric Swett has coached Lemay throughout her high school career.
"She has good skills and works hard," Swett said. "She has earned every match she has won."
Lemay doesn't often feel outmuscled in a match against a male opponent either.
"I lift weights a lot in the off-season, and do light lifting during the season," she said. "The guys at 112 are definitely a lot stronger than the 103-pounders I wrestled my first two seasons, but it usually isn't a problem."
On Saturday, Lemay picked up a forfeit against Cony before facing Gardiner's female wrestler, Ashley Bernard. Lemay ran up points early on before pinning Bernard in the second period.
"I don't think I would like it if there were all-female teams," Lemay said. "I like the challenge of wrestling boys, and losing only makes me work harder."
Oak Hill's dual meet record fell to 5-14.
Cony won both matches on the day with a 45-30 victory over Gardiner and an official 43-42 win over Oak Hill. Cony got a key performance from first-year wrestler Bryan Pratt (135).
"Bryan won both matches by pin with inside cradles," Rams coach John Martin said. "He pulled out a big win for us while he was behind on points against Oak Hill."
Shawn Irish (119), Cody Myers (171) and Joey McInnis (275) also had two pins for the Rams. Tyler Robinson (215) scored three pins for the day, including a pin of Hall-Dale's Cameron Swett. Swett competes as an independent for Hall-Dale and practices with the Oak Hill team.
Gardiner split the days matches gaining an official 43-42 win against Oak Hill. Keith Sleeper (135 and 140) scored two pins. Mike Curry (160) and Sean Kozma (189) each won two matches by pin and forfeit.
---------------------------------------------
Twenty-six locals qualify for state meet
By John Honell , Correspondent 1/22/05
Twenty- six area girls qualified for the California State Women's Wrestling championships during Saturday's Southern California Regionals at Edgewood Middle School.
The state championships will be held next weekend in Vallejo.
Fifty-seven schools sent 137 wrestlers to the competition. The top six girls in each of the 14 weight divisions qualified for the trip north next week.
South Hills easily won the team event over West Covina and Northview. The Huskies scored 203.5 points with West Covina notching 81 and Northview finishing in third place with 73 points.
South El Monte was eighth with Sierra Vista 10th. Both schools had two wrestlers qualify for the state meet.
The Huskies had the most qualifiers with 11 but failed to win an individual title. West Covina had two individual champions, Omega Walters at 138 pounds and Monique Sanchez at 144.
Walters upset Northview's Ammie Hoffman in the 138-pound division. Hoffman entered the match ranked second in the state and led 8-0 at one point in the match.
Hoffman seemed to tire and Walters pinned her at the 5:17 mark of the six-minute match.
Northview had one champion, Tatiana Padilla at 108 pounds. Padilla might have been the most impressive wrestler at the meet with pins in the first period of each of her matches.
"She is the best female wrestler I have ever seen,' West Covina coach Donnie Stephens said. "She has something inside that makes her compete better than anyone I have seen, male or female.'
Padilla has spent most of the year wrestling at 112 pounds on the Northview boys team but felt she had something to prove in the girls 108-pound division.
"There is someone I want to wrestle,' Padilla said. "(Katherine) Fulp-Allen (Half-Moon Bay) is supposed to be the Queen or Princess of wrestling. I wanted to see what's the big deal.'
Padilla, only a freshman, has set high goals for herself.
"My goal right now is to be the first United States Champion,' she said. "I want to be the first to get a gold medal for the United States in the Olympics.'
South El Monte qualified two girls for the finals, including Monique Cabrera. She won the 160 class with a pin in 5:50.
Teri Milkoff finished second for the Eagles at 152 pounds. Milkoff is ranked fourth in the state and lost a decision to top-ranked Shiela McCabe of Valhalla.
The top finisher for the Huskies was Christina Tran, second at 103 pounds.
Vanessa Nordstrom of Sierra Vista downed Megan Gentry, 7-2, of South Hills for third place at 98 pounds.
Schools, with women's wrestling emerging as a new sport at the high school level, are allowed more than one wrestler at the same weight.
The Huskies' Monse Ramirez finished fourth at 103 and Geneva Nathan and Alexandria Jocobo both qualified at 160 pounds.
"It's quantity,' Huskies coach Scott Stragier said. "We took four girls last year and finished seventh. We should be OK. We pride ourself on our conditioning, when it comes to the third period, we have an edge.'