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Knob Noster wrestlers eye top-10 state finish

By Tim Davis 2/16/05
The Sedalia Democrat

Warsaw boasts the only female wrestler to qualify for state in Class 1. Sophomore Ashley Larsen qualified in the 112-pound weight class, the first female wrestler in Missouri to qualify at a class other than 103, according to coach John Dunham.

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Dodgeland advances entire team to host sectional

Watertown Daily Times2/14/05


PARDEEVILLE - Dodgeland wrestling coach Bob Sweeney always wishes he had more wrestlers to fill out a roster. But he couldn't complain with what his eight wrestlers did at the Pardeeville regional Saturday.

"We got the whole team through," Sweeney said. "I guess we were in the right regional."

All eight Dodgeland wrestlers advanced to the Trojans' host sectional meet Saturday after helping the team to a second place finish in the regional with 180 points.

Chris Jones (103 pounds), Steve Hollweck (130), Paul Nelson (152) and Clint Schuett (160) each won weight class titles, while Emily Bichel (112), Tim Will (119), Jordan Seufzer (189) and heavyweight Cory Soldner earned runner-up finishes.

Jones (17-23) pinned Pardeeville's Adam Hoover in 1 minute, 49 seconds, then beat Marshall's Chris VanCaster 10-8 in the finals.

"He's beaten Hoover three times now this year," Sweeney said. "Earlier in the season he lost to VanCaster at the Cedar Grove invite by one point. He was able to come back and avenge that loss."

Bichel (16-13) pinned Waterloo's Holly Dow in the semifinals at 5:11, then lost by fall to Dustin Schimmel in the finals in 29 seconds.

"She had faced Dow previously in girls tournaments, and this was the first time she's beaten her," Sweeney said. "She was losing at the time and was able to get a defensive pin. She shows a lot of guts when she's on the mat. Even when she's being outpowered, she continues to fight the best she can. She's come up with some big pins for us when other people didn't expect it."

Will (38-4) pinned Waterloo's Jacob Neiting in the semifinals at 2:59, then lost to Marshall's Hans Hansen 6-5 in the finals. He pinned Poynette's Mike Kiefer at 5:02 in the wrestleback for second place.

"He got thrown in the first period and wasn't able to come back," Sweeney said. "Hansen was able to evade takedowns without the official seeing stalling. Coming back for the wrestleback, it was a real close match initially. Then into the second and third period he started taking it to him."

Hollweck (23-9) pinned Poynette's Wes Hinkley in 58 seconds, then pinned Marshall's Alec Augustine-Marceil in 4:54 for his title.

Nelson (39-3) pinned Waterloo's Doug Maertz at 1:08 of the semifinals, then received a forfeit from Marshall in the finals.

Schuett (40-2) pinned Waterloo's Teddy Schmidt at 1:25 of the semifinals, then scored a 16-0 technical fall over Marshall's Lucas Meinholz in the finals.

Seufzer (37-5) pinned Marshall's Dustin Mireles at 1:12, then lost to Poynette's Jordan Vanderwilt 9-7 in the finals. He qualified by holding off Hustisford junior Brandon Jochem 3-2 in the wrestleback for second place.

"Jordan scored a takedown in the first period and was up 2-0 on Vanderwilt," Sweeney said. "Vanderwilt escaped and took Jordan to his back in a goofy situation, and Jordan wasn't able to come back. He had it tied in the third period and was turning him late but lost the move and got reversed."

Seufzer beat Jochem for the third time in four meetings this season. Jochem scored a first period takedown, but Seufzer scored a second period escape and a third period takedown for the victory.

"There was time for Jochem to score at the end," Sweeney said. "I think Jordan did a good job riding and not getting called for stalling. He was in a position where there was no way he was going to turn somebody. He just had to hold on."

It was the first time in five seasons Hustisford failed to qualify a wrestler for the sectional.

"I told Brandon, 'You look at the guy from Poynette and Seufzer. Look at the size of their arms. That's where your arms have to be next year,'" Hustisford wrestling coach Chris Malterer said.

Soldner (21-18) received the No. 1 seed at heavyweight but lost to Waterloo's Nepi Vela in 1:17. He pinned Poynette's James Chizek at 3:21 in the consolation bracket, then pinned Marshall's Caleb Schuster in 20 seconds in the wrestleback for second.

"This (weight class) was his best shot to get through," Sweeney said. "He's very proud of qualifying. He's very happy with what he's done this year compared to what he did last year, when he had nine wins. He's very happy with his improvement."

Both Vela and senior Aaron Brunker (215) qualified for the Dodgeland sectional for Waterloo. Brunker (20-6) beat Hustisford's Zach Schrab 13-6 in the semifinals and Poynette's Matt Lehr in the finals 5-2. Vela (15-17) scored three pins on the day, including one in 1:46 over Schuster in the finals.

Dodgeland sectional first round matches begin at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.

Team standings: Marshall 255, Dodgeland 180, Poynette 161, Waterloo 130, Pardeeville 112, Oakfield 85, Hustisford 55.

PARDEEVILLE - Dodgeland wrestling coach Bob Sweeney always wishes he had more wrestlers to fill out a roster. But he couldn't complain with what his eight wrestlers did at the Pardeeville regional Saturday.

"We got the whole team through," Sweeney said. "I guess we were in the right regional."

All eight Dodgeland wrestlers advanced to the Trojans' host sectional meet Saturday after helping the team to a second place finish in the regional with 180 points.

Chris Jones (103 pounds), Steve Hollweck (130), Paul Nelson (152) and Clint Schuett (160) each won weight class titles, while Emily Bichel (112), Tim Will (119), Jordan Seufzer (189) and heavyweight Cory Soldner earned runner-up finishes.

Jones (17-23) pinned Pardeeville's Adam Hoover in 1 minute, 49 seconds, then beat Marshall's Chris VanCaster 10-8 in the finals.

"He's beaten Hoover three times now this year," Sweeney said. "Earlier in the season he lost to VanCaster at the Cedar Grove invite by one point. He was able to come back and avenge that loss."

Bichel (16-13) pinned Waterloo's Holly Dow in the semifinals at 5:11, then lost by fall to Dustin Schimmel in the finals in 29 seconds.

"She had faced Dow previously in girls tournaments, and this was the first time she's beaten her," Sweeney said. "She was losing at the time and was able to get a defensive pin. She shows a lot of guts when she's on the mat. Even when she's being outpowered, she continues to fight the best she can. She's come up with some big pins for us when other people didn't expect it."

Will (38-4) pinned Waterloo's Jacob Neiting in the semifinals at 2:59, then lost to Marshall's Hans Hansen 6-5 in the finals. He pinned Poynette's Mike Kiefer at 5:02 in the wrestleback for second place.

"He got thrown in the first period and wasn't able to come back," Sweeney said. "Hansen was able to evade takedowns without the official seeing stalling. Coming back for the wrestleback, it was a real close match initially. Then into the second and third period he started taking it to him."

Hollweck (23-9) pinned Poynette's Wes Hinkley in 58 seconds, then pinned Marshall's Alec Augustine-Marceil in 4:54 for his title.

Nelson (39-3) pinned Waterloo's Doug Maertz at 1:08 of the semifinals, then received a forfeit from Marshall in the finals.

Schuett (40-2) pinned Waterloo's Teddy Schmidt at 1:25 of the semifinals, then scored a 16-0 technical fall over Marshall's Lucas Meinholz in the finals.

Seufzer (37-5) pinned Marshall's Dustin Mireles at 1:12, then lost to Poynette's Jordan Vanderwilt 9-7 in the finals. He qualified by holding off Hustisford junior Brandon Jochem 3-2 in the wrestleback for second place.

"Jordan scored a takedown in the first period and was up 2-0 on Vanderwilt," Sweeney said. "Vanderwilt escaped and took Jordan to his back in a goofy situation, and Jordan wasn't able to come back. He had it tied in the third period and was turning him late but lost the move and got reversed."

Seufzer beat Jochem for the third time in four meetings this season. Jochem scored a first period takedown, but Seufzer scored a second period escape and a third period takedown for the victory.

"There was time for Jochem to score at the end," Sweeney said. "I think Jordan did a good job riding and not getting called for stalling. He was in a position where there was no way he was going to turn somebody. He just had to hold on."

It was the first time in five seasons Hustisford failed to qualify a wrestler for the sectional.

"I told Brandon, 'You look at the guy from Poynette and Seufzer. Look at the size of their arms. That's where your arms have to be next year,'" Hustisford wrestling coach Chris Malterer said.

Soldner (21-18) received the No. 1 seed at heavyweight but lost to Waterloo's Nepi Vela in 1:17. He pinned Poynette's James Chizek at 3:21 in the consolation bracket, then pinned Marshall's Caleb Schuster in 20 seconds in the wrestleback for second.

"This (weight class) was his best shot to get through," Sweeney said. "He's very proud of qualifying. He's very happy with what he's done this year compared to what he did last year, when he had nine wins. He's very happy with his improvement."

Both Vela and senior Aaron Brunker (215) qualified for the Dodgeland sectional for Waterloo. Brunker (20-6) beat Hustisford's Zach Schrab 13-6 in the semifinals and Poynette's Matt Lehr in the finals 5-2. Vela (15-17) scored three pins on the day, including one in 1:46 over Schuster in the finals.

Dodgeland sectional first round matches begin at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.

Team standings: Marshall 255, Dodgeland 180, Poynette 161, Waterloo 130, Pardeeville 112, Oakfield 85, Hustisford 55.

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Girl Will Be Able to Participate in Spanish Fork Wrestling Tournament

11/18/04

SALT LAKE CITY -- For the second time in less than a year, the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah has resolved a dispute involving a girl’s right to participate in a city-sponsored wrestling tournament. Today, the ACLU of Utah received written confirmation from Spanish Fork City attorney S. Junior Baker that Candace Workman, a 14-year-old middle school student from Vernal, Utah, will be able to wrestle in the city’s December 4, 2004 tournament.

In late October, Candace and her family contacted the ACLU of Utah after learning that she would not be allowed to register in one of the tournament’s boys’ divisions, despite the fact that there were no other registrants in the newly created girls’ division. Candace, who has wrestled competitively for seven years and has successfully participated in the Spanish Fork tournament in the past, could not understand why she was in effect being excluded from December’s event.

Margaret Plane, staff attorney for the ACLU of Utah, contacted Spanish Fork City on behalf of Candace. In a letter to the city attorney, she noted that by banning girls from the wrestling tournament, the city was in violation of the Constitution’s equal protection clause and possibly of Title IX, the federal statute prohibiting sex discrimination by any educational institution receiving federal funds. The Spanish Fork City Council considered the issue at its November 16 meeting and decided to rescind its discriminatory policy.

When told of the council’s decision, Candace was excited that she would once again have the opportunity to compete in the Spanish Fork tournament. “I want to go down there and show them I’m just as good as the boys,” she said. “It was wrong of them to try and exclude me like that.” A two-time national championship winner, Candace has trained with the women’s Olympic wrestling team and hopes to be a member of the United States Olympic team in the future.

Plane is also pleased that Spanish Fork chose to repeal its policy and hopes that the council’s action is indicative of a change in how they view girls’ participation in sports. “Sex discrimination cannot be justified based merely on the preferences of parents or others participating,” Plane said. “Equal protection isn’t concerned with preferences – it is concerned with ensuring that government does not perpetuate discrimination.”

Almost a year ago, the ACLU of Utah received a similar complaint when it was contacted by two Utah County families whose daughters, ages six and eight, were prohibited from participating in a private invitational wrestling tournament held by the Orem Grapplers. Tournament organizers invited city-sponsored wrestling teams from Orem, Provo, Santaquin, Springville, Spanish Fork, and Payson, yet when the teams registered for the event, the girl wrestlers were told they could not compete.

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The Zone: Falcons' female breaks barriers
Flowery Branch senior wrestler is only girl to qualify for state tournament in any classification

By BILL MURPHY 2/10/05

Rashona Colbert works out with wrestling teammate Karl Kudyba, left, Monday afternoon at Flowery Branch High. Colbert has qualified for the Class AAA wrestling tournament, which will be held this weekend at Gilmer High, in the 103-pound class. Colbert, who began wrestling four years ago, is the Hall County champion at 103 pounds and is the only female wrestler to qualify for state in any classification. Age: 17 Class: Senior Family: Stepfather Keith Martin Sr., mother Shirley Martin; sisters Chemia Colbert, 15, and Jasmin Martin, 10; brother Keith Martin Jr., 12. Notable: 2005 Hall County champion at 103 pounds ... finished fourth at Area 4-AAA tournament ... will compete for state championship at Gilmer High this weekend.

Flowery Branch High senior Rashona Colbert doesn't match the stereotype that one may have of a dominating wrestler.

Colbert doesn't have bulging muscles or a menacing demeanor, or make an opponent tremble at the thought of having to step out onto the mat to compete against her.

And yes, she's a girl.

But she's one of the best wrestlers in the area, and she has defeated more than three dozen of her male counterparts on her way to the Hall County championship at 103 pounds this season.

Colbert, whose record stands at 37-12, is one of eight Falcons wrestlers who will participate in the Class AAA traditional state wrestling championship this weekend at Gilmer High in Ellijay.

Colbert, who was the only female wrestler to qualify for state in any classification, finished fourth at last weekend's Area 4-AAA state tournament at Gainesville High, helping lead Flowery Branch to a top-four finish in the team standings.

Making it to the state tournament has been a longtime goal for Colbert since she joined the Falcons wrestling squad as a sophomore when the school opened its doors in August 2002.

"Since this is my senior year," Colbert said, "I figured I could take control and work hard to make it there."

Leading the way for her climb to a berth in the state tournament was a key decision she and Lancaster made this year to drop down from the 112- to 103-pound weight class.

"Ever since she made that decision, she has been competing very well," said senior Paul Kudyba, who finished third at the Area 4-AAA tournament and qualified for state at 130 pounds.

Colbert's teammates believe she has a strong shot of bringing home a medal this weekend.

"When you get to state, it is hard to know what anyone is going to accomplish," Kudyba said.

"But if she continues to practice hard this week I wouldn't be surprised at all if she is able to place at state."

For the rest of the week, her training will include several different technique drills.

"This week she really doesn't have anyone to practice against since her two practice partners didn't qualify for state," Lancaster said. "Typically, due to Georgia High School Association rules, we can't let her drill or practice anyone more than one weight class from her weight.

"With the slow motion drills and no hard physical contact, she will partner up with the lightest member of the team present and, when it is time to wrestle live, she will have to drill on her own or shadow-wrestle."

Colbert's roots in wrestling trace back to her stepfather, Keith Martin Sr., who wrestled at the 98-pound weight class for East Hall in 1984-85.

Colbert's interest was also sparked by watching her younger brother, Keith Jr., compete with a junior team, the Buford Wolfpack.

"She would videotape her brother wrestling and eventually she developed an interest in the sport," Martin said. "She came to me and asked if she could wrestle and, being a fan of the sport, I told her to go ahead and try."

Colbert started her wrestling career in 2001 -- and quickly won the Gwinnett County 100-pound championship in a USA Wrestling junior tournament that same year.

After not wrestling as a freshman that fall at West Hall, Colbert transferred to Flowery Branch when the latter school opened in 2002.

When she approached Falcons wrestling coach Shane Lancaster and asked about joining the team, he welcomed her but with one condition: She would not receive any special treatment.

"I told her if she came out she was a member of the team," Lancaster said, "and she would be treated no differently (than the male athletes).

"She goes through the same training the guys go through and, year after year, she has stuck it out."

Initially, Colbert had to earn respect from her new Falcons teammates.

"At first, I had some teammates who said they didn't think I was going to stick it out very long," Colbert said. "I think that was able to give me a little bit of motivation."

But it didn't take long to silence the criticism with her dedication to her training.

"You could see (her) natural hip movement and control. ... She took to the coaching very well," Lancaster said. "It didn't take long to realize we could turn her into a wrestler."

Added senior Austin Bennett, who qualified for the state tournament at 145 pounds, "A lot of times she can surprise the other team because she is a better than a lot of people think. She is very aggressive on the mat and has the ability to take her opponents down pretty quick."

Colbert has learned through her three years of wrestling at Flowery Branch how her demeanor can directly affect the outcome on the mat.

"I have two different faces," Colbert said. "Off the mat I am very light-hearted and not as serious.

"But on the mat I am very serious and try not to talk."

Despite taking part in a sport dominated by males, she has still kept her identity intact.

"I think one thing that stands out is she participates in a male-dominated sport and yet has kept her unique personality as a female," Lancaster said.

"For example, in the area tournament, she brought her stuffed animals with her and was talking about her hobbies so it was unique from that perspective."

Added Martin, "If she is able to place this weekend at state I will be very proud of her. She has worked extremely hard so she deserves it.

"I am just glad she is doing so well in a boys sport and has been able to stay with it."

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T-Herman girl prepares for state meet

By Ken Hambleton/Lee Newspapers 2/15/05

If the media would treat Lisa Maslowsky the way most wrestlers treat the freshman from Tekamah-Herman, she could just wrestle.

But Maslowsky is the subject of woman bites dog-type stories because she is just the second female in history to qualify for the Nebraska State High School Wrestling Championships.

Maslowsky has a respectable, but not glittering, 19-15 record this season. She placed third in her district meet last weekend and is one of 16 competitors in the Class C 103-pound weight class.

She also dyed her hair blond, like her seven teammates who also qualified for the state meet. It's a Tekamah-Herman tradition followed by her brothers, Justin and Ian, who competed in the state meet in 1999 and 1997, respectively.

"We've told Lisa that she has to be prepared for a lot of attention, but that this can promote wrestling, too," said Tekamah-Herman coach Brent Abrams.

Elaine Blessen, the first girl to wrestle in the state meet, knows what awaits Maslowsky on Thursday in the first day of the meet at the Devaney Sports Center.

"She's in for a ride," said Blessen, who competed in the 2001 state meet. "At times it can seem like two days of hell." She tried to blend in with the wrestlers by wearing her hooded workout sweats and sitting high in the Devaney Center seats between matches.

"It was crazy with the media and everybody else. Security people who won't let you go to your locker room, cameras everywhere, cameras and reporters all around the mat. Friends, family and dozens of people who you never met rooting against you, rooting for you and all you want to do is wrestle the way you know how."

Blessen, a senior studying pre-law at Nebraska, hopes to enter law school next fall. "I don't know if a majority of Nebraska will ever get over the ‘girl wrestler,' and understand that the Parade of Champions isn't just for boys."

Maslowsky isn't worried about the attention as much as she's worried about the competition.

"I don't think about being the second girl to wrestle in the state meet," she said. "I think about being one of 896 wrestlers and being one of the wrestlers on our team at state," she said.

Blessen, then a junior at Malcolm, lost her two matches in the 2001 state tournament. As a senior, she finished 16-11 but did not qualify for state.

Since then, the number of girls wrestling on high school teams in Nebraska has grown to almost 30.

Nationally, there are about 3,500 girls wrestling and about 250,000 boys wrestling at the high school level. Texas and Hawaii have separate meets for boys and girls, but the rest of the states mix the sexes on the mat because of court orders.

The Nebraska School Activities Association has no special rules for girls in wrestling. "Just a different weigh-in room and a different locker room and the rest is the same for boys and girls," said Bob Colgate of the NSAA.

"There was no big deal here when Lisa and Chelsea (Lisa's twin sister) came out for wrestling," said Abrams. "They've been wrestling for a long time. They've been in a lot of national meets. Chelsea has three national girls titles and Lisa has one and two runner-up finishes.

"They are good, technical wrestlers with solid techniques," said Abrams, who has coached for 27 years. "They practice against each other and they practice against some of the boys on our team. We have eight state qualifiers on this year's team and Lisa is a member of that team going to state. Simple enough."

Some schools refuse to allow boys to wrestle girls. Lincoln Christian had a wrestler forfeit a match in last week's district because he was paired with a girl.

"It is our school policy," said Christian athletic director Kory Kavan. "Wrestling is an aggressive sport and the wrestlers are in awkward positions and we don't need to put a boy in that situation."