Nicole Woody Wrestling
News Page
By Greg Wyshynski
February 24, 2005
HERNDON'S FIREN GASSMAN made history at the Northern Region wrestling
championships.Her 8-4 victory against San Mencarini of Marshall in the consolation
semifinals clinched a spot for Gassman in this weekend's Virginia AAA
state wrestling tournament. According to the Virginia High School League, she
is the first female wrestler to ever qualify for the state tournament.
"I've been wrestling for six years, and ever since I started wrestling,
I said, 'I'm going to go to Herndon, and I'm going to go to states. Be
the first girl,'" said Gassman. "So my dream is finally coming true, and
it's awesome."
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Arundel's National Champion
Woody Holds Junior Women's Wrestling Title
By Dave Yanovitz
Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, February 10, 2005; Page AA16
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Nicole Woody Wrestling |
When the 2008 Olympic Games are played, a young athlete from Anne
Arundel County could be among the American contingent in Beijing.
At least Nicole Woody hopes so. In fact, it is her goal: She intends to
make the U.S. women's wrestling team.
Freshman Nicole Woody puts a hold on Joey Dowling of Southern High.
Woody is the only female on the Arundel wrestling team; she wrestles at 103
pounds for both the junior varsity and varsity.
It will be only the second time that women will compete at the Games in
wrestling, a sport traditionally reserved for men. Women made their
Olympic wrestling debut at the Athens Games last August.
The 16-year-old Arundel freshman is one of the nation's top female
junior wrestlers. Last summer she competed at the U.S. junior women's
nationals in Fargo, N.D., and, after earning five technical falls in five matches,
emerged with the title of 95-pound national champion. Just the mention
of her title brings a smile to Woody's face. The accomplishment, she
acknowledges, took "hard work and dedication."
"You can't just go out there and expect to win," Woody said last week
during a break in a meet with Annapolis and Glen Burnie. "You have to have the
will and the training for it."
Woody started wrestling seven years ago while living in St. Leonard.
She credits Coaches Bruce Gabrielson and Rick Jones of the Southern
Maryland Wrestling Club with "getting me seriously into wrestling." And she also
praises another of her coaches, Mike DeSarno, whom she termed her
"summer freestyle coach."
"He got me ready to wrestle before I went out to Fargo," she said,
noting that she'll be heading back to the girls' nationals this summer.
Surely her pedigree has helped, too. Brother William, now 24, wrestled
competitively and many of Nicole's uncles (her mother has nine
siblings) were mat grapplers as well.
Until this academic year, Woody had been home-schooled. But when the
family moved to Odenton last year so her father could be closer to his
construction job, Woody enrolled at Arundel. She already knew Coach Billy Royer from
junior league, and the transition to the team -- as well as to taking
courses in a classroom setting -- has been a smooth one, she said.
"I went in expecting [school] to be totally different, that I'd know
nothing [about class and teachers]," she said. "I didn't think I'd be able to
learn as well.
"I'm shocked at how well I've adapted. I said to myself, 'I feel like
I've done this before.' "
Woody, who now wrestles at 103 pounds, is wrestling mostly junior
varsity this year (varsity 103-pounder John Kotsis is among the best in the
state at that weight class) and was 16-1 in JV matches entering the week. She
has also won three varsity matches at 103, most recently last Thursday,
when she pinned her opponent from Eleanor Roosevelt High.
"The kid I wrestled was laughing," Woody said, "He was laughing as I
was taking him down. I gave him a dirty look. I guess he was shocked. He
was smiling in an 'Oh, my gosh' sort of way."
Woody recently returned from a seven-day trip to Moscow and Siberia,
where she wrestled in an international competition with former Olympic and
world team members. U.S. Women's Olympic Coach Terry Steiner led the American
contingent.
"I learned a lot of wrestling strategies," Woody said, before pausing
and altering the words a bit. "I learned that I need to figure out a lot of
wrestling strategies."
She lost both matches against the women (who Woody said were much older
than she is) but was pleased with the way she competed. She laughed when
recalling how, after a 0-0 first period, her Russian opponent "picked
me up and threw me in the air."
Her globetrotting will continue next month, when Woody will go to
Sweden with Olympic and world team members. She'll then head to California in
April for the world team trials. Woody's mother said her daughter is trying
to land a spot on the U.S. Junior World Team.
"She's that good, she could be an Olympian in 2008," said Royer, her
high school coach. "For some of these guys [at Arundel], it might be the
closest they get to being with an Olympian. They can look back and say, 'I
pushed her. I trained with her.' "
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Wrestling gives Woody her sense of belonging
On High Schools: Milton Kent 2/11/05
HOW OFTEN HAS it been said of someone that he or she was born to a particular sport? Add one more to the list because Nicole Woody, almost literally, was born to wrestling.
Her uncles and cousins and brothers, younger and older, were all wrestlers. Her mother, Mary, keeps time and runs the scoreboard at Arundel High matches and Nicole, probably beyond her own remembrance, took in her first match, a Navy-Penn State set-to, when she was 9 months old.
"She was really comfortable in the wrestling room, so we just put her on a blanket in the corner with a bunch of toys," said Mary Woody.
So, save for her diminutive size (5 feet, 103 pounds), it's not a stretch to believe that Nicole Woody would be a wrestler.
And it's also not so far-fetched to think that Nicole, an Arundel freshman, is a good wrestler, with a season record of 13-1 on junior varsity heading into today's meet with Severna Park.
Nicole's skills and savvy might just be good enough to earn her a place on the U.S. Olympic women's wrestling team for 2008. And she could end up placing at a state tournament, something no female wrestler has done.
What she'll settle for, at least for now, is to be the best wrestler at her 103-pound class on the Wildcats team. That will be difficult because junior John Kotsis is ranked fourth in the state at that weight among public schools.
Nicole, who has been wrestling since she was 9, said she has been unable to beat Kotsis in two matches, though the score narrowed from 14-1 in their first meeting to 7-2 in the second.
"And I got the two on my own," said Nicole Woody. "He didn't let me up. I shot in really nice with about 30 seconds to go."
That's largely the challenge for all girls who wrestle boys, to prove they belong.
Already, Nicole said, she has become aware that her technique and quickness will have to carry the day if she is to move up the state rankings.
"I guess so," Nicole said. "I hear it all the time. Now it's kind of drilled into my mind that I win because of technique. It's definitely not because of strength."
In a way, Nicole already is a winner, thriving in a sport that isn't always welcoming to girls. Indeed, Mary Woody says her daughter still faces occasional discrimination from wrestling umpires who she says are unwilling to believe that girls can or should beat boys.
"She just says: 'That's the way things are and I know what I want and I know what's right and wrong and this is what I'm going to do,' " said Mary Woody. "What I like is that she's not afraid to do things and to approach people and make friends."
Within Nicole's family, there is a debate over the propriety of her being able to wrestle, Mary Woody said, with some male members of the family objecting on moral grounds.
"If you go back biblically and look at what the roles of men have been and what God has said the roles of men are, they [male relatives] believe that by wrestling, then she's stepping outside of her role," said Mary Woody.
In a perfect world, Mary Woody said, there would be enough talented female wrestlers for her daughter to compete against so that she wouldn't have to wrestle boys.
But that world hasn't arrived yet, and until it does, Mary Woody wants her daughter to have all the opportunities in wrestling that her sons and brothers and male cousins have received.
"I talked to them [male relatives] and said, "I believe this is good for her,' " said Mary Woody. "I believe that wrestling should be available to anyone who wants it because it's such a great sport. It teaches you to go beyond what you think you can do. It teaches you discipline, and I think a girl and a guy should have that opportunity. She enjoys it and likes it and is good at it and I think it's good for her."
In between matches, Nicole often wears a T-shirt that says, "So, you wish you could wrestle like a girl." Soon enough, boys may not take that as an insult.
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2/24/05
Hatchets Anthony, Alyssa Lampe are nation's first sister-brother state wrestling qualifiers
By Dave Schneider - Daily News Sports
How do you top being the first girl ever to compete in the WIAA state wrestling championships?
Next time, bring your brother.
After becoming the first girl ever to qualify for the WIAA state wrestling tournament as a sophomore in 2004, Tomahawk's 103-pounder Alyssa Lampe is on a return ticket to the Division 2 state finals Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 24-26, joined by her brother Anthony to become the first sister-brother duo in the nation to wrestle together in a state tournament.
"It feels great," said junior 119-pounder Anthony Lampe (33-8). "This is my first time going down there so I'm a little anxious."
The Hatchet combo enters preliminary rounds Friday when they travel to the Kohl Center in Madison. Anthony draws Tim McGill (32-8), a sophomore from Lomira, in the first round of the 119-pound division at 10 a.m. and Alyssa will face Adam Zehren, a freshman from Luxemburg-Casco (37-12), in the first round of 103 pounds, also at 10 a.m. on Friday.
"It's exciting going with my brother," said Alyssa (40-6), who was bumped from the 103-pound consolation bracket in 2004. "There's probably going to be even more media attention now."
Despite all the extra media this week, the siblings are set on staying focused on their goals.
"I just block it out and don't worry about it - worry about what you're doing on the mat," said Alyssa. "I lifted, ran, and wrestled a lot more over the summer so I was pretty confident going into sectionals that I would make it to state."
Brother Anthony has a similar approach.
"I just let it all go past and I keep my head cleared," said Anthony. "Deep down inside I knew we would go, but I was kind of skeptical with a tough weight class. I worked harder in practice and just did what my coaches wanted me to do."
The Tomahawk Hatchet wrestling program is co-coached by Bob Skubal and Bob Garrou, along with assistant coach John Arnott.
Coach Garrou noted Alyssa has even bigger aims in the years ahead.
"Alyssa's ultimate goal is to become an Olympic Champion," said Garrou. "With the way that girl works I think that is a real big possibility. I feel sorry for the girls she wrestles."
Alyssa placed second (4-1) at sectionals by pinning Mike Brunner, Ellsworth, in 3:23 to pick up the third and final state seat in her weight class. Anthony went 3-1, pinning Mike Bump of Amery in 1:17 in his final match.
"They are both level-headed," added coach Skubal, whose knows the grapplers can garner as much success as they do media attention. "They appreciate the support given them and just go about their business."
For the program, 2005 will be a fourth straight season at the state individual tourney.
In addition to Alyssa's inaugural appearance last year, 2004 senior Josh Chelf won the Division 2 171-pound state title after taking runner-up in the 152-pound division as a junior and also took the number-two spot at 130-pounds as a sophomore. Chelf was the third straight state champion for the Hatchet program, adding to Zach Hagar's 103-pound title in 2002 and Grant Daigle's 215-pound championship in 2003.
This year's co-coaches are confident of the Lampe's potential in 2005.
"Everybody there can beat anybody at any given time," noted coach Garrou. "It's all about this week's preparation and mentally being ready to step on the mat at state."
"Everybody is 0-0 from this point on," concluded coach Skubal.
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Wrestlers gear up for state meet
February 24,2005
Jason McDaniel
The Monitor
PSJA Memorial’s Jennifer Gonzalez (front) will be competing at the UIL state wrestling tournament this weekend with, from left, Weslaco High’s Rick Romo, Jesse Marines and Eli Rodriguez. |
WESLACO — Scoring a wrestling match can be a subjective matter from judge to judge. But there is no question about Weslaco High’s place at the top of Rio Grande Valley wrestling programs.
Weslaco wrapped up its fifth consecutive district championship this season wrestling in District 32. Now three Panthers lead a group of five wrestlers from the district headed to the 2005 UIL State Wrestling Championships Friday and Saturday at the Austin ISD Delco Center in Austin.
"We’ve had a run of good kids that have really responded well as far as the conditioning and the techniques that we’ve tried to teach them," Weslaco coach John Glapa said. "They’ve been great competitors and our administration really backs us up."
Senior Jesse Marines (16-1) leads the way as the highest seeded boy headed to state, ranking at No. 2 in the 171-pound class. Marines narrowly missed a trip to state last year when a shoulder injury kept him from securing the final qualifying spot.
This time around Marines plans to make up for last season’s disappointment with one clear goal.
"I’m going up there for one reason and one reason only — to win state," Marines said.
Rick Romo (16-1), at 103 pounds, and Eli Rodriguez, at 152 pounds, round out the list of Panthers pushing for top finishes at state.
Romo started out as a 112-pounder, where he had a below .500 record, before moving down to 103 pounds. Since then the junior’s career has taken off.
"Ricky is a very level-headed kid," said Glapa, in his fourth year as Weslaco’s wrestling coach. "He doesn’t get uptight. He doesn’t get nervous if he’s behind. He’s a really good technician and he’s good about riding his opponents and taking them down."
Rodriguez (16-2) took the top-seeded wrestler at regionals to the brink before losing a narrow decision 5-4 and eventually finishing in fourth place. The four-time district champion was forced to wrestle the fifth place finisher at regionals, and came out victorious to secure his first state invite.
"The past few years I had a mentality that I couldn’t go up there and compete," Rodriguez said. "But this year — my senior year — I just said I have to do this. I have to do this for myself."
The other two statebound wrestlers come from the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo area, which had three going until PSJA High’s Miguel Colon (22-2) broke his nose this week, forcing him to pull out of the competition.
PSJA Memorial’s Jessica Gonzalez and PSJA High’s Kimberly Galvan are the only girl wrestlers headed to Austin from the Valley — and they are both 95-pound freshmen.
Gonzalez (4-1) leads the way as the third seeded 95-pounder, followed by Galvan (7-7) at No. 4. Gonzalez is the first PSJA Memorial wrestler going to state since 2001. And though Gonzalez may be tiny, she’s no lightweight — wrestling runs in her blood.
"My two older brothers wrestled here," Gonzalez said. "My oldest brother Javi Gonzalez wrestled at 103 and my other brother Jacob Gonzalez wrestled at 112. They’ve been teaching me moves ever since I got into wrestling.
"They’re always there for me no matter what if I need help, and they’re at every match."
PSJA Memorial coach Joe Clark expects Gonzalez to be the cornerstone of his girls program for the next three years.
"Next year and the following years we expect great things from her," Clark said. "Making it to state this year as a freshman is a big accomplishment. How far she moves on (this year) depends on the level of competition, but in the following years I really expect great things.
"We’re going to lean on her pretty heavily."
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Impressive field descending on Austin
Full contingent of girls joins boys at weekend event
Wrestling
By TERRY CARTER
Chronicle Correspondent 2/24/05
Wrestling as a 128-pound freshman last year, Klein's Lindsey Brooks finished third at the regional meet and did not qualify for the state tournament in Austin despite a 34-5 record.
Two weeks ago, Brooks pinned Klein Collins' Jessica Barrow for the Region III 148-pound championship to earn a pass to this weekend's University Interscholastic League (UIL) Wrestling Championships at Austin's Delco Center.
Brooks (40-1), one of four Bearkats (three girls and one boy) advancing to state Friday and Saturday, said she enjoys the head-to-head competition on the mat.
"I've always been really athletic," the 15-year-old sophomore said. "I've always wanted to showcase my athletic talent and how much skill, talent and ability I have."
Brooks missed a chance to compete at state last year because the UIL accepted only the top two finishers in each of four regionals. This season, four wrestlers — same as the boys — qualified. Brooks and The Woodlands' Karen Howe (30-2 at 138 pounds) are favorites.
On the boys side, Highland Park controls its fate with nine wrestlers qualified. With four finalists returning from the Region III tournament, Cinco Ranch has as many as five Cougars capable of reaching the state-championship matches Saturday night, which may be necessary in the team race.
"We came out of the toughest district in the toughest region in the state. I think that will be proven out this weekend," Cinco Ranch coach Bill Dushane said. "We have a chance."
Cinco Ranch's unbeaten Jim Benavides (39-0) is a favorite at 145, while 160-pound Cas Roman (50-2), 152-pound Andrew Vasquez (40-4), 171-pound Josh Ruland (43-2) and 125-pound Jamie Sheets (42-4) face tougher climbs.
Other wrestlers to watch include 215-pound James Aston (39-0) of Katy, Westside's Blaine Herring (27-1) at 112 and Christian Coffey (34-5) at 160, and Matt Cole (7-1) of The Woodlands at 189.