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Females are taking hold in wrestling
Posted-Tuesday, February 22, 2005 12:04 AM EST
By ERIC KNOPSNYDER
THE TRIBUNE-DEMOCRAT
eknopsnyder@tribdem.com
Last week I offered some suggestions on how the sport of wrestling can attract new fans.
I received plenty of feedback - most of it positive - from the wrestling community, as many others are also looking for ways to grow the sport.
What I overlooked is the one demographic in which wrestling is gaining ground: Young women. There have always been plenty of females at tournaments in the region, be they mothers, girlfriends or just fans of the competition.
Where the sport has seen significant gains recently is in females who get involved with the sport. Last week, I got an e-mail from a reader who snapped a picture of two girls squaring off in a junior high wrestling match.
Shade's Kristen Corradini scored a last-second reversal to defeat Johnstown's Judea Thomas in the rare matchup involving two girls in a "boys" competition. But if wrestling continues to become more popular with girls, such matches will become more common.
A dozen years ago, female wrestlers were few and far between. They are still a bit of a rarity, as the attention surrounding last week's junior high match shows, but a girl on the wrestling team is not the shock that it once was.
Forest Hills' Kaylyn Oshaben was a member of the Rangers' District 6 runner-up team, which advanced to the state tournament in Hershey and won two matches. Oshaben's only match of the year came during the district championship match against Tyrone.
A nervous Oshaben did not make it out of the first period against Robert Waite, who entered the match with a 20-3 record,
but took great pride in being part of the district championship match.
For Oshaben, the real season is about to begin, as she enters events sponsored by the United States Girls Wrestling Association. Last year she finished second in the state tournament and third in the Mid-Atlantic States competition.
Wrestling on Forest Hills' team has helped her prepare for the upcoming tournaments but it has also been satisfying for her.
"I enjoy it," she said. "The team is a very good team, so I have a lot of tough competition. It really helps me get better."
Women's wrestling was an Olympic sport for the first time in Athens last summer and Oshaben said it has already had a big impact on the competition.
"Yeah, it has because there are going to be more girls getting involved in the sport, which means you're going to have to train harder to win tournaments and be considered one of the better wrestlers," she said.
Oshaben comes from a wrestling family, as her father wrestled in high school and college and her cousin, Mike Branas, is the junior high coach at Forest Hills.
Forest Hills varsity coach Jim Bowser said Oshaben doesn't look for any special treatment in the wrestling room.
"She trains like any other wrestler," he said. "There are no exceptions made and I don't think she would want there to be."
Conemaugh Township coach Scott Fetterman has a little different perspective on female wrestlers, as he coaches one on the Indians' varsity team and has another at home in the form of his 5-year-old daughter, Alexa.
He coached Bethany Ochoa, a junior who wrestled two matches for the Indians this year in her first season.
"The sport is growing for girls," Fetterman said. "I think more and more girls are interested."
He also knows what is happening in the sport at younger age groups thanks to Alexa. The blonde-haired 40-pounder has racked up an impressive 23-8 record this year and placed in seven of the nine tournaments she has entered.
"She made a lot of little boys cry," Fetterman said with a chuckle.
The sport is even more popular at lower levels.
"I went to a novice tournament at United last weekend and I bet there were 15 or 20 girls there," Fetterman said.
The increase in interest has led more girls-only tournaments. The USGWA will host a tournament in Markleysburg, Fayette County, on March 5 and another in Montrose, Susquehanna County, on March 13 for girls ranging in classes from kindergarten to college.
There are other women finding a spot on the mat as well. Janice Caputo became the first woman to officiate the PIAA wrestling championships a few weeks ago during the state dual meet tournament.
The more ways that wrestling finds to be a sport of inclusion instead of exclusion, the more likely it is to survive.
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Second Place at All-Girls Wrestling Tourney!
March 07, 2005
Got home late last night from a weekend in New Jersey, attending our first all-girls wrestling tournament, the USGWA New Jersey Girls Wrestling State Championships Open. Lexi placed second in her weight grouping, winning three matches (one with a pin and one in double overtime) and losing one. More importantly, she had a great time, and made some new wrestling friends from other states. One of the organizers commented on his past experience with girls' tournaments, noting that the girls are much more likely than the boys to get together after competing and hug and make friends with each other.
Most of the girls we talked to were in the same position as Lexi--participating on boys' wrestling teams, often as the only girl, and attending events like this after the season. A recent USA Today article on girls' wrestling noted that the number of high school girls wrestling nationwide is currently about 4000, up from about 100 in 1990.
If you're interested in all-girls wrestling, here's the go-to group: the US Girls Wrestling Association, or USGWA.
And here are some pix from the tourney.
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2005 ISWA GIRLS WRESTLING CAMP
SOUTHPORT HIGH SCHOOL
JUNE 24-25-26
FOR AGES 10-18
FEATURING
MARY KELLY
SEVERAL TIME U.S. NATIONAL TEAM MEMBER
MCMURRAY COLLEGE TEAM MEMBER, CURRENT U.S. RANKING 3RD
JERRY KELLY
MCMURRAY COLLEGE COACH, OKLAHOMA STATE ALL-AMERICAN
WRESTLED OLYMPIC TRIALS WHILE IN HIGH SCHOOL
DARREN PETTY
HEAD COACH SOUTHPORT HIGH SCHOOL
HELEN MANKEY
ISWA WOMEN'S DIRECTOR
5 SESSIONS OVER 3 DAYS, ALL MEALS INCLUDED!
This camp is structured so that you will be totally chaperoned by women the entire time. There will be several other coaches on hand to help, however all male coaches will be required to leave after the last session each night. All campers will train and sleep in the gym, and all meals will be served on the premises.
Each day will consist of training sessions, meals, free time and recreational games.
Campers will not be allowed to leave the premises.
What a great chance for girls to get trained by a couple of the best in women’s wrestling.
Cost: $100.00
Registration deadline May 1st 2005
Send to Tom Dolly 1701 Bennington Dr. Mishawaka In. 46544
________________________________________________________________________
FOR INFORMATION CONTACT: TOM DOLLY 574-255-0137 OR E-MAIL tdolly2@yahoo.com
NAME___________________________________________________________________________ AGE___________________
BIRTHDATE___________________ WEIGHT CLASS_______________ SCHOOL_____________________________________
CLUB____________________________________________ COACH________________________________________________
ADDRESS________________________________________ CITY __________________________________ ZIP_____________
PHONE______________________ CELL_________________________ E-MAIL_______________________________________
WRESTLING ACCOMPLISHMENTS__________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
I NEED TO IMPROVEMENT ON: _____________________________________________________________________________
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3/5/05
Iolani's run of state championships, begun last week by basketball and swimming, broke new ground Saturday as the Raider women brought home the school's first ever girls wrestling championship.
In a close-as-could-be thriller, the Iolani girls wrestling team won the State Championship Saturday afternoon 130.5 to 129.5 over the Baldwin Bears thanks to a crucial pin by Akemi Holmes in the final match for the Raiders.
The close victory takes the sting out of last week's two point loss to Kamehameha in the ILH Championships.
The fabulous four of Carla Watase, Kira Tamashiro Catherine Chan and Joleen Oshiro did their usual stellar best in leading Iolani to victory.
Tamashiro won all her matches and an individual championship with an overtime pin at 98 pounds.
Carla Watase joined Tamashiro on the top pedestal with a 4-2, come from behind overtime win at 103 pounds over a strong Kahuku wrestler
.
Joleen Oshiro completed the championship run with a decisive 10-4 win at 108 pounds.
Catherine Chan lost to the eventual champion at 114 pounds, but brought home a crucial bronze medal to contribute vital points to the Raider's score card.
Brandee Toyama made her presence felt with a sixth place finish at 120 pounds.
Trailing by seven points as its final wrestler, Akemi Holmes took the mat, the coaches knew they needed a win, but Holmes did not. She simply went out and performed perfectly, pinning her opponent in the 220 division for the eight points that gave Iolani its one point margin of victory.
Also contributing to the Iolani effort were Courtney Whang at 125, Sridevi Fournmier (140) and Lindsey Tufono (175).
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Girls take to mat for USGWA Alaska Wrestling Championship
By Ben Stuart
Staff Writer 3/10/05
The past, present and future of women's wrestling converged on a mat in the Homer High School gym Sunday at the 2005 Alaska Girls State Championships.
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For the 19 wrestlers who competed, the United States Girls Wrestling Association meet provided an opportunity to learn from the best in the sport and compete against their peers.
Homer Olympian Tela O'Donnell held a wrestling clinic for the participants before the meet, and said she enjoyed teaching techniques and strategy to the younger wrestlers.
"It's really a lot of fun," O'Donnell said. "I feel like I'm part of something big."
In high school in 2000, O'Donnell finished sixth and Skyview's Melina Hutchison finished third at the 4A state championship.
They were the first-ever female place-winners at a state tournament.
The following year, as a sophomore at West Anchorage, Iris Mucha became the first girl from Region 4 to qualify for the state tournament.
Since then, Mucha wrestled at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, wrestled in college and is currently the No. 6-ranked U.S. Senior Women's wrestler.
Sunday, Mucha shouted encouragement and gave advice to the younger wrestlers from the sidelines.
She also wrestled against O'Donnell and Chugiak's Melissa Apodaca.
The sport has come a long way for girls since Mucha was in high school, she said.
Already at a disadvantage in terms of strength, especially at the upper weight classes, Mucha said, coaches rarely pushed girl wrestlers or taught them the technique required to compete.
"During high school girls get beat up by the boys," Mucha said. "It's neat seeing girls compete against their equals and against others that have gone further with the sport," Mucha said.
Today, many coaches expect more from their girl athletes, and the added attention is beginning to show.
For instance, Melina Hutchison's two younger sisters — Michaela and Hannah — both wrestle competitively.
Michaela, a freshman at Skyview, finished third this season as a 103-pounder at the 4A State Tournament, and beat all-comers at Sunday's Alaska Girls State Championship.
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Ten-year-old Hannah beat 6-year-old Grace Wiggins from Anchorage to take the 52-pound title.
In some circles, however, girls wrestling boys — and sometimes beating them —, is still controversial.
Homer wrestling coach and Sunday's event organizer, Chris Perk, said much of that stigma has evaporated as girls participate more.
"I think it has (lessened) for sure, especially with their being more girls wrestling and doing well such as Michaela," Perk said. "Some people still do not believe it is right though."
While the foundation of girls wrestling has been laid by pioneers such as Melina Hutchison, O'Donnell and Mucha, the future of girls wrestling has yet to be written.
By the time Hannah begins competing at the high school level, for instance, girls wrestling could be a separate sport from boys wrestling.
Perk said he sees the benefits of having all-girl wrestling tournaments.
"I would like to see ASAA adopt, as they have with hockey in Anchorage, all-girl competitions in the state," he said.
"(Girls wrestling) seems to be booming on the college scenes. I could see it in a couple of years getting a state tournament hosted by ASAA."
Until then, girls will compete against the boys and other girls in high school, and against girls in tournaments like Sunday's.
Either way, they are competing, and learning what it takes to compete against the best.
In one of the matches Sunday, Chugiak's Melissa Apodaca lost 15-0 to Olympian O'Donnell.
After the match, however, Apodaca's confidence was unwavering.
"I think it was mental," Apodaca said. "She's the same (weight class) as me. If I try hard enough, I could beat her."
Ben Stuart can be reached at ben.stuart@homernews.com.
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See the first girls wrestling team in the district(Video from Dallas Texas)