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Chase, Pringle, Rix and Umemoto headline TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American First Team
6/10/2005
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
The nation’s best girls high school wrestlers are being honored with the announcement of the fifth annual TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team.
Making the First Team for the third straight year were Caitlyn Chase of Glenbard North High School in Illinois, Chelynne Pringle of Lake Forest High School in Minnesota, Deanna Rix of Marshfield High School in Maine and Na’Tasha Umemoto of David Douglas High School in Oregon. Chase is a junior, while Pringle, Rix and Umemoto are seniors.
TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team is selected by a nationwide panel of wrestling experts. It is the only national all-star team for which female high school wrestlers competing on all four grade levels are eligible. Athletes from across the nation were considered for their achievements in high school wrestling, as well as the major post-season freestyle and folkstyle competitions.
TheMat.com is the official web page of the Amateur Wrestling Alliance, and is one of the leading sports web pages on the internet. ASICS is a national sponsor of USA Wrestling and a major supporter of wrestling at all levels. ASICS has sponsored the nationally respected Asics Tiger High School All-American Team for boys wrestlers for 20 years.
“The ASICS Tiger Corporation is proud to be a sponsor of the All-American wrestling team for girls,” said Neil Duncan, Vice President of TW Promotions which represents ASICS. “We see this sport having a huge potential for growth, and look forward to the day when many high schools and colleges across the country offer wrestling programs for the female athlete. These are our future Olympians in women’s wrestling.”
Members of the First Team, as well as TheMat.com/ASICS Wrestler of the Year, will be honored prior to the finals of the ASICS/Vaughan Junior National Championships July 30 at Fargo, N.D.
California was the only state that had two girls make the First Team. Earning First Team honors from California were Tatiana Padilla of Northview High School and Jackie Cataline of Norco High School.
Seven members of the First Team members are nationally ranked on the Senior level in freestyle wrestling, competing against the best women wrestlers of all ages.
Chase was the highest place winner at the U.S. Senior Nationals this year, placing second at the 48 kg/105.5 lbs. division. Others who earned All-American honors on the Senior level this year were Pringle, Rix, Cataline, Umemoto, Melissa Simmons of Ridgefield High School in Washington and Stefenie Shaw of Waterford High School in Connecticut.
The First Team featured 10 wrestlers who won national scholastic-style titles this year, by claiming gold medals at the 2005 USGWA National Championships in Michigan. The USGWA National champions on the First Team were Rix, Simmons, Umemoto, Pringle, Padilla, Nicole Darrow of Mt. Greylock High School in Massachusetts, Juanita Russell of Galway Central High School in New York, Vanessa Oswalt of Mount Vernon High School in Ohio, Joey Miller of Woodward High School in Oklahoma and Sarah Peasley, a homeschooled student from Escanaba, Michigan
Nine of the First Team members won USA Wrestling age-group national titles over the last year: Rix, Chase, Cataline, Simmons, Umemoto, Darrow, Russell, Padilla and Michaela Hutchison of Skyview High School in Alaska.
First Team members Rix and Hutchison made national news by placing second in their state high school wrestling championships competing against boys. Miller placed fourth in her state high school championship wrestling against boys.
In addition to the four athletes who make the First Team for the third time, four girls also made the First Team for the second straight year: Shaw, Darrow, Russell and Oswalt.
The First Team featured six seniors, five juniors and three freshmen. In total, 13 states were represented on the First Team.
The Second Team was also star-studded, led by USGWA National Champions Elena Priozhkov of Greenfield High School in Massachusetts, Nicole Woody of Arundel High School in Maryland, Amnorina Porter of Standish-Sterling High School in Michigan and Jessica Jauck of Ramona High School in California. USA Wrestling age-group national champions on the Second Team include Woody, Alyssa Lampe of Tomahawk High School in Wisconsin and Rachael Holthaus of Little Falls High School in Minnesota.
The Third Team featured three athletes from the state of California: Sheila McCabe of Valhalla High School, Katherine Fulp-Allen of Half Moon Bay High School and Carla O’Connell of Redondo Beach High School.
As the National Federation of State High Schools has yet to determine specific weight classes for girls wrestling, the athletes were selected based solely on achievement and ability. The top 14 athletes were named to the First Team, the second 14 athletes were named to the Second Team and the third 14 athletes were selected to the Third Team. Thirty athletes were named as Honorable Mention. An effort was made to make a reasonable spread of weights on each team. If the National Federation sets specific girls weight classes in the future, the selection committee will consider using those weight classes for the selection criteria at that time.
For the TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team, athletes were identified in three weight ranges: Light (100-121 pounds); Middle (122-140 pounds); Upper (141 pounds and above).
In total, 72 wrestlers were selected to TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team. California led all states with 10 selections, followed by Michigan with seven, Washington with six and Hawaii and Texas with five.
A total of 26 states were represented on the All-American Team. The team included 35 seniors, 21 juniors, eight sophomores and eight freshmen.
Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports among youth sports for women. Women’s wrestling was the only new sport at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Ga. There are an estimated 5,500 girls competing on the high school level in the United States today, and the number has grown each year for the last dozen years. A number of colleges have begun to add women’s wrestling on the varsity and club level across the nation.
TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team will be prominently featured on TheMat.com web page, as well as in a new poster, developed by ASICS and USA Wrestling.
2005 TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team
First Team (alphabetically)
Jackie Cataline, junior, Corona, Calif., Norco High School, middle
Caitlyn Chase, junior, Naperville, Illinois, Glenbard North High School, light*
Nicole Darrow, junior, Williamstown, Mass., Mt. Greylock High School, light*
Michaela Hutchison, freshman, Soldotna, Alaska, Skyview High School, light
Joey Miller, freshman, Woodward, Okla., Woodward High School, light
Vanessa Oswalt, senior, Mount Vernon, Ohio, Mt. Vernon High School, upper*
Tatiana Padilla, freshman, LaVerne, Calif., Northview High School, light
Sarah Peasley, junior, Escanaba, Mich., Homeschooled, middle*
Chelynne Pringle, senior, Hugo, Minn., Forest Lake High School, middle*
Deanna Rix, senior, South Berwick, Maine, Marshfield High School, light*
Juanita Russell, senior, Galway, N.Y., Galway Central High School, upper*
Stefenie Shaw, senior, Waterford, Conn., Waterford High School, upper*
Melissa Simmons, junior, Ridgefield, Wash., Ridgefield High School, upper*
Na’Tasha Umemoto, senior, Portland, Ore., David Douglas High School, middle*
Second Team
Leilani Akiyama, senior, Belleview, Wash., Newport High School, middle*
LeAnn Barney, junior, Round Rock, Texas, Sidney Lanier High School, light
Whitney Conder, junior, Payallup, Wash., Payallup High School, light*
Toni Copeland, junior, McDonough, N.Y., Oxford Academy High School, upper*
Rachel Holthaus, senior, Little Falls, Minn., Little Falls High School, light*
Jessica Jauck, senior, Ramona, Calif., Ramona High School, middle*
Alyssa Lampe, junior, Tomahawk, Wis., Tomahawk High School, light*
Dallas Monreal-Berner, junior, Niles, Ill., Niles West High School, upper*
Amberle Montgomery, senior, Maple Valley, Wash., Steilacoom High School, middle*
Joleen Oshiro, senior, Ewa Beach, Hawaii, Iolani High School, light*
Elena Pirozhkov, senior, Greenfield, Mass., Greenfield High School, upper*
Amnorina Porter, senior, Sterling, Mich., Standish-Sterling High School, light*
Cheyenne Stokes, sophomore, Tulsa, Okla., East Central High School, middle*
Nicole Woody, sophomore, Odenton, Md., Arundel High School, light
Third Team
Katey Beatty, junior, Columbus, Ohio, West High School, light
Jessica Deardorff, sophomore, Mundelein, Ill., Mundelein High School, upper
Katherine Fulp-Allen, junior, El Grenada, Calif., Half Moon Bay High School, light*
Firen Gassman, freshman, Reston, Va., Herndon High School, light
Samantha Gorman, sophomore, Allendale, Mich., Allendale High School, middle*
Sheila McCabe, junior, El Cajon, Cali.f., Valhalla High School, upper
Carla O’Connell, senior, Redondo Beach, Calif., Redondo Beach High School, light
Laine Orabona, senior, New Bern, N.C., Havelock High School, middle*
Kelli Rasmussen, junior, Winnebago, Minn., Blue Earth High School, light*
Hannah Skinner, senior, Amarillo, Texas, Amarillo High School, middle
Tara Takahashi, sophomore, Aiea, Hawaii, Punahu High School, middle
Tara Williams, senior, Kingston, Wash., North Kitsap High School, middle
Warry Woodard, senior, Smithfield, Va., Smithfield High School, light
Cammy Yeik, freshman, Bremerton, Wash., Fairview Jr High School, light
Note: Lightweights (100-121 lbs.); Middleweights (122-140); Upperweights (141 and above)
* - Member of 2004 TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Team
Honorable mention
Chelsea Arnhold, senior, Marion, Kan., Marion High School, middle
Madison Bangert, senior, Midland, Mich., H.H. Dow High School, light*
Amanda Breezley, junior, Goshen, Mich., Blanchester High School, light*
Krisha Childres, senior, Goddard, Kan., Goddard High School, middle*
Amanda Chittenden, senior, Greenville, Mich., Greenville High School, upper*
Erin Clodgo, freshman, Richmond, Vermont, Richmond High School, middle
Misty Corwin, freshman, Waldport, Ore., Waldport High School, light
Christine Cunningham, sophomore, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., Torrey Pines High School, middle
Shamaine Danner, junior, Richmond, Mo., Richmond High School, middle
Angel Diaz, junior, Amarillo, Texas, Tascosa High School, light
Amberle Ebert, junior, Reedsville, Wis., Reedsville High School, upper
Ashlee Evans-Smith, senior, Ukiah, Calif., Ukiah High School, upper*
Samantha Fee, junior, Blairstown, N.J., North Warren High School, middle
Jessica Glover, senior, Kissimmee, Fla., Osceola High School, upper*
Bethany Harris, senior, Valley Center, Pa., Valley Center High School, middle
Amy Havens, junior, Paradise, Calif., Paradise High School, upper
Beth Johnson, freshman, Garden City, Kan., Garden City High School, light
Delilah Joung, senior, Waipahu, Hawaii, Waipahu High School, upper
Crystal Molinar, senior, Grand Prairie,Texas, South Grand Prairie High School, light*
Lacey Novinska, senior, Fennimore, Wis., Fennimore High School, upper
Victoria Prete, senior, Carlisle, Mass., Concord High School, upper
Lauren Primiano, senior, Wahaiwa, Hawaii, Punahou High School, middle*
Shannon Reeves, senior, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, Cuyahoga Falls High School, light*
Paige Rife, senior, Fowlerville, Mich., Fowlerville High School, middle*
Jere Summers, senior, Oakland, Calif., Berkeley High School, upper
Rachel Tiedeman, junior, Rio, Wis., Columbus High School, middle
Vanity Vazquez, senior, Kissimmee, Fla., Osceola High School, light
Carla Watase, sophomore, Honolulu, Hawaii, Iolani High School, light
Brittany Woodall, sophomore, Buckhannon, W.Va., Buckhannon High School, light*
Tressa Yokum, senior, El Paso, Texas, Eastwood High School, upper*
Note: Lightweights (100-121 lbs.); Middleweights (122-140); Upperweights (141 and above)
* - Member of 2004 TheMat.com/ASICS Girls High School All-American Team
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Photo omission wrestles up dispute at Central Coast high school
By: Andrew Masuda 6/9/05
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Controversy surfaces at Nipomo High School, as the first female wrestler in the school's history is left out of the yearbook.
Sarah Lee made school history this year by joining the school's junior varsity wrestling team. Her mother, Nita Baker, says Lee even placed third in a Santa Barbara meet.
"Sarah belongs in this yearbook," says Baker. "She had a right to be in there and I feel an injustice has been served."
The 2005 yearbook features Lee with the high school band, but there's no sign of her on the junior varsity wrestling team's spread. Although Lee was absent on the day the team picture was taken, her mother was assured in February that her daughter's accomplishments would be recognized.
"It is discrimination, clear cut discrimination," says Baker. "I believe that. I don't believe it was an error because if it was an error, it would have been corrected in February. I believe it was a disobedient principal who just didn't like a student."
Nipomo High School's principal declined to comment, however Lucia Mar Unified School District Supervisor Dr. Linda Flores insists Lee's omission was unintentional, and was in no way personal.
"An honest mistake was made, no one's fault," says Dr. Flores. "I certainly wouldn't blame anyone along the line, it just happened, unfortunately."
Administrators are trying to remedy the error by distributing a supplement to all students that include a photo of Lee and an acknowledgment of her accomplishments. Three amended yearbooks will also be printed at the school's expense, and Nipomo High School's principal must also write Lee a letter of apology.
"Sarah deserves to be recognized for her efforts," says Dr. Flores.
Although Lee no longer attends Nipomo High School, her historic feat will now be documented in school history.
"I hope this sets the way for other females to try this and succeed," says Baker.
Nita Baker says her daughter intends on continuing her wrestling career, and that Sarah plans on trying out for the wrestling team at her new school next year.
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HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETICS
Neighbor islands keep some state championships
A proposal to move state tournaments to Oahu doesn’t
live to see the HHSAA executive board
By Paul Honda 6/10/05
phonda@starbulletin.com
LIHUE » The neighbor islands are still in the rotation.
A proposal to move all state championship tournaments to Oahu failed to get out of committee last night at the 44th annual Hawaii Interscholastic Athletic Directors Association conference at the Kauai Marriott Resort.
Had the proposal passed, another vote would have been required tomorrow to advance the plan to the Hawaii High School Athletic Association's executive board. Only then would neighbor island leagues be without the chance to host, as they do once every three years.
Kohala athletic director Laurie Koustic, chairman of the committee that handled the issue, was stoic.
"The proposal was unclear," said Koustic, who said the group asked HHSAA executive director Keith Amemiya to enter the discussion.
On the proposal, the HHSAA indicated a willingness to help subsidize travel costs if tournaments were moved back to Oahu, Hawaii Prep athletic director Steve Perry said.
"Keith gave us more clarity," Koustic said. "The general consensus, from what I gathered, is that if the neighbor islands are willing to host, they should be allowed to."
With the flooring of the proposal, the possibility of more state tournaments being hosted away from Oahu remains alive. The Big Island Interscholastic Federation, buoyed by new facilities at Kamehameha-Hawaii, submitted a proposal to host state championships in soccer, paddling, water polo, and track and field. The results of that committee discussion were not available last night.
Discussion of new Division II state tournaments continued, but there was no proposal to vote on, Amemiya noted. That means there will be no D-II state tournament in volleyball, for example, this fall.
Questions about classification remain unanswered. One of them came from Hana assistant athletic director Manuel Oliveira, who is also the Dragons' boys volleyball coach.
Oliveira saw his boys reach the state tournament for the first time in two decades, eventually reaching the semifinal round. Had there been a Division II tourney, the Dragons would've had a good chance to win a state title.
"I don't know. Maybe, but we'll never know," he said.
Oliveira wants to support the possibility of a Division II state tourney, but not if private schools are included.
"They give scholarships, or the equivalent of scholarships, through financial aid," he said. "Since that's the case, they should stay only in Division I."
Richard Young, who chaired a committee at last year's HIADA conference that wrote language for wrestling items, voiced concern. After that committee sent its proposal to the HHSAA executive board, an additional sentence was added to the introduction.
That one sentence changed the tenor of the state wrestling championships, Young said. It read: "A league slot that opens up shall be filled by a slot of that league."
Young is Hana's athletic director and wrestling coordinator of the Maui Interscholastic League.
The added language allowed the host island, Oahu, to enter alternates that weren't permitted by the original proposal. The added sentence was part of a proposal submitted by the Interscholastic League of Honolulu last night. The committee voted it down.
The same committee tabled a proposal that would allow a school to enter two wrestlers in the same division at the state championships. Young, who favors allowing more participation, noted that the judo state tourney allows this.
A proposal to adjust the girls state tourney weight classes made it out of committee and will await final vote tomorrow. In the most recent state tourney, no girls showed up to wrestle in the 81-pound class. The new divisions, if passed, are as follows: 98, 103, 109, 115, 122, 129, 139, 154, 172 and 220.
Studying the impact: Two workshops were presented, one of which focused on concussion injuries. Hawaii high school trainers are well-versed in treatment of the injury, but the workshop presented by Jerry Hughes and Michael Collins opened some eyes.
Hughes is executive director of the Nevada Interscholastic Athletic Association, where the program is already in place. Collins represented ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing), an injury-treatment program based in Pittsburgh.
"There's a procedure we follow, but we don't do the extra cognitive test that they've started doing," Kahuku trainer Alex Gasmen said.
An online bio about Collins, who is a member of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, states: (ImPACT's) computerized neuropsychological testing system evaluates the severity of concussion in athletes and provides a more accurate determination of when an athlete can safely return to sports following a concussion.
The California Interscholastic Federation is taking a long look at installing this new procedure.
Cougars roar back: He may have a lion's name, but it is Leo Abelera's gentle leadership that has Keaau's football program purring.
Abelera, a teacher at Keaau, recently was named new head coach. His hiring turned a 30-player varsity team into 80 strong during spring workouts.
"The kids are responding to him," athletic director Iris McGuire said. "And he'll be on top of it, both on the field and in the classroom."
Abelera replaced two-year head coach Keliko Iopa, who inherited a program that had its struggles. When Iopa started in 2003, the Cougars had no athletic trainer or even an AD. Iopa almost immediately cut a dozen players from the team for disciplinary reasons.
Iopa's hard-line stance straightened out some problems, but Keaau's new administration decided that the time was right for a faculty member to take over.
Lady Raiders have a new coach: Anue Santiago, a three-year assistant, is the new softball head coach at Kahuku.
Santiago replaced Bu Heffernan.
"She brings a lot of experience and support from the community," Kahuku athletic director Joe Whitford said.
Heffernan, last season's Oahu Interscholastic Association East Coach of the Year, was embroiled in controversy after being accused of providing liquor to players at an off-campus gathering. He denied the accusations, but lost his position as head coach.
Heffernan will remain on staff as a volunteer coach.
Big Island Warriors cautious: The Kamehameha-Hawaii girls basketball team will host a preseason tournament next year, but there's a big 'if.'
Athletic director Bob Wagner said that the program will not have a tournament if its date coincides with any other Big Island tournament. Currently, there are tournaments at Honokaa, Waiakea and Hilo. Konawaena, which won the state crown in 2004 and placed second this season, plans to start a tourney.
"We want to be a good citizen," Wagner said, adding the factor of intra-league overkill. "If there are that many tournaments next year, it wouldn't make sense. We would see other (BIIF) teams too much in preseason, then during the season and in the playoffs."
If Kamehameha-Hawaii does host a tourney, it could become the first to use a shot clock.