Courtesy of Ray Takahashi, UWO Athletics
A TOUGH MCNUTT TO CRACK, INDEED. Western’s wrestling star Terri McNutt (right)exhibits excellence on the mat, and also shows an affinity for cracking the books.
News Page
Competition expected to be fierce at NWCA National Duals in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Jan. 15-16
Jason Bryant NWCA
01/03/2006
Manheim, Pa. – Wrestling fans can expect the best competition in the nation to take the 16 mats at the 2006 NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals presented by PayDay PROTM.
Amongst the 80 college teams competing in the seven divisions of collegiate wrestling on January 15-16 at the University of Northern Iowa’s UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa, will be the nation’s top-ranked Division I team, Oklahoma State.
Pairings for the annual event will be released on Tuesday, Jan. 10.
The Cowboys have won the past three NCAA Division I team titles and return four NCAA individual national champions. In its history, Oklahoma State has won 33 national championships and is the defending champion of the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals.
“We feel that this is going to be one of the best wrestling tournaments ever held in the United States,” said NWCA Executive Director Mike Moyer. “You have representation from every level of collegiate wrestling, varsity and club, men and women all under one roof. This will be a fantastic event for the fans.
Last season, the Cowboys beat Illinois to claim the team championship.
Illinois and coach Mark Johnson return to the National Duals, as do Minnesota, Oklahoma, Michigan, Central Michigan and Hofstra.
The 2006 Division I field will see fresh faces from some familiar programs. Coming back to the National Duals will be: Cornell, Iowa, Iowa State, Kent State, Northwestern, Missouri, Northern Illinois, Arizona State, Nebraska and host Northern Iowa.
“Having all three Iowa Division I programs in the field will really make it exciting for the fans,” Moyer said. “There are few places where the passion about collegiate wrestling is rivaled than the state of Iowa.”
Top-ranked Nebraska-Omaha will attempt to defend its 2005 National Duals title. The Mavericks also boast one of the nation’s top heavyweights, in three-time NCAA Division II Champion Les Sigman.
Traditional Division II powers from all around the nation will make the D-II tournament one of the most competitive of all the seven divisions competing.
Minnesota State, Mankato, Pitt-Johnstown, Nebraska-Kearney, and Central Oklahoma are ranked behind Nebraska-Omaha in the latest NWCA Division II wrestling rankings and all are competing during the weekend. Upper Iowa is also in the field for the first-time as a member of Division II.
Also joining the top five are: Ashland (Ohio), UNC Pembroke, Augustana (S.D.), Gannon (Pa.), Findlay (Ohio), Mercyhurst (Pa.), Shippensburg (Pa.), Central Missouri State, Fort Hays State (Kansas), and Minnesota State, Moorhead.
Wartburg (Iowa) and Augsburg (Minn.) have been atop the Division III rankings for seemingly the past decade, but the Division III field at the National Duals will likely challenge Division III’s top teams. Augsburg beat Wartburg in last year’s Division III National Duals finals.
Joining Wartburg and Augsburg are: Delaware Valley (Pa.), Ohio Northern, John Carroll (Ohio), Wisconsin-La Crosse, Luther (Iowa), Augustana (Ill.), Simpson (Iowa), McDaniel (Md.), Coe (Iowa), St. John’s (Minn.), Wilmington (Ohio), Buena Vista (Iowa), Wisconsin-Steven’s Point, and Cornell College (Iowa).
The NAIA field has expanded to 16-teams and the ever-growing division that’s comprised of many small, private colleges, heads away from the quad-meet format to a full, 16-team bracket.
Top-ranked Lindenwood (Mo.) will be targeted by 16 of the top NAIA programs.
Joining Lindenwood in the field are: Bacone (Okla.) College, University of Cumberlands (Ky.), Missouri Valley College, Campbellsville University (Ky.), Cumberland University (Tenn.), Dakota Wesleyan College, Dana (Neb.) College, Dickinson (S.D.) College, Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) Aeronautical, Jamestown (N.D.) College, McKendree (Ill.) College, King College (Tenn.), Southern Oregon University, Montana State-Northern, William Penn (Iowa).
The Junior College tournament also expands from four to eight teams with the following schools wrestling in a bracketed format for the first time: Colby Community College, Ellsworth Community College, Itasca Community College, Labetter Community College, Lincoln College, Ridgewater College, Northwest College and William Rainey Harper College.
Women’s collegiate freestyle teams make their second appearance with the collegiate programs at Missouri Valley, the University of the Cumberlands and the University of Northern Michigan’s U.S. Olympic Education Center coming back for a second-time.
The National Collegiate Wrestling Association is also putting teams on the mat for the first time. The association which governs the national tournaments for unassociated college programs and wrestling club teams will see New Hampshire, Grand Valley State and Central Florida compete at the UNI-Dome.
“The addition of the NCWA teams to the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals shows that the sport of wrestling is growing with interest,” Moyer said. “These are athletes that want to wrestle because they love to wrestle.”
TICKET PRICES AND SCHEDULE
UNI-Dome, University of Northern Iowa
All Sessions Pass $25
All Sessions Senior/Student* $17
All Session Group Tickets(8+)** $17
Individual Session $12
Individual Session Senior/Student* $8
Individual Session Group Tickets(8+)** $8
Session I
9 AM - 3PM Saturday
Session II
3 PM - 11PM Saturday
Session III
9 AM - 5 PM Sunday
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2006 Women’s Freestyle U.S. National Championships Event Procedures
USA Wrestling
01/06/2006
All athletes must register online at www.lvsports.org by the registration deadline on Tuesday, April 11th at 9:00 am (Pacific Standard Time)
The National Championships will be a line bracket, double-elimination tournament; wrestle back to 7th place --- all weight classes completed in one day. Competition will take place on Saturday, April 15th. All athletes will weigh in on Friday, April 14th from 3:00 pm to 3:30 pm.
The seeding committee, as established by the Federation of Clubs, will seed four (4) individuals in each weight category. The seeding will take place after the close of registration on Tuesday, April 11th with seeds posted at www.themat.com and www.lvsports.org at 9:00 pm (Pacific Standard Time).
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USA Wrestling changes competition format at U.S. Nationals and World Team Trials
Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
01/06/2006
USA Wrestling has announced a series of changes in the format for its two major Senior-level events held each year, the U.S. National Championships and the U.S. World Team Trials. These changes will begin in 2006 and will also be in effect for the 2007 season.
These format revisions are designed to provide the U.S. athletes with a system that more closely resembles the way that international wrestling competitions are conducted under the new rules of the sport. Ultimately, the changes are intended to prepare U.S. athletes for success in major international competitions including the World Championships and Olympic Games.
The changes affect all three styles of the sport, men’s freestyle, men’s Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle wrestling. The leaders within each style have made some changes that are specific to that style, based upon the needs and realities of each discipline within the United States.
These format changes were made by the Sports Committee of each style, then approved by the USA Wrestlng Executive Committee.
FILA, the international wrestling federation, changed the format of international wrestling tournaments to a one-day event for each weight class. This reality is a major part of the consideration for the change in the U.S. competition formats.
U.S. National Championship format changes
In the past, the U.S. National Championships was an open tournament for U.S. citizens held over two days, with preliminary action on the first day, with the tournament completed through medal matches on the second day. In 2005, USA Wrestling switched the format to a one-day event for each weight class. Half of the weight classes were held on the first day, with the other weight classes held on the second day.
Starting in 2006, the U.S. National Championships for men’s freestyle and men’s Greco-Roman will be a one-day tournament, with a separate qualification tournament held on the previous day. Eight wrestlers in each division will advance directly into the U.S. National Championships on the final day. In addition, eight more athletes who qualify for the U.S. Nationals competition through a preliminary tournament held the day before will also be entered, completing a 16-athlete bracket for the championships.
In effect, the first day at the U.S. Nationals will be a qualifying event for all of the competitors except for eight who have already qualified. Eight more athletes in each weight class will advance to the final day and enter the U.S. National Championships to complete the bracket. The qualifying tournament will be held through the semifinals of the championship and consolation brackets, with those athletes then advancing to the next day.
The U.S. Nationals will be a double-elimination bracket, with consolation wrestlebacks to seventh place. The pairings of the first round of the U.S. Nationals will be determined randomly, as the qualifiers will be drawn in against the eight who had received a bye.
The seeds in the men’s divisions will be determined on a conference call upon the close of registration on the Tuesday prior to the U.S. Nationals. The members of the separation and seeding committee will be determined by the Federation of Clubs.
For the 2006 U.S. Nationals for men, there are seeding criteria which will be followed. All current U.S. National Team members (who were in the top three at the previous World Team Trials) will automatically be among the eight seeds if they enter the same weight class. In addition, the top U.S. finisher within the top four at the Dave Schultz Memorial International will be automatically among the eight seeds if he is not already among the seeds. The seeding committee will then determine the remaining athletes who will be seeded, until each weight class has eight seeds.
There will be a slightly different seeding criteria used for the 2007 and 2008 U.S. National Championships for men.
The U.S. National Championships in women’s freestyle will be a one-day tournament. There will not be a preliminary qualifying event in women’s wrestling. The athletes will all weigh-in on the Friday night prior to the tournament, and all entries will compete on Saturday. A seeding committee determined by the Federation of Clubs will seed four athletes in each weight class at the close of registration.
Click here for 2006 Women’s Freestyle U.S. National Championships Event Procedures
World Team Trials format changes
In all three styles, this will be a one-day competition, featuring athletes who have qualified to compete through specific approved qualifying standards. Athletes will be separated by a seeding committee with placement from the U.S. National Championships a top priority. All three styles will conduct a double-elimination bracket, with consolation wrestlebacks to third place.
The finals of the World Team Trials will be a best-of-three competition held during the same day.
In men’s freestyle and men’s Greco-Roman, there may be athletes who qualify to advance directly to the best-of-three finals based upon specific achievements. If no athlete in a weight class meets these standards, then all athletes will be placed in the World Team Trials competition bracket. These exceptions are:
• Men’s freestyle - Current year World medalists that win the National Championship will earn a bye out of the World Team Trials tournament and will face the winner of the tournament in a best of three competition the same day
• Men’s Greco-Roman - Current year World Team member that competed for the Bronze medal or higher that win the current year National Championship will earn a bye out of the World Team Trials tournament and will face the winner of the tournament in a best of three competition the same day.
In women’s freestyle wrestling, the current U.S. Nationals champion in each division will advance directly to the best-of-three finals to face the winner of the World Team Trials tournament during the same day as the World Team Trials Tournament.
The format changes have been approved for the 2006 and 2007 World Team Trials. The format for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials is still being developed, and has not yet been forwarded for approval to the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Athletes competing in each style are recommended to review and understand the specific U.S. Nationals and World Team Trials formats for their specific style.
Specific Event Procedures documents for the World Team Trials will be posted soon.
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Terri McNutt: a vital cog in ’Stangs wrestling
McNutt exemplary figure on the mat and in the classroom
By Jesse Silvertown 12/28/05
and David Steinhauer Gazette Writers
|
Courtesy of Ray Takahashi, UWO Athletics A TOUGH MCNUTT TO CRACK, INDEED. Western’s wrestling star Terri McNutt (right)exhibits excellence on the mat, and also shows an affinity for cracking the books.
|
Although probably not the most well-known athlete on campus, Western’s most successful student athlete may very well be wrestler Terri McNutt.
Already a three-time defending Ontario University Athletics champion and co-captain of the sixth-ranked Mustangs, McNutt has received considerable national attention. But what is most impressive about the fifth-year graduate student is the balance she has maintained between wrestling and academics.
“Both are equally important to me,” says McNutt, who started wrestling in Grade 9. Back then, Terri had no idea where her wrestling career would take her. But when it came time to choose a university, wrestling was the deciding factor.
So far, under the tutelage of coach Ray Takahashi, McNutt’s wrestling career has blossomed. Winning the OUA championship three times and attending a Team Canada Olympic training camp are testament to her skill.
In addition to her personal achievements, McNutt has been a valuable teammate. As a co-captain for the past three seasons, Terri understands her responsibility as a role model to younger wrestlers.
“She has really great leadership qualities,” says first-year standout Kirby Steinhoff. “She really supports the younger wrestlers.”
One way Terri leads by example is through her tremendous work ethic, a leadership skill she has developed from being a captain.
Coach Takahashi acknowledges Terri’s impact on the team.
“I’d like to think that a big part of captaincy is the display of certain behaviours and actions,” Takahashi says. “There’s no doubt Terri’s a performer and a competitor. She’s one of the best we’ve ever had. She’ll always be at practice and if she isn’t, it’s because of school.
“I believe the team knows her commitment to wrestling and she leads by example.”
But it hasn’t been all roses on the wrestling mat for McNutt and the Mustangs. The University of Brock Badgers have carved a dynasty — successfully defending their OUA women’s league championship eight years in a row.
Currently, the Canadian women’s wrestling rankings have Brock at number three and Western ranked sixth. Terri, however, tries to ignore polls and rankings.
“I just focus on my wrestling,” McNutt says.
Despite the large amount of attention she gives wrestling, she doesn’t neglect academics.
“She’s been a model student-athlete,” Takahashi says.
In fact, Terri often puts school ahead of wrestling, which is surprising considering how much success she’s enjoyed on the mat.
Earlier this year, McNutt was forced to miss the Toronto Open wrestling tournament to catch up on school work. Fortunately, coach Takahashi is very understanding,
Occasionally. the five-time OUA Coach of the Year practices individually with McNutt because team practices often conflict with her school schedule.
“It’s good because we’re the same size,” jokes McNutt.
Her future is promising. She was recently invited to a wrestling training camp in San Diego, and will attend this January. Various countries, including the world-renowned Japanese female wrestling squad, will be represented.
“I hope to get noticed internationally [in this tournament],” McNutt said.
McNutt’s goal is to one day represent Canada in the Olympics, and although the future is uncertain, she is confident her years at Western have prepared her for what lies ahead.
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Ahwatukee women's wrestling pioneer to Hall of Fame
Mark Armijo
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 7, 2006 12:00 AM
Remember Dan Gable?
Won a gold medal at the 1972 Olympics. Coached Iowa to nine straight NCAA titles. Was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Well, he' s got company.
And it's a girl.
Tricia Saunders, a four-time world champion, will become in June the first female wrestler inducted into the Oklahoma-based Hall of Fame.
Fifteen years ago, who would have believed it? Not Saunders.
"Never ever did I think it would happen," said Saunders, who lives in Ahwatukee Foothills with her husband, Townsend, a 1996 Olympic silver medalist, and their three children. "It really does blow me away. I worked hard to try and improve women's wrestling over the years, and I feel good about a lot of the things that have changed.
"But when (Sunkist Kids Wrestling Club founder) Art Martori told me six months ago that he was going to nominate me, I didn't really think it was going to happen. I knew there was a long waiting list with a lot of people on it that I admire tremendously. I thought it maybe could come eventually, just not this soon."
Saunders, 39, was elected on the first ballot.
"There are 140 in the Hall of Fame and they are the legends of the sport," said Lee Roy Smith, a 1983 silver medalist at the world championships and executive director of the Hall of Fame. "Going in on the first ballot is a testimony to the respect Tricia has in the wresting community because a majority of our honorees do not get inducted on the first ballot.
"If there is a pioneer in women's wrestling in this country, it is her. She was the real deal on the mat. Anyone who watched her compete witnessed a caliber of wrestling that was actually difficult to distinguish from watching the men compete. But she also was a pioneer advocate for the inclusion of women's wrestling at the national, world and Olympic levels."
Saunders in 1992 became the first woman to win a world title and is the only female to win more than two world championships. She won a record 11 national titles and was named the outstanding wrestler at the 1992 world championships.
In her career, which ended in 2001, Saunders never lost to another U.S. wrestler.
But Saunders was almost as productive off the mat, where she lobbied hard for the development of women's wrestling, serving in several leadership positions within USA Wrestling and pushing for more women's opportunities within the sport.
"She really fought tooth and nail to get all the things that the men take for granted," Townsend said. "I remember when she won a national title she still had to pay her own way to the world championships. She laid the groundwork for a lot of athletes that are competing now to have the benefits women used to didn't have."
One of the benefits evolved into a bigger platform for the women's national championships.
"I remember when it was held in a high school while the men wrestled at a more prestigious venue," said Saunders, a physician's assistant at Ahwatukee Sports & Spine. "I tried to change some of those things. At the time, I know a lot of people looked at me as somebody with a political mission, but I was somebody who actually just loved the sport. Something had to be done and nobody else was doing it."
Saunders followed in the footsteps of her father and grandfather, who both wrestled at the University of Michigan. A brother, Andy, wrestled at Arizona State University, which is where Tricia met Townsend, also an ASU wrestler.
"She wrestled only against boys back in grade school and she probably had 250 matches and only lost 10 or 15," said Jim McNaughton, Tricia's father. "She won five state titles."
When Saunders stopped wrestling, she became a successful coach for Sunkist and the U.S. women's team.
"I think it's long overdue for a woman to be inducted in to the Hall of Fame," said Chandler Unified School District Athletic Director John Carlson, who two months ago was inducted into the Arizona Chapter of the national Hall of Fame. "Tricia deserves every bit of recognition she gets."
Desert Ridge sophomore Lyndsey Galetti, a varsity wrestler at 103 pounds, was surprised to hear a female was being inducted into the Hall of Fame.
"I've heard of her (Saunders), but I don't know a lot about her career," said Galetti, who is 3-10 and the only female on the Desert Ridge roster. "But I think getting into the (Hall of Fame) is going to show that girls can make it just as far as the boys can."
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Wrestling like a girl is actually a compliment
By John Ryan, Record Searchlight
January 7, 2006
ANDERSON — Go ahead, make a remark to Kelley Urionaguena about wrestling like a girl — she may roll your wagon to the center of the mat and fix it.
Urionaguena, a Lassen High School junior, was one of nine female wrestlers at Friday’s Nor-Cal Wrestling Championships at Anderson. The girls went X-X for the first day of the tournament.
She represents the growing number of females who have donned headgear and singlets in order to throw down with the boys. She’s also one of the three female grapplers on the Grizzlies’ roster this year.
Maybe there’s something in the water in Susanville.
"Our coach, she’s a wrestler," Lassen’s Sonya Lucatero said of her role model. "She wrestles at the college."
"It’s big, it’s gotten really big," said Ashley Nethercroft, Lassen’s 20-year-old assistant coach. "In 2004, women’s wrestling became an Olympic sport. Since then it’s been getting noticed more and gets a little more popular each season."
Nethercroft is a Sacramento transplant on the Lassen College team. She said she took third at the girls state championships her senior year, and now works to help develop the future of girls wrestling.
"I think it’s really important here to start something with these girls," Nethercroft said. "We need to make girls see that there’s a place in this sport for them, too."
Although that ideal’s a ways off.
The biggest roadblocks to girls wrestling so far are numbers — there aren’t enough girls wrestlers to ensure all-female divisions, and both boys and girls alike are uncomfortable at times with having to wrestle across genders.
"It’s a lose-lose situation if you’re a boy," said Orland coach Bob Rinehart, whose daughter Emily has a $12,000 per-year wrestling scholarship for Missouri Valley. "If a boy wrestles a girl and wins, he ‘only beat a girl.’ If he wrestles and loses he ‘lost to a girl.’ "
Rinehart, who estimates his daughter probably won more matches with boys than she lost, said it also keeps interested girls from coming out, because they don’t want to wrestle the boys.
"But right now the only way for girls to improve is to compete with the boys," Rinehart said. "And with Title IX cutting men’s programs, girls wrestling is actually saving some college wrestling teams."
Although women’s wrestling may have cost former Shasta great Mike Burch his coaching job at UC Davis. Burch, who now coaches at Brown University, has said the Davis athletic department told him to leave two of his female wrestlers off the roster, although he allowed them to continue to work out and practice with the team.
The Aggies didn’t renew Burch’s contract in 2001 after he turned around a program that didn’t win a dual meet for three seasons. He’s said it was an act of retaliation on the university’s part for supporting the female wrestlers.
"I know there’s a litigation process ongoing, and that’s really all I can comment about it," said Shasta coach Darren Stevens, one of Burch’s close friends.
Stevens said he’s had a handful of girls wrestle for him in the past.
"I don’t treat them any different," Stevens said. "Wrestling is the hardest sport there is, and anybody who disagrees with that doesn’t know what they’re talking about. So, anyone who wants to go through all that is pretty tough. If a girl wants to wrestle, that’s one tough girl."
Kimberly Rottenberg, Red Bluff head coach Dave Rottenberg’s daughter, was a four time state freestyle finalist.
"It’s definitely something that’s grown," the coach said. "It’s grown at the national level and the state level. But the future of the sport is not going to be girls wrestling guys, it’s going to be girls against girls.
"It’s just that, right now, that’s their only option."
Which for Urionaguena and Lucatero is just fine, they don’t discriminate when it comes to wagons.
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It's all in the family for this female grappler
Jordan wrestler refuses to back down from a match, whether it's on the mat or in her own home
Stanley B. Chambers Jr., Staff Writer 1/7/06
ABOVE: Jordan High freshman Erica Lyons spars with teammate Jack Coman during wrestling practice. Lyons began wrestling while attending Githens Middle School. |
Erica Lyons didn't take herself seriously at first. Neither did her teammates. Her mother definitely didn't like the idea.
Erica and three of her friends were interested in wrestling while attending Githens Middle School. Only she and another girl tried out for the team. Erica ended up competing in 12 matches.
Now a freshman at Jordan High School, it only made sense for Erica to continue wrestling.
Her older brother does it. So did her father. Even her two younger brothers picked up the sport. She currently wrestles for Jordan in the 103-pound weight class.
"I heard about her pinning other boys at [middle school] wrestling matches," said older brother Eric, who also wrestles for Jordan. "I saw one of her matches; it was exciting to see such a good performance. So I've supported her since."
Female wrestlers are not such a rarity in the state. About 25 girls participate on high school wrestling teams across the state each year, said Rick Strunk, associate executive director for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.
"She's probably the hardest worker on the team," Davanzo said. "I don't know if that's because she has something to prove or that she's a hard worker."
For Erica, it's both.
"Especially being a girl on the team, people expect less out of me," she said. "They think that I won't do too well. When people find out that there's a girl on the team, there's a lot of talk of coming to the matches to see me wrestle. I feel like I have to do well."
Her male teammates don't seem to mind a girl being on an squad.
"It's awkward at first but once you get used to it, it doesn't really matter," said senior Jack Coman, who wrestles in the same weight class as Erica.
So far, she has posted an 0-2 record. She was pinned in the second period in her first high school match against Southern High School. Against Chapel Hill on Wednesday, Erica was pinned in the third period.
Her inspiration stems from her younger brother, Quinton, who became excited about the sport after watching some practices with her. Erica also heard about a girl who once wrestled for Githens and thought she could be better than her female predecessor.
But doing so wasn't as easy as it seemed. She discovered that the sport is just as much mental as it is physical. There was also some self-imposed pressure. But some of that burden went away after she won her first match -- against a boy.
"I felt really good and proud of myself," she said. "That made me want to continue practicing and working harder."
Kimberly Lyons was afraid her oldest daughter and second-oldest child would turn into a tomboy. Or that boys would improperly touch her during matches. She suggested that Erica take up dance or cheerleading, instead, but she said is not surprised that Erica has stuck with the sport.
"For her to go against the other gender, I value that because she's stronger than I thought she was," Kimberly said. "I stand behind her."
The sport is also used to settle disputes inside of the Lyons household.
"She gives [her brothers] a hard time because when they're arguing, the first thing Erica is ready to do is to wrestle with them," Kimberly said.
According to Erica's younger brother, Brenton Lyons, Erica usually loses those matches, but he still admires her effort.
"If she can do it, I might as well go out and do it," said Brenton, 13.
For Quinton Lyons, another younger brother, having older siblings that wrestle provides excellent learning opportunities.
"Moves they don't teach us in middle school, we can learn from them," the 14-year-old said. Both he and Brenton attend Githens.
But Kimberly Lyons may have to draw the line with Erica one day. Her daughter wants to try another physical sport.
"I'm hoping by that time she wakes up and decides she doesn't want to become a boxer," she said.
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CCHS wrestlers pick up where they left off
David Young 1/7/06
Daily Record Staff Writer
PUEBLO — Watching Tim Michaud drive his opponent into the deep red mat at Pueblo Centennial High School on Thursday night was like watching a drill in practice.
With ease, Michaud dismantled his opponent, rendering him helpless and adding to Cañon City High School’s wrestling victory over the Bulldogs, 65-12.
“I’m feeling good,” Michaud said of his first match since the winter break. “The team is looking really good for where we are.”
Michaud said they might be a bit rusty or out of shape coming off the break, but it certainly didn’t show Thursday night.
Right off the start, the Tigers looked like they might sweep the Bulldogs with eight wins before Wade Yamaguchi lost a hard-fought match to female wrestler Nylsa Garcia. The majority of the night the Tigers dominated, mopping the mat with Centennial’s athletes.
Tigers coach Duff Seaney paced the edge of the mat all night, shouting at his boys in a deep gruff voice that echoed throughout the gym’s rafters.
“Shoulder toward the ear, shoulder toward the ear. There like that,” yelled Seaney.
The advice paid off with a quick pin. Seaney has said he expects big things out of the Tigers this year, and so far they, are producing pins like Pez from a candy dispenser.
“I felt a bit out of shape, but I still did fairly well,” Michaud said. “He was strong, but sometimes you just catch kids.”
The Tigers caught a lot of kids with nine pins in the match and three other wins by decision. The whole night, Cañon only lost two matches leading to the landslide victory.
Michaud is optimistic for the rest of the season citing the desire to work on his technique.
“Basically overall we are doing really well,” Michaud said. “Some of us may be a little out of shape, but it hasn’t stopped us.”
NOTES: Just before the break, the Tigers traveled to the University of Northern Colorado wrestling tour-nament in Greeley, where they competed against some of the top teams in the state.
The Tigers finished with 102.5 points as a team, with senior heavy-weight Cody Palmer as the only medalist.
Palmer was pinned by Marcus Felker of Thornton in one minute, 39 seconds in the championship match to take home the silver medal.
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Wrestling with trouble
The Providence Journal (Rhode Island)THOMAS GELSOMINO
December 16, 2005
Teenage girls are wrestling with teenage boys, sanctioned by the Rhode
Island Interscholastic League, various school departments, and,
apparently, the legislature.
Wake up, parents, administrators, legislators! Have we become so dull
and insensitive? Where is our sense of dignity, common decency, and
self-respect?
Please, let us seek honor, virtue, and dignity before we sink further
into a moral abyss.
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Yamamoto regains natl mat crown
Ken Marantz Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter 12/12/05
Any doubts that Seiko Yamamoto can become a force again in Japanese
women's wrestling were put to rest when she won her first national title in
four years Thursday.
And beating the reigning world champion in the final put the icing on
the cake of her comeback.
Yamamoto had little trouble in defeating Ayako Shoda 2-0 in the final
of the women's 59-kilogram class at the All-Japan Wrestling Championships at
Tokyo's Yoyogi No. 2 Gym.
"I didn't limit myself to just coming back," Yamamoto said. "This was
the culmination of day after day of hard work."
Meanwhile, Hitomi Sakamoto, another of Japan's four gold medalists from
this year's world championships in Budapest, defended her 51-kg title with a
one-sided 2-0 victory over Sachiko Akasaka.
Yamamoto, a four-time world champion from 1999 to 2003, was coming back
from a knee injury when she lost to Shoda at the Queen's Cup last spring.
That earned Shoda the berth on Japan's team to Budapest, where she won a
gold medal.
But she was no match this time for the 25-year-old Yamamoto, who won
national titles in 2000 and 2001 in the then-56-kg class.
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25 Haryana grapplers for national women wrestling championship
DATELINE: Hisar, Nov 17
Haryana State Wrestling Association selected 25 women grapplers to
represent the state in ninth National senior, junior and sub-junior women
wrestling championship to be held at Pune from November 26 to 29, M S Malik,
President of Haryana State Wrestling Association announced here today.Teams:
Senior:
48 kg: Nirmala (Haryana police),
51 kg: Geeta (Bhiwani),
55 kg: Neha Rathi (Faridabad),
59 kg: Anita (Haryana police),
63 kg: Geetika Jakhar (Hisar),
67 kg: Suman Kundu (Rohtak),
72 kg: Kavita (Rohtak).
Junior:-
44 kg Rekha (Rohtak),
48 kg Babita (Bhiwani),
51 kg Rachna (Hisar),
55 kg Suman (Hisar),
59 kg: Nirmala Devi (Hisar),
63 kg: Promila (Hisar),
67 kg: Jainam (Jind,
72kg: Sunita (Bhiwani).
Sub-junior:
38 kg: seema (Nidani Jind),
40 kg: Karamjeet (Nidani Jind),
43 kg Kanta (Nidani Jind),
46 kg: Jyoti(Hisar),
45 kg: Rekha Narwal (Hisar),
52 kg: Shilpi (Hisar),
56 kg: Mukesh (Nidani Jind),
60 kg: Anmol (Hisar),
65 kg: Vrita Kundu (Rohtak),
70 kg: Pinki (Nidani).