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Bulgarian Lady Grabs Europe's Wrestling Gold
Sports: 26 April 2006, Wednesday.
Bulgaria's Stanka Zlateva won the gold medal in the European wrestling championship in Moscow on Wednesday.
Zlateva dominated the women under 72 kilos and managed to achieve the greatest success in Bulgaria's female wrestling so far. She overpowered her opponents from Germany, Sweden, and Greece before the final against Ukraine's Svetlana Sayenko.
Zlateva commented for Bulgaria's national television that it had been a tough fight and that she was happy to have won it.
"Stanka crushes them all like a tank," Zlateva's exited coach said.
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Bulgarian Zlateva wins historic wrestling gold
english.people.com 4/27/06
Bulgaria's heroine Stanka Zlateva won the historic gold medal in the European wrestling championships in Moscow on Wednesday, reported Bulgarian Telegraph Agency.
Zlateva dominated the women under 72 kg with 2-0 and 3-1 and managed to achieve the greatest success in Bulgaria's female wrestling so far.
She overpowered her opponents from Germany, Sweden, and Greece before the final against Ukraine's Svetlana Sayenko.
Zlateva was born on Mar. 1, 1983. She was chosen to participate in the Athens Olympic Games 2004 and the European championships 2005 in Bulgaria's Varna, where she achieved her best in career, winning a bronze medal.
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Piccolotti's Third Place Finish leads Lady Tigers' success at the Girls National Wrestling Championships as Terra Nova places 3 in the Top Ten
By Izzy Szczepaniak 4/26/06
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Five Terra Nova Lady Tiger wrestlers participated in the United States Girls Wrestling Association National Championships on April 1-2, at Lake Orion High School in Lake Orion, Michigan. At Nationals the girls do not wrestle representing a school, they wrestle as part of the State team. All five wrestlers made it to the second day of competition, with three girls finishing in the top ten in the nation. As a team California placed first.
Jaimie Marchetti wrestled in the 105-pound weight class. Her first opponent was Kristen Hahn from Michigan. She lost a fall. In her second match she wrestled Logan Howard (NY) and lost on points, 0-9. She came back to beat Erica Heideman (Minnesota) on points. In her final match she lost to Angel Denton (Colorado).
Jenny Watt (130-pound weight class) lost her first match against Melissa of Michigan by a fall. Her second match was against Desiree French (Texas). French, who finished in second place beat Watt by a fall. In her third match she faced Jessica Hamilton (Washington) and lost.
Ivy Bier (134-pound) faced Megan Wech (New York) in the first round. Bier was losing on points when she caught Mech by surprise pinning her with seconds left on the clock. Bier then met Veronica Carlson (Illinois) and lost 0-6. In the third round Bier wrestled against Stephanie Geltmacher (Hawaii) and won on a fall in the second period. Bier's first match on the second day of competition was against rival Emily Espana (California) and she lost on points. In her final match Bier faced Jolene Crooks-Meyer (Washington and lost by a fall in the first period. Bier finished eighth in her weight class.
Lisa Szczepaniak wrestling in the 126-pound weight class had the most matches of the five Pacifica wrestlers. In round one she faced Ginger Parks (Georgia) and pinned her in the third round. She lost to her next opponent Jenna Ahren (Wisconsin) on points, 7-13. Her next opponent, Katie Green, was also from Wisconsin. Szczepaniak beat her 6-4. She then faced Misha Furniss from Santa Rosa and beat her 17-4. Next up was Rachel Hubbard (Washington). Hubbard won by a score of 6-1. Szczepaniak then faced her third opponent from Wisconsin, Jackie Hoffman, and won by a fall in the third period. In her seventh and final match she faced Sarah Feinman (Massachusetts). This was a very close match. Szczepaniak appeared to have the match won with a near fall as seconds ticked away. But she was not awarded points to the dismay of most of the onlookers and the match went into overtime. The first overtime period ended with no one scoring. Szczepaniak lost in second overtime. Szczepaniak finished 10 in her weight class.
Marina Piccolotti (144-pound) faced Netjes Nikita (Michigan) in her first match. She won on a fall in the second period. She then faced long-time rival Ashley Mora of Castro Valley and won 7-0. Her first opponent on the second day of wrestling was Paige Rife (Michigan). She lost a close match on points. She next faced Netjes Nikita again and beat her in a very close match 11-9. In the match to determine the third place winner, Piccolotti again faced Mora of Castro Valley. This match went into double overtime before Piccolotti eventually won earning her a third place finish in the nation.
It was a great experience for the girls. Although results by school were not kept Terra Nova was one of only three California schools with the wrestlers finishing in the top 10. The girls were coached by Angel Valdez and Tom Piccolotti, Marina's dad, who was a California State Champion when he wrestled for Oceana High School. Special thanks from the girls goes to Bill Meyerhoff of Seavue Tire and Brake whose generous contribution covered the entry fees for the girls. Seavue Tire and Brake has been a long-time sponsor of children's sports team in Pacifica.
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LeBlond captures top spot at international meet
By Lonnie Young 4/26/06
The Georgian
Dave’s Mad Mat-Rats Wrestling Club, who wrestle out of the West Coast Training Centre in Stephenville, sent four athletes to an international wrestling competition in Quebec last weekend. Front row from left: Travis Perrier, Bobby Ann Nelson, Jennifer Nelson, Brandon O’Quinn. Back: William LeBlond, Adam Alexander, Devon O’Quinn, Kristie-Lee LeBlond. Missing from photo: Dean Parsons, Devon Perrier, Ashley Long, Emily Kendall, Jamie Gillingham, Shane Benoit, Candice Courtney, Chris Drew and Chris Budgell. Lonnie Young photo |
Dave’s Mad Mat-Rats Wrestling Club sent four athletes to an international wrestling competition in Quebec last weekend and returned with a couple of outstanding results.
The tournament, which took place in Montreal from April 14-16, saw competitors from across Canada as well as the United States and France compete in various age and weight categories.
Kristie-Lee LeBlond, who has been making a name for herself on the provincial scene over the past few years, had an excellent meet, placing first overall in the women’s category in the 54 Kilogram weight class.
Her club-mate Bobby Ann Nelson, who is just seven years old and competing in her first-ever meet, placed first in the Girl’s Peewee Division and second in the Peewee Mixed Division.
LeBlond wasn’t fazed by the large crowds at this competition and feels that she handled the pressure quite nicely.
“I think I wrestled good and I wrestled smart and I kept my head in the game. This is the biggest competition I’ve ever attended but I just tried to do my own thing,” said LeBlond.
She now has her sights set on the Canada Cup, which takes place in Guelph, Ontario in July, and another international meet in Scotland later this summer.
Following this competition, LeBlond was notified that she was chosen to receive a grant from the Premier’s Athletic Awards, a program designed to recognize athletic excellence in the province’s elite athletes.
She will attend a reception sometime over the next three weeks where the Premier will present her with this well-deserved award.
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Wrestling seeks youth foothold
By Neil MacKinnon
Apr 26 2006
Voyageur elementary school is taking a hands on approach to their hands off schoolyard policy.
In a move to provide its students a ‘controlled outlet’ while introducing a new sport to Quesnel, Voyageur held an Olympic wrestling clinic Friday.
While rough play and violence on school grounds are strictly discouraged, it’s still only natural for youth to get a bit rowdy during play, Voyageur principle Paige Sadler said.
“Violence and overly aggressive play have never been much of an issue on our schoolyard,” Sadler said.
“But, especially with our boys, there’s a need for them to learn how to play and have fun and do what they naturally would do.”
Williams Lake wrestling coach Rick Bryan, who put on the clinic, was quick to grab the attention of more than 20 students in the 2 p.m. session.
“This isn’t the WWE you see on TV,” he said.
“We aren’t going to be grabbing chairs and slamming them across peoples heads.”
His comment was met with a collective “awww” from those in attendance, but their curiosity was piqued, as students watched intently, fidgeting in anticipation of their chance to give the sport a shot.
Pound for pound, Bryan said, Olympic wrestling is the best possible way to build an impressionable self-esteem.
“It’s the fat Albert’s, the skinny Minnie’s, the Tiny Tim’s, the kids who have a hard time finding success in other sports, they’re the ones who get the biggest benefit,” he said.
“All these sorts of kids, who are largely left out of other sports, will see the largest benefits from wrestling because all kids, no matter their size, can achieve a real measure of success.”
After Bryan explained the rules and how the sport is meant to be conducted, and the youth took to the mat, it was clear his message of technique had set in.
There were no hay makers and no full-nelsons.
There were no suplexes or pile drivers.
There was just a young, group of enthusiastic youth doing their best to pin their classmates.
Kyle Kainth, a Grade 5 student, said he’s always interested in trying new sports and thinks wrestling might become a new past-time.
“It was great,” he said.
“At first, I didn’t know very much, like how to get points and how to pin people. Other kids knew more than me and they slaughtered me. But I finally got it and I really enjoyed it.”
Kainth’s classmate, Chelsea Hydamacka, first thought wrestling was just for boys.
She was happy girls can also participate and said she learned a lot.
“I didn’t think we’d learn anything at first,” she said.
“But we did. We learned a lot of new stuff, like stances and what you’re allowed to do and what you’re not allowed to do. I would like to do it again.”
Wrestling fever has seemingly hit Voyageur, as 35 youth have already signed up for the program which will kick off twice a week next September. Sadler is pleased it was so well received and hopes it will become a city-wide phenomenon.
“It’s just our little secret right now,” she said.
“If we can get it going across Quesnel, that would be awesome.”
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Rule changes set for 2006-07 wrestling season
Associated Press 4/26/06
Two major changes in high school wrestling rules will affect Pennsylvania wrestlers for the 2006-07 season.
The National Federation of State High School Associations approved an increase in the size of heavyweights by 10 pounds to 285 pounds. The weight limit had been 275 pounds since 1987, but the federation cited the increasing size of athletes for raising the weight limit. Many high school football linemen now weigh in the 300-pound range.
Another change affects overtime.
Wrestlers tied after the regulation six minutes and a one-minute overtime period will have two 30-second tiebreaker periods, known commonly as rideouts, to determine a winner. Previously, wrestlers were limited to one 30-second rideout to break the tie.
If there is scoring in the first 30-second tiebreaker, the match is ended at that point. But if the match remains tied after the first 30-second tiebreaker, the wrestlers change positions and wrestle another 30-second tiebreaker.
Whoever scores in the second tiebreaker wins the match. If there is no scoring in the second tiebreaker, the offensive wrestler - the one in the top position - wins the match.
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RULE CHANGES?: The first girl to win a PIAA District 7 boys championship received considerable praise after accomplishing the history-making feat.
But Quaker Valley junior Annie Houghton's Class AA title also sent WPIAL (District 7) athletic directors scrambling for direction on how to handle cross-gender participation in high school athletics.
The PIAA and its districts cannot ban cross-gender participation as the result of a 1975 Commonwealth Court decision that permits athletes of either gender to participate in high school sports that are offered for one sex but not the other.
Because of the ruling, many girls have participated in wrestling over the years.
Houghton, a two-time WPIAL girls champion, took advantage of that ruling by playing in the spring boys' championship when an injury prevented her from playing in the girls' fall season.
Her championship run made history, but also raised concerns among District 7 athletic administrators worried about boys playing on girls' teams. Some boys have done so in the past, most prominently in field hockey.
Some schools have acted on their own - notably Big Spring in Cumberland County and Wyomissing in Berks County - by enforcing rules prohibiting students from playing sports with members of the opposite sex. Big Spring's rule ban boys and girls from crossing gender lines; Wyomissing's rule prohibits boys from playing girls' sports.