News Page
By Kevin Gemmell
UNION-TRIBUNE COMMUNITY SPORTS WRITER
May 14, 2006
Sharon Jacobson is by no means a trailblazer – nor does she want to be. There have been several elite U.S. women wrestlers before her. She's simply following the path they carved.
Jacobson is, however, one of America's bright up-and-comers, poised to challenge the the perennially dominant Asian nations at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Armed with the knowledge of her predecessors and motivated by a rapidly growing interest in her sport, the El Cajon native has Olympic medals on her mind.
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Snapshot of a wrestler SHARON JACOBSON Age: 22 Height/weight: 5-1 / 121 pounds (55 kg) U.S. rank: No. 1 in weight class Residence: El Cajon High school: Valhalla High, 2002 Recent achievements: 2006 U.S. Nationals champion; 2006 University Nationals champion; Second place in Alexander Medved International (Belarus); Third in Dave Schultz Memorial International; Third in 2005 U.S. Nationals. 2006 Women's World Cup What: A dual-meet tournament featuring the top nations in women's freestyle wrestling. Where: Nagoya, Japan When: May 20-21 Participating countries: United States, Canada, Russia, China, Ukraine and Japan. Format: Two pools of three teams. The champions from both pools meet for first place. Background: Japan is the defending World Cup champion, but the U.S. stunned Japan in 2004. For El Cajon's Sharon Jacobson, this is the first major event on the senior level representing Team USA. She's scheduled for three matches: two in pool play and one in a medal round. – KEVIN GEMMELL |
She'll get her first taste of major international competition when she leaves next week for the Senior World Cup in Nagoya, Japan, where she'll wrestle in the 121-pound (55 kilogram) freestyle division.
“I think I'm ready to take that next step,” said the 5-foot-1 Jacobson, a 2002 graduate of Valhalla High. “I think I still need some more international experience, but that's what World Cup is. I've been watching a lot of video on who I might face and I'm going to head out there and see what happens. But I'm confident.”
With good reason. Jacobson officially declared herself a force within the sport last month at the Senior Nationals in Las Vegas. Not only did she win the national championship for her weight class – the first of her career – but her three pins were more than enough to warrant her selection as the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler.
“She showed that she can hit her skills on anyone in this country, and now she's going to take it to the next level and see how she does on the international stage,” said Shannyn Gillespie, head women's freestyle wrestling coach at the United States Olympic Education Center in Marquette, Mich.
Gillespie, an NCAA All-American in 1993 at Lock Haven University, has worked with Jacobson since the USOEC started a women's wrestling program in 2004. Jacobson was one of 13 selected to participate. Coordinated through the University of Northern Michigan, the USOEC helps athletes work toward a degree while training for their sport.
But after two years in Michigan, Jacobson has outperformed her surroundings. This summer she'll move to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. where the goal becomes China or bust.
“I know I'm now capable of competing with the best,” Jacobson said. “Before I got to the USOEC, I was flippy-floppy and was just trying to beat up my opponents rather than trying to wrestle and out-think them. But I'm a smarter wrestler now.”
She proved that in February when she pinned four-time world champion and Olympic bronze medalist Anna Gomis of France in a grueling back-and-forth match. It was a significant turning point in Jacobson's career and an affirmation that she's on the level with the world's best.
“I thought 'Holy cannoli, did I just do that? She's been a world champion – did I really beat her?'” Jacobson recalled. “It was a crazy match because we were both throwing each other around. She tried to throw me and I was able to roll through it and I stuck her. It was pretty exciting.”
Jacobson spent last week in Connecticut, boning up her skills with 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Patricia Miranda. Women's wrestling didn't become a medal sport until Athens. Miranda and Sara McCann (silver) were America's first medalists. Having gone through the grind, Miranda believes Jacobson is cut from Olympic cloth.
“I think her chances are very good,” said Miranda, who defended her national championship last month in Las Vegas. “It takes the right combination of certain things like heart, dedication and a belief in your skills to make for some awesome results. Sharon has that combination – that basic clay you need to make a great wrestler.”
Without getting too far ahead of herself, Jacobson is trying to take in all that's happened to her in the last couple of months. Riding a wave of confidence from the Senior Nationals, she took first at the University Nationals last week in Colorado, where she was also named Outstanding Wrestler.
“I think of all these happenings in the last two months and how everything is really starting to come together,” Jacobson said. “It's like the switch went off and I'm starting to get it. These are things I've been wanting for so long and it's coming. It's more of a reality. It's more than just a dream. It's in my grasp. I think I need a few months to mentally and physically prepare. But I think I'm ready to go out there and get after it.”
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Just for girls - Two area girls capture national wrestling titles
By DREW ELLIS 5/15/06
Sun Sports Writer
It's an all girls club, but don't get the wrong idea, these girls are tough.
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On April 1 and 2, a number of young girls from the area competed in the US Girls Wrestling Association Finals in Lake Orion for a chance to become national champions in girls wrestling.
Two of those girls, Brittany Horan of Shepherd, and Andrea Parkinson of Meridian, won titles in their respective age and weight groups.
"It was pretty exciting," Horan, an eighth grader at Shepherd middle school, said of winning the title at 97.5 pounds for her age group. "It was one of the first tournaments I have won and I trained really hard for it."
Girls wrestling has really increased in popularity over the years, and the US Girls Wrestling Association Finals features girls in elementary school, all the way to college.
Horan began competing at the age of seven after years of watching her older brother compete. Her parents early on tried to keep her clear of the physical sport, but Horan wouldn't let that stop her.
"I wanted her to dance and do gymnastics," Horan's mother Betsy said. "But she always wanted to wrestle, and I think she just had a natural ability for it. So, after a while we just gave in and let her compete."
After placing first in the state finals in March, Horan was up against 11 other competitors at the national finals, which included wrestlers from California, Nebraska, Hawaii, and other states.
"I was hoping to win going into the tournament," Horan said. "I trained really hard for weeks before and spent about two hours a day getting prepared. It felt good to win, I like the feeling of accomplishment from wrestling because it gives you a good work ethic."
Horan has worked in part with the Shepherd youth program which has a number of young girl wrestlers, including a trio of sisters in Ryanne, Erin, and Megan McKenna, whose father, Terry, is a coach of the youth program.
"Girls wrestling is really getting bigger and bigger on a national level, and I think it is creating more interest locally," McKenna said. "Wrestling provides these girls with a lot of future options as well. It could get them a college scholarship or they could go on to compete at an Olympic level. I think as you see more and more girls in the area do well, it will continue to bring new girls that want to wrestle."
McKenna had all three daughters place in the state finals, and his youngest, Ryanne, who is 7-years old, finished second at the national finals in the 52-pound division, while Erin, age 12, placed in the top 12 of the 89-pound division.
"I feel really proud of my girls and really any girls that step onto the mat," McKenna added. "You take a lot of bumps and bruises in this sport and it would be easy to quit, but these girls are tough and they continue to stick with it."
Most of the girls in the area compete in a number of co-ed tournaments as well as the all-girl tournaments.
"The girls are never intimidated by wrestling boys," McKenna said. "If anything, it is the boys that are intimidated. When I see my girls face a boy who thinks they are going to beat my girls easy, it really makes me smile to see those girls go out and beat the boys. It really seems to earn the boys and the fans respect."
All of the girls have expressed interest to continue wrestling and to make another trip to the national finals, but hopefully more girls will make the trip next year.
"It is really a fun thing to do," Brittany Horan said. "It is a rewarding sport because it takes a lot of effort, but it is really satisfying when you do well, because you know how hard you work. I think a lot of girls should try wrestling."
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Amarillo Globe-News 5/14/06
Two former Globe-News employees were also recognized. Former assistant sports editor Mike Lee was second in enterprise/project category for his series on the development and likely impact of split divisions in six-man football. Former graphic artist Lucritia Edgerton, now of the Austin American-Statesman, was second in special section front for her cover of the 2005 Caprock girls state wrestling team.
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Next Level Wrestling Welcomes:Clarissa Chun
(2006 US Women’s Nationals Champion)
(Olympic Training Center Resident)
Chun was among the charter group of about 20 women invited to the U.S. Olympic Training Center when its women's wrestling facility opened in 2002.
Recently she won the 2006 US Nationals Freestyle Championship at (105).
CAREER NOTES:
Third in 2005 U.S. World Team Trials - 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials runner-up
· Four-time U.S. Nationals runner-up (1999-2000, 2003-04) - Four-time U.S. World Team Trials runner-up (2000-03)
· Fifth in 2001 Junior World Championships
· 2000 U.S. World Team member - Three-time University Nationals champion (2001, 2003-04)
This Clinic is Designed Specifically for Serious Collegiate and Freestyle Wrestler’s
Wanting to Get to the Next Level.
*Open to all Youth, High School and Open Class Wrestlers
Register Day of 2:00-2:30pm (Before Normal Camp Practice)
Registration Fees:
Private Sessions 1 or 2:
$50 per Athlete (Groups of 2 or 4 per Session)
Regular Camp Practice (2:30-5:00pm): $35 per athlete
Private and Camp Practice Combo: $75
***Send Pre-Registration Form Before May 25th for $30
(Camp Practice Only)
For Further Info About Group - Team Discounts Contact:
Head Coach Brian Wood: (Next Level Sports)
720-252-3144 // Email: nextlevelsports_wrestling@yahoo.com
Venue Location and Directions: Colorado Pro Gym
Come to Back Gym Entrance (South East Side of Building)
4240 Kipling Unit B Wheat Ridge CO, 80034 // 303-456-0076
4 Blocks South of I-70 West on Kipling
East Side of Kipling in the Back of the Gym
***Email Me for Registration Form: nextlevelsports_wrestling@yahoo.com
-Brian Wood Head Coach and Trainer 720-252-3144 Cell nextlevelsports_wrestling@yahoo.com
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2006 FILA Jr National Champion, Heather Martin,
is putting on a girls only wrestling camp
June 23,24,25, 2006.
The camp is located 35 miles southwest of Cleveland,Oh. Cost of the camp is $75.00 and includes room and board. For more information of a brochure please email questions or address to "girlwrestlercoach@hotmail.com"