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KHS wrestling ready to build a foundation

Rob Weiler 11/20/06
Miner Sports Writer

KINGMAN - The Kingman High wrestling team has experienced a lot of new beginnings in the last four years.

But head coach Brandon Clor is hoping that by the end of this year, the frustration of starting over will be a thing of the past.

"They've had four coaches in four years, so they don't really know what to expect," Clor said of his 27 wrestlers. "One of the referees helping us said the most important thing is someone has to come in and take ownership of the team. I'm going to be here for a while, and my job now is to take ownership and make them successful."

The fact that the Bulldogs have 27 wrestlers and at least one athlete for every weight class heading into Tuesday's first meet at Carl Hayden is already a step ahead of where Kingman's program was at this time a year ago. Clor said most of his wrestlers have a long way to go in terms of skill development, but that the past few weeks have improved their physical fitness and mental approach.

"They have a lot of pride and a lot of heart, and that's one of the first things we wanted to build," he said. "We also want to be in great shape, and they are answering the call and pushing themselves. One of my wrestlers showed me the blisters on his feet and said 'I've never ran so much in my life.'"

As expected, competition and numbers aren't lacking for the Bulldogs in the middle weight classes between 125 and 152 pounds. Among those trying to secure varsity spots in the 145 and 152 divisions are both of the team's captains, juniors Michael DeLance and Jacob Swinney.

"In practice it's a great thing because they're so close in weight they can compete against one another, but at the same times when it comes to meets, I'm putting three guys on JV I don't want on JV."

The Bulldogs have three experienced seniors to help the 10 freshmen, two of whom are females Lianne Carr (112 pounds) and Mariah Matusek (171 pounds).

"The girls are better than a lot of people will expect," Clor said. "Back home in Illinois, having two girls on the wrestling team never happens, but they're definitely going to get some varsity experience here."

Without having seen his wrestlers in action against other schools, Clor said it is difficult to gauge how far Kingman has come and how far it has to go, but his team is ready for the journey.

"There's a ton of potential, and a lot of them haven't been challenged before," Clor said. "And now that I've come in they're getting a lot more serious about what they're doing."

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Woody wins Junior World title

USA Wrestler Dec 2006

GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA - Nicole Woody of the New York AC won the gold medal at 97 pounds at the FILA Junior World
Championships. She was one of seven U.S. medalists at the Junior Worlds this year, and the only American with a gold medal.
Woody swept Diana Piza of Ecuador 4-0, 3-2 in the championship bout.
"I felt like I was in control," Woody said. "I felt that I wrestled smart in all my matches, especially my finals match. It was a lot of fun. I focused on each individual match and didn't look ahead to the next one."
Woody beat Anastasia Koltun of Russia 0-3, 4-3, 5-3 in the quarterfinals before sweeping Eglys Siviva of Venezuela 2-1,5-1 in the semifinals.
Woody was one of four U.S. women wrestlers to win a medal, helping
lead the United States to third in the final team standings.
Capturing bronze medals were Jessica Medina of the Univ. of the Cumberlands at 112.25 pounds, Danielle Hedin of the New York ACIUSOEC at 131 pounds and Ali Bernard of the Univ. of Regina at 158.5 pounds.
It was a third career FILA Junior medal for Bernard, who was a FILA
Junior World champion in both 2003 and 2005.
Bernard was defeated in the semifinals by Aline Silva of Brazil, getting pinned in the second period. In the bronze-medal round, where she pinned Olga Dmukhovska of Ukraine.
It was the second straight year that Hedin has won a medal at the FILA Junior World Championships, after claiming a silver medal last year.
Hedin opened with two victories. In the semifinals, Hedin was defeated by Alena Filipava of Belarus, 0-3, 0-2. In the bronze-medal match, where she stopped Jillian Gallays of Canada by pin.