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Grappling against barriers
Though not new to Oklahoma, female wrestlers still trying to find a foothold
El Reno freshman Hannah Martin seeks first female state title
By Matt Patterson
Staff Writer1/19/07
El Reno wrestler Hannah Martin, left, talks with teammates in a hallway near the gym Jan. 4 as Midwest City homecoming candidates have their pictures taken before homecoming events begin. Martin is currently ranked No. 1 at 103 pounds in Class 4A. By John Clanton, The Oklahoman Hannah Martin •Record: 15-8 •Favorite food: Mahi-Mahi •Favorite TV show: CSI, Food Network, Monk, Law and Order •Hobby: Creative writing •Next home match: Thursday vs. Lawton MacArthur, 7:30 p.m.
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EL RENO — Tucked away in the basement of the stately old high school, El Reno's wrestling room is a shrine to the program's success. Pictures of past state champions and placers hang on one wall, covering it from end to end. Across the room, the school's tournament championships are listed one by one.
As practice begins, wrestlers pair off and begin to drill.
"Go mat speed,” coach Bobby Miller shouts as music pulsates through the room.
Freshman Hannah Martin takes down her partner like a veteran.
Martin isn't new to wrestling — in fact, female wrestlers aren't new to Oklahoma. Woodward's Joey Miller placed third at 103 pounds in 2005, the first girl in state history to do so.
But a female wrestler at a program the caliber of El Reno's is uncharted territory. The Indians own 11 team championships. Making this lineup takes more than just coming to practice on time.
Martin's wrestling career began at age 8 in the most unlikely of ways.
"It was a big accident,” she said. "My brother started wrestling, and I was playing basketball at the time. After one of my practices I came with my mom to pick him up. I just got my hair cut short, and the coach asked me to come out and drill because they had an odd number of people. He thought I was a boy.”
The coach was surprised to learn she wasn't a boy — something that has become a familiar refrain over the years.
One practice turned into an obsession. Now, Martin is ranked No. 1 at 103 pounds in Class 4A. She became the first girl to place at the 63rd Annual Geary Tournament earlier this month.
"She's important to this team,” Coach Miller said. "All she's done is step up to every challenge she's been handed. She's got a pretty stiff upper lip.”
Martin knows she's not a typical 14-year-old girl. She's a straight-A student with a vivid imagination. In her spare time, she's working on a novel with friends. Martin's read mountains of books, mostly science fiction and mysteries.
And then there is wrestling.
"Once you've wrestled, everything in life is easy,” she said. "It's a struggle. It's a war. It's a great source of self discipline. If you don't want it bad enough, you don't get it. That's how it is in life.”
Sometimes winning isn't all that matters. Martin longs to be respected by teammates and opponents. She drew a crowd at Geary, perhaps the most prestigious wrestling tournament short of the state meet. During one match, several wrestlers gathered around the mat to watch. Some weren't kind in their comments, others were impressed. She's used to it.
"Even after I beat them some kids trash talk, as if they think that will win them back dignity after losing,” Martin said. "Sometimes they say they weren't feeling well, or they're injured. I've heard every excuse in the book.”
Coach Miller has heard some of the talk, too.
"Now, the big squawk is her weight class isn't as good because so many kids have moved up to 112,” he said. "But all she can do is wrestle the kids who are in front of her.”
Martin's teammates have responded to her presence in the room, even if it took some time. High school wrestling rooms aren't often female-friendly places.
"At the beginning of the year she had to earn our respect,” said El Reno teammate Chris Hacker, a state champion himself. "As a young woman coming into a man's sport, it's been harder for her than any other wrestler who has put in their time. But she's putting in the same blood, sweat and tears as everyone else. She's one of us.”
Tuttle's Justin Francher beat Martin at Geary, but he saw an opponent with talent.
"She's surprisingly tough,” Francher said. "Most girls I know aren't that strong. You have to wrestle her like you would anyone else because she's pretty good.”
Francher isn't one to discriminate, either.
"It's a free country,” he said. "She should have the same chance as everyone else.”
Martin's diminutive size might be something some view as a disadvantage. She's barely 5-feet tall. Many opponents tower over her, but Martin views her stature as a benefit.
"My height is an advantage because I can get low where people can't shoot underneath me, she said. "When I wrestle someone tall, I look at as more leg to shoot on.”
Sitting in Coach Miller's office, Martin props her legs up on a chair and eases back.
"I'm not one of those girls who cares about my hair or my nails,” she said. "I've worn makeup once when I was an MC at a dance. I've only worn a skirt twice, and that was to my grandmother's wedding and to a funeral.”
Having a daughter who wrestles was a mild surprise for her mother, DeAnna.
"She and her brother used to scuffle around the house, but I would have never dreamed this would happen,” DeAnna said. "We support her in what she does. When it started, it was a matter of if she was tough enough to stick it out. She's proven she is.”
That doesn't mean a mother doesn't worry. Every match is a thrill ride.
"I had to buy a tripod for our video camera because my hands were shaking every time she went out there,” DeAnna said.
Hannah Martin has three more years of high school. A state championship next month — and beyond — is a possibility. Her long-term goals are the Olympics and attend college on a scholarship. While Woodward's Joey Miller made history by being the first female to place at state, Martin wants to break down the State Fair Arena doors. When asked how she'll be remembered, she pauses. Her eyes light up.
"I hope to be known as that girl who was really good,” she said. "If I win state, I'll be that girl who won state from El Reno. I don't know if they'll remember my name, but at least I'll know I accomplished what I set out to do.”
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McCullough first Illinois Q-C girl to fill a varsity wrestling spot
By Shannon Heaton, sheaton@qconline.com 1/19/07
photos from this shoot
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Megan McCullough says she's not wrestling because she wanted to be a role model.
The Erie High School freshman doesn't know who the true female pioneers of the sport are, girls like former Illinois preps Mary Kelly and Caitlyn Chase, both of whom are now training for the women's U.S. Olympic freestyle team.
For Megan, it's only about helping her father, Tod, win a Three Rivers Conference and, quite possibly, a Class A Morrison Regional championship early next month.
That's why she decided to become the first Illinois Quad-Cities high school girl to fill a varsity lineup spot, wrestling at 103 pounds for the Erie-Prophetstown Panthers.
"Dad was just kidding with me one night about doing it and I said I'd do it," said Megan. "I took him seriously. So I showed up at practice the next day. I just wanted to help him win and help my friends win."
Megan wrestled in her very early years, quitting the sport in second grade. But having a wrestling coach for a father kept her familiar with the technical side of things.
Still, the presence of another activity to occupy her time might have posed an even greater obstacle. Megan had already committed to serving as a frosh-soph basketball cheerleader before agreeing to join the wrestling team a few practices into the 2006-07 season.
"She committed to that first, and we're believers in the idea that you don't quit something once you commit to it," said Tod McCullough, who doubles as Erie's athletic director. "She's a good basketball cheerleader; I always get teased about that, with me coaching wrestling and all."
Once Megan showed up in the Panthers' practice room, inside that room Dad became Coach.
"She wasn't going to just come and go as she pleased. If she was going to practice, she was going to work out with the team, run with the team and lift with the team," said Tod. "But she didn't miss a beat. At first, she was pretty tired, because she was a few practices behind the other guys.
"We are fortunate in that we're able to modify her practices a bit. She comes in after cheerleading and practices, she works out with our kids club and she's got a gym class to do her lifting if she wants."
Most of her teammates had never wrestled a girl before, so they had adjustments to make as well.
"At first, it was a little different, because I just was not used to wrestling girls," said 112-pound varsity starter Brett Schipper. "Now, we just see her as another teammate. She works hard and everything.
"She's gotten a lot better since her first day. Probably one of the coolest things in the world has been watching her beat someone."
As of Thursday, McCullough's varsity record is 9-9, and the nine wins aren't all forfeits. She's picked up pins against a couple of fellow 103s, but she hadn't had a varsity match go six minutes until Thursday when she beat Amboy's Josh Shepard 16-15.
"Winning matches really felt good. It felt like I achieved something, and I know I can do it now," said Megan. "It was another goal to go six minutes; now the next one is to go six minutes and win."
It's in a mother's instinct to worry about her children getting hurt, as much for wrestling moms as anyone else. That might have gone doubly for Laura McCullough, were it not for her long history with the sport.
"I did want her not to get hurt, but I know my husband's coaching style and I know he knows what to do for the program as a whole, and that he'd do what was best," said Laura. "I know that when she wants to do something, she'll do it well. If she keeps enjoying it, and wants to stay with it, that'll be
fine."
It might be fine for Laura, and it might be fine for Megan, but there is a possibility it might not continue to remain so fine for Tod.
"We didn't have a 3-pounder this year, so it was OK for her to do both cheerleading and wrestling at the same time," Tod said. "But if she continues this, I'm going to want her to do the offseason work. I'm going to want her to go to camps in the summer. The whole nine yards.
"And if we have a 3-pounder in the room next year besides Megan, she's going to have to make a choice (between cheering and wrestling), because it wouldn't be fair to the other kid who's made a full-time commitment to the team."
But the McCulloughs will cross that bridge when they come to it. For now, Megan will keep wrestling.
"It speaks volumes that she would do this for me," said Tod. "The guys have really made her part of the team, and she's helping them accomplish their goals as well. With her in the lineup, we might have enough to pull us over at regionals. I know without her in the lineup, we don't beat Morrison."
Having his daughter in the lineup has changed Tod's mind considerably about the presence of girls in the sport.
"I'm old school. I have a tough time with it; to me, wrestling's a boys sport," said Tod. "But seeing what she's doing, going out there and seeing what she does, it changes you a little bit.
"We can provide an equal playing field for girls in wrestling, because you're usually wrestling someone who's very close to the same weight. And right now, if your daughter wrestles, there are some East Coast schools that give full-ride scholarships, because of Title IX."
For her part, Megan feels like she's hanging in with things pretty well.
"The skill level has gone up a lot (since second grade). I actually understand what I'm doing now. When you're little, you do it for fun, just rolling out on the mat," said Megan. "I'd say, if you want to do it, you should probably just go for it. Don't be afraid if that's what you want to do. Just stick with it."
Spoken like a role model.
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Prep Notebook | All-girls wrestling dual a 1st
By Sandy Ringer 1/19/07
Seattle Times staff reporter
In what likely is a first in the state of Washington, a girls-only dual meet wrestling event takes place today at Emerald Ridge High School in Puyallup.
Emerald Ridge coach Jim Meyerhoff said he is expecting between six to 10 teams, with each team wrestling three matches. By Thursday afternoon, he had received rosters from Jackson of Mill Creek, White River of Buckley, Fife, Kelso and Franklin Pierce of Tacoma, in addition to Emerald Ridge. Meyerhoff said he also anticipates team entries from Bellevue, Highline of Burien and Tumwater. Several other schools will be sending one or two wrestlers, he added.
Wrestling begins at 5:30 p.m.
This will be the first year of an official state tournament for girls, which will be part of next month's Mat Classic at the Tacoma Dome. A state girls invitational has been offered since 2004.
Meyerhoff said more than 350 girls are wrestling statewide, more than twice as many as last season.
On Saturday, Emerald Ridge will host the Jaguar Invitational, which will include separate competitions for boys and girls. Meyerhoff said 93 girls recently participated in a tournament at Kelso and he is expecting similar numbers.
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CI hosting CIF girls' wrestling tournament
By Derry Eads, deads@VenturaCountyStar.com
January 19, 2007
Ventura County will be home to two of the best high school postseason wrestling tournaments in Southern California over the next five weeks.
Section champions will be decided at the CIF Northern Division Individual Championships Feb. 16-17 at Pacifica High.
Arriving as an equal partner, in the mind of longtime wrestling referee Jim Stych, is the 2007 CIF Girls' Southern California Wrestling Tournament, scheduled for today and Saturday at Channel Islands High.
"The quality of competitors in the finals will be every bit as good as a CIF divisional final," said Stych. "That level of athlete will be every bit as intense. The competition will be second to none."
Fourteen nationally ranked wrestlers, including two Ventura County athletes, are expected to be among the 300 or more entries in the tournament that begins today at 3 p.m. The meet resumes Saturday at 9 a.m., concluding after 1 p.m.
Channel Islands was awarded the site after the bleachers at a West Covina school became inoperable last week, forcing the CIF to hastily search for another location.
There is irony in the selection of Channel Islands.
It was in the school's gym in 1998 that Olivia Ocampo of Channel Islands became the first female wrestler to win a league championship — capturing the 103-pound title in the Marmonte League finals — and qualify for the CIF Finals. One month later, Ocampo won the 104-pound crown at the first U.S. High School Girls' Wrestling National Championships in Ann Arbor, Mich.
From that first splash on the national stage, California girls have come to rule the sport.
California won dual meet and individual team titles last year.
The top wrestlers at the 2006 Southern California regional scored more points than any other state at the national championships last year.
Royal wrestler Jade Anderson leads a delegation of Ventura County entries.
Anderson is ranked No. 1 in the state in the 138-pound weight class and No. 7 in the nation.
Other state-ranked county wrestlers are Oxnard's Samantha Stych (126 pounds) and Rio Mesa's Michi Stoke (165). Stych is ranked No. 7 in the nation in her weight class.
Pacifica, which placed sixth in last year's regional tournament, brings a large squad of 14 wrestlers.
Other area schools being represented this weekend will be Fillmore, Santa Paula, Ventura, Agoura, Calabasas and Buena.
Two-time national champion Tatiana Padilla of Northview is expected to compete.
Among the other nationally ranked wrestlers include: Victoria Anthony, Marina, No. 6, 103 pounds; Samantha Lopez, West Covina, No. 2, 108; Jazzy Green, Santa Monica, No. 5, 103; Erica Torres, Porterville, No. 3, 122 and Teri Milkoff, South El Monte, No. 2, 154.
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By Elizabeth Butler 1/19/07
The Valdosta Daily Times
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LOWNDES COUNTY ” Shes had a tooth knocked out, a bunch of busted lips and bruises and pulled shoulder muscles, but that hasnt kept her from returning to the wrestling mat.
Sixth-grader Triniti Sumner, tipping the scales at 96 pounds, wrestles in the 100-pound weight class for the Lowndes Middle School wrestling team as the lone female.
Why would a girl choose to participate in a sport dominated by boys?
My brother said I couldnt do it, Triniti was quick to reply.
Ironically, that brother, Nicki Sumner, 17, began wrestling after Triniti did and participated in the sport the last two years at Cook High School in Adel.
Triniti is no novice to the sport: This is her third season of wrestling (her first at Lowndes Middle). When she was in the fourth grade, she joined the South Georgia Athletic Club Devil Dogs, which wrestles throughout Georgia.
Her injuries attest to the fact her male competitors dont hold back because of her gender.
I was put in a double chicken wing (both arms pinned behind her back) and pulled my shoulder muscles trying to kick out,she said.
Ive had a tooth knocked out and a bunch of busted lips and bruises. My tooth was already loose, but I got slammed to the mat, and it busted out.
So why would she keep coming back for more?
Its fun to see the look on a boys face when he gets beaten by a girl, said Triniti, whos beaten between five to eight boys in practice and matches.
Each time before she wrestles, head coach Eric Werho tells her, Youre a girl. We can’t change that. Youve got an advantage over every boy out there: Theyre scared of you.
Werho describes Triniti as “an extremely hard worker. She holds her own with the boys.
How do the boys treat her?
Her gender isnt a factor on the wrestling team, Werho said. “Everybody is on the same team the Lowndes Middle School wrestling team.