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She earned respect
Royal's Jade Anderson is one of the best female wrestlers in the state
By Stephen Dorman sdorman@theacorn.com 2/2/07
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Respect.
It's the seven-letter word that's taken the sports world by storm.
Football players demand it, and complain fervently when they don't receive it. In baseball, there are unwritten rules, and to break those rules is to disrespect the game.
Perhaps that's the reason an athlete like Royal High's Jade Anderson is such a breath of fresh air. Instead of demanding respect, Anderson actually went out and earned it.
"She's a great allaround person," Royal wrestling coach Rich Carrillo said. "She's got a great GPA, it's darn near 4.0. She respects her competition. She works hard. Those are all the things that earn you respect in the wrestling community."
Two weeks ago at Channel Islands High, Anderson defeated Sunny Hills' Christen Paysee 8-1 in the 138-pound final of the CIF Southern Regional. It was Anderson's second consecutive regional championship. Last year she was victorious in the 132pound final.
"I wrestled 10 times better than I have in any other match," Anderson, 17, said. "Even though I didn't get a pin, I wrestled well, I wrestled consistent. I played it safe when I was out there and didn't do anything risky.
"I'm really happy I won my second CIF championship, especially being a senior. This is the best way to go out, knowing you wrestled your best and without any regrets."
Anderson was one of 191 girls that competed in the twoday event. Her teammate, Misty Major, finished fifth in the 108pound division.
Following her impressive victory, Anderson, the top-ranked 138-pound grappler in California, competed in the state championships in last weekend in Hanford, located in the San Joaquin Valley midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
At state, Anderson finished second, losing a controversial 5-4 decision to a wrestler from Northern California.
"They gave her points for an escape, but I never took her down," she said. "They also never gave me 'back points' after I had her on her back twice. That's at least three points I got gypped.
"I had NorCal coaches coming up to me and telling me I won the match. My coaches were telling me just to get her at nationals, which I'm going to do."
Anderson didn't start wrestling until she was a freshman at Royal.
During her first year at the school she tried playing tennis, basketball and soccer, but those sports left her feeling unsatisfied. When she discovered the wrestling team, there was an instant connection.
"It was the hardest, most challenging thing I'd ever done," she said. "I wasn't naturally great at it. In soccer and basketball, I was pretty good naturally; it didn't take any effort. Wrestling really pushed me. You can never, ever be the best at wrestling.
"It's the best thing I've ever done in my life. I'm so glad I got into it."
When she first started wrestling in girls' tournaments, Anderson often traveled to events without a coach or teammates.
"I went all by myself. It was all me out there," Anderson said. "Slowly I got respect from coaches for my wrestling. Coaches started to come up to me and teach me because they saw that I didn't have anyone in my corner."
After making a name for herself on the travel circuit, Anderson joined the San Diego Hot Beaches, where she began freestyle wrestling. Training with the Hot Beaches allowed Anderson to make even more contacts in the wrestling community.
This year Anderson became the only female wrestler in Royal history to stay in the program for four years. It's an incredible accomplishment, Carrillo said.
"We only want certain people to represent our team," Carrillo said, "and Jade is just the type of person we want to represent Royal wrestling."
When she's not participating in girls' tournaments, Anderson competes on the Highlanders' junior varsity team, where she goes up against the boys.
The biggest difference between wrestling against boys as opposed to girls is that the guys are much more powerful, she said.
"The girls can be a little sloppier on technique," Anderson said. "I've got some strength, but I can't hold a candle to the guys. The thing I have to rely on is my technique. My strength won't win me a match against the guys; my technique will."
Although she's competed on the track and field team at Royal for the past three years, Anderson said she's planning to sit out this season so she can focus strictly on improving her grappling skills.
When she graduates from RHS, Anderson expects to attend Pacific University in Oregon. At Pacific, she wants to study medicine and, of course, continue her athletic career.
"I want to help athletes- like wrestlers- be able to heal themselves and continue what they love to do."
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Girls getting tougher for wrestling at West
BY JOANNA CHADWICK
The Wichita Eagle 2/2/07
West senior Christopher Foust is your typical big brother who wants to protect his little sister, Makayla, from any harm. So the past two months since Makayla joined the West wrestling team have been unbearably tough on him.
While he appreciates her happiness while wrestling, he's seen how opponents dismiss her as a mere girl.
"The guys who wrestle her treat her like she doesn't belong there," said Christopher, a 215-pound wrestler and former state qualifier. "It upsets me, but I want to keep her motivated. She's doing good."
Makayla Foust isn't the only female wrestling for West -- the Pioneers have four who have wrestled varsity this season.
"This is what I want to do," said Foust, a freshman at 189 pounds. "I'd be doing it even if there weren't any other girls."
Females wrestling isn't new.
In 1999, Santa Fe Trail's Brooke Bogren was the first female to compete at the state tournament. She won one match at 103 pounds in Class 4A.
The Kansas girls wrestling championships -- part of the U.S. Girls Wrestling Association -- is Feb. 25 at McPherson's Central Christian College. Women's wrestling was added to the 2004 Olympics.
But four females on one high school team, that's a rarity. West coach Jim Dryden said he hasn't seen another team with one female this season.
Foust, senior Rosalina Valdovinos (145 pounds) and freshman Cobie Morton (112) have been with the Pioneers all season. Senior Theresa Speight also spent time at 160 pounds.
Not one had previous wrestling experience.
Their decisions to wrestle weren't based on making a social statement. Rather, it was a way to compete.
Foust, who also rides dirt bikes, was intrigued by the sport, while Valdovinos and Morton chose wrestling because neither was good at the other winter sports -- basketball or bowling.
Morton and Valdovinos knew little about wrestling, other than what they'd seen from Stephen Christenberry, who wrestles at 112. Christenberry is Morton's brother and Valdovinos' boyfriend.
It's been a slow process for the girls, not only learning the various moves but the basic rules. After two months, Valdovinos has progressed to where she now understands what her coaches are telling her to do during matches.
"I wish I would have (joined the wrestling team) sooner," Valdovinos said. "If I could find younger friends, I would tell them to do it.
"... I've learned a lot of things, I've become mentally tough and I'm in the best shape of my life. (To wrestle) I have to be determined -- I'm only going to drink water, I have to stick with it. If I'm hurting, I have to push through it."
Dryden welcomed all four girls to the team. He said West's only other female in his 10 years with the program didn't compete on the varsity.
West, which won the Class 6A title in 2001, has struggled as a team, only fielding 17 wrestlers. Heading into Thursday's match with East, the Pioneers' only win came in a tournament dual against East.
Because West's wrestling numbers are extremely low, Dryden has been able to use the girls on varsity so the Pioneers don't have to forfeit at multiple weights. Forfeits are worth six points, as much as a pin.
None have won a varsity match, although Foust won one match on the junior varsity.
"I'm very impressed (that they keep competing)," Dryden said. "I have guys with far more talent, but they can't handle the losing and they quit. (The girls) realize, 'I'm not supposed to beat this guy, but if I lose, I can hold my head high that I gave it my best effort.' "
The girls are at a disadvantage -- their opponents generally are stronger and more technically advanced.
And they know the guys they wrestle are especially intent on beating them. You know, a guy can't lose to a girl.
"Makayla usually wrestles juniors and seniors," Dryden said, "and they don't just want to beat her, they want to beat her up. I think they find it offensive."
After one match, Foust had a bruised nose, bruised lip and her back and one arm hurt badly. Valdovinos has been bruised the most -- she said she bruises easily -- but none of the three have backed down.
Dryden has urged them to be more aggressive and assertive, to be more of an attacker.
All have made strides.
"You have to push yourself and fight," Valdovinos said. "At first, I wanted to last 30 seconds, now I want to not only last longer, I want to do something to get points. I'm excited when I get a takedown or get a guy on his back for five seconds."
Morton added: "I know they're thinking, 'Wow, there's girls.' But I want them to know we're not going to quit."
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Wrestlers converge on Western Fair
Fri, February 2, 2007
By MORRIS DALLA COSTA, SUN MEDIA
One of the biggest wrestling events in Ontario will take place this weekend in London.
The Ontario Cadet-Juvenile Wrestling Championship will be held at the Agriplex at Western Fair with more than 700 wrestlers participating.
The championship will be for high-school aged individuals with cadets in Grade 9 and 10 and juveniles in Grade 11 and 12. It's also an open competition for club wrestlers and for students at a high school with no wrestling program.
It is one of the most physically and mentally demanding sport an athlete can compete in.
"OFSAA (the Ontario high school championship,) might be a little bigger but with everyone coming here officials and coaches, you'll have about 1,000 people here," said Josip Mrkoci, a member of the board of directors of the London-Western Wrestling Club, the host. "Wrestling is really popular at this level. This type of competition is important for wrestlers because there will be wrestlers here where their school doesn't have a wrestling program and that's unfortunate."
The meet is important because the top three finishers in each weight division have the opportunity of attending the Canadian championships in March.
As for the popularity of wrestling, Mrkoci says he's seen a big increase in participation especially among women. The Ontario Cadet-Juvenile Wrestling Championship has divisions for boys and girls.
"On the weekend you'll probably see 40 per cent girls and 60 per cent boys," said Mrkoci. "At this age level in the last two years, we've seen an increase of about 30 per cent across Ontario. That increase is in part due to the big increase in girls participating."
The increase in popularity, specifically with women, is reflected on the international stage. About 65 nations have established national women's wrestling teams. Mrkoci says Canada is ranked No. 3 in the world behind Japan and China.
The competition weigh-in will be held between 4 and 6 p.m. today. Competition begins tomorrow and goes from 9 a.m. throughout the day.
It starts again at 9 a.m. on Sunday with the semifinals beginning at 11 a.m. and the finals at 12.30 p.m.
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TEXAS DISTRICT XVI WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP
FEBRUARY 1, 2007
TEAM CHAMPION: CENTENNIAL HIGH SCHOOL
TEAM RUNNER-UP: FRISCO HIGH SCHOOL
Place: Wrestler's Name, Grade, Record
Weight: 95
1st: LENE' WOOD, CENTENNIAL SR 22- 0
2nd: NATALIE FULTON, FRISCO SR 7- 10
Weight: 102
1st: KIRSTEN GUNIA, CENTENNIAL SR 16- 8
2nd: ALEXYS NUNEZ, LIBERTY FR 1- 10
Weight: 110
1st: EMILY MARTIN, CENTENNIAL JR 32- 0
2nd: ITZE VALDEZ, RL TURNER SR 3- 6
Weight: 119
1st: KIRSTEN STRICKLER, FRISCO SO 23- 5
2nd: MALIHA MITHANI, CENTENNIAL SO 19- 13
3rd: JASMINE MURPHY, RL TURNER SR 3- 6
Weight: 128
1st: WHITNEY NEWMAN, FRISCO SR 19- 4
2nd: HALEY HUNTER, CENTENNIAL JR 22- 15
3rd: TAYLOR MURPHY, RL TURNER SO 7- 7
4th: ERIN MCCLEOD, LIBERTY FR 3- 9
Weight: 138
1st: VANESSA EPPS, FRISCO SR 22- 0
2nd: KASSIE PADRO, CENTENNIAL SO 14- 13
3rd: PHUONG NGUYEN, RL TURNER SO 3- 7
Weight: 148
1st: ALANNAH GRIEGO, FRISCO JR 19- 3
2nd: ASHLEY LEE, CENTENNIAL SR 4- 2
3rd: ARLEY GUERRERO, RL TURNER SO 3- 7
Weight: 165
1st: KARRA STRATTON, WAKELAND FR 8- 10
2nd: HANNAH BAILEY, CENTENNIAL JR 9- 13
3rd: CRYSTAL DIAZ, FRISCO JR 11- 14
Weight: 185
1st: COURTNEY GILLILAND, CENTENNIAL FR 0- 0
Weight: 215
1st: KENDRA DAVIS, CENTENNIAL FR 0- 0
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Most area wrestlers desire upsets
Homer’s Simeon Daigle is lone area wrestler entering state at No. 1
By JEFF HELMINIAK
Peninsula Clari 2/2/07
Hutchison will be looking to follow up her thrilling run to the state title at 103 last year. She became the first girl in the country to win a state tournament contested against boys.
“There are four kids ahead of her, but she has been within a point of three of the four,” Skyview coach Neldon Gardner said. “If she has a good state tournament, she’ll be in the finals and possibly win it all. If she has a bad state tournament, she’ll be fifth or sixth.”
Hutchison’s situation sums up the deal for a bunch of area wrestlers. Kenai Central senior Michael Dormady is ranked No. 4 at 189, while Soldotna junior Ethan Waters comes in at No. 5 in that weight class.
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Advocates grapple with the future of girls wrestling
Jennifer Birkland, Brentwood Pres3
Published 02/02/2007 - 6:08 p.m.
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Liberty freshman Brittany David tries to turn Desere McCray of Western Christian Academy. |
Wrestling has long been considered a male-dominated sport but girls all over California are trying to change that notion, competing against and alongside boys in high school dual meets and also participating in all-girl tournaments that are popping up statewide.
At the all-girl Northern Regionals held Jan. 20 at Liberty High School, three far East County girls earned medals in their respective divisions. Nearly 240 girls attended the event sanctioned by the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF).
Liberty sophomore Brittany David, the only female in the Lion program, went 3-1 in the 146-pound weight class to place third out of 13 division competitors. David’s only loss was to Monte Vista senior Natalie Bierwith, ranked No. 2 in Northern California in her division.
Pittsburg High sophomore Brittani Romero placed fourth in the 122-pound division, beating four of six opponents. Her teammate, senior Cristabel Mendoza, placed sixth in the 98-pound division, going 3-3 on the day.
“Girls are like Gumby”
Having competed primarily against boys since she entered the sport as a seventh grader, David felt fairly confident at the Northern Regionals. As a member of the JV boys team at Liberty, she holds a 3-3 record.
“I kind of like wrestling guys more. It’s a lot different wresting girls,” David said. “They don’t normally shoot on you like guys do. They try to throw you off balance more. They’re also a lot harder to pin since they’re so much more flexible. Once you get guys on their backs they pretty much stay there. Girls are like Gumby.”
Pittsburg High coach Gil Gutierrez noted that although girls lack brut strength, they have the ability to twist out of certain holds more effectively. Gutierrez avidly recruited female athletes to participate in his program this season. His 22-member all-girl team is one of the largest in the region.
“When I first approached a lot of these girls they were shocked just to hear that girls could compete in this sport,” Gutierrez said. “But they’re just as tough as a lot of the guys and once they came out they really took to it.”
With a large number of first-year wrestlers, Gutierrez had to pack a lot of information into his practices to quickly give his athletes a strong arsenal of moves.
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Photos by Jennifer Birkland
Pittsburg High senior Cristabel Mendoza placed sixth in the 98-pound division at the Northern Regionals. A four-year wrestler, Mendoza also competes on the boys team in high school dual meets.
“I showed them a lot at once,” he said. “I think it was confusing at first but eventually they started getting the hang of it.”
Gutierrez’s Pittsburg team competes in all-girl tournaments every weekend throughout the season. Only Mendoza, Fachon Jones, Danae Capurro and Janelle Vision compete on the boys teams in weekly dual meets.
“That’s how the parents wanted it at first. And I was OK with that. I didn’t want to scare the girls away,” he said. “I think they were nervous about sending their girls into wrestle with the guys. But now that they see they can handle it, I think they’re starting to soften.”
The road to Bakersfield
Many of the same girls who competed at the Northern and Southern regionals traveled to Bakersfield last Saturday for the California Girls Invitational at Hanford West High School. Informally referred to as the “state meet” by coaches and participants, the event was not sanctioned by the CIF.
Liberty’s David, seeded fifth in the state heading into the meet, earned the highest placing of any far East County competitor, taking fourth in the 146-pound division with a 3-2 record. David’s only losses came at the hands of Marina Picolatti, ranked No. 1 in Northern California, and Megan Agajanian, ranked No. 1 in Southern California.
“If I had 30 more seconds I could have pinned her,” David said, referring to her final match against Agajanian. “I was just about to turn her when time ran out.”
Taking fourth behind three seniors, David was pleased with her performance.
“I was the only freshman in my bracket. That was pretty cool,” she said. “Going in, I figured it was going to be really tough beating all those seniors. But I was happy with how I did.”
Pittsburg junior Fachon Jones placed sixth in the 118-pound weight class, going 5-3. She was happy to better last year’s seventh-place finish at the same event. After getting a slow start to the season, she wanted to end on a high note.
“I was ranked fifth at the beginning of the season but then I dropped off the list because I was concentrating on other sports,” Jones said. “I felt like I needed to get back the respect I’d earned. That’s what I was wrestling for: respect and pride.”
Pittsburg also saw sophomore Brittani Romero earn a medal at the Bakersfield meet. The first-year wrestler placed eighth in the 122-pound weight class.
“I was surprised. I didn’t think I’d get this far when I first started this season,” she said. “It was a good feeling.”
The future of girls wrestling
While Gutierrez has worked hard to build his all-girl program, the fate of the sport, at least as it pertains to the CIF, is still up in the air.
CIF Director of Communications Emmy Zack said although overall participation has grown in the past few years, the Northern and Southern regionals aren’t necessarily here to stay.
“We had been noticing through the participation surveys we send to all the schools for all sports that more girls are getting involved in wrestling,” Zack said. “In 2005, 1,200 girls were reported to be competing throughout the state. The Wrestling Advisory Committee then approved a two-year pilot for the Northern and Southern Regional tournaments.”
Photos by Jennifer Birkland
Pittsburg High sophomore Brittani Romero applies a half Nelson to freshman teammate Justine McPeters during last month’s CIF Northern Regionals. Romero beat McPeters by decision and went on to place fourth in the 122-pound weight class.
Zack clarified that these events are not championship events, simply regional tournaments to gauge female wrestlers’ level of interest. Later this year, the committee will review the numbers and decide whether these regional tournaments should be held in the future. Although participation is higher than it has been in years, it still isn’t anywhere near that of boys wrestling or other female sports.
“I think the fact that the participation numbers are roughly the same for both years is not necessarily a positive sign,” Zack said. “I think the committee hoped to see those numbers rise considerably from the first year to the second.”
Liberty High coach Greg Chappel, who hosted the Northern Regionals, said that while the tournament garnered $1,300 at the door, the CIF paid more than that in officials’ fees, janitorial fees and other ancillary costs.
“I think this is something that is going to take time to develop,” Chappel said. “The people who really want to see girls wrestling grow want to see it happen in their daughter’s time but it’s more reasonable to think it’ll happen in their granddaughter’s time.”
The fact also remains that while some 20,000 girls in the state compete in softball each season, the sport still doesn’t have its own state championship.
While the future of the regional tournaments is still in the hands of the Wrestling Advisory Committee, girls currently competing in the sport are hoping to one day see it reach the level of boys wrestling.
“It’s a really good sport for girls,” Romero said. “I’d like to see it get bigger and bigger. That would be great.”
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