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Nguyen wins individual Provincial Gold at Ontario Juniors Wrestling Championships
Courtesy: Ray Takahashi - UWO
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TORONTO, Canada - Mustang wrestler Jennifer Nguyen won the women’s individual 55 kg gold at the Ontario Junior Wrestling Championships (under 20 years) in Toronto.
The second-year Health Sciences student beat Diane Ford of Rayside Wrestling Club (Sudbury) in the final in two straight rounds.
"It wasn't easy for Nguyen as she was nearly upset by Mariposa's Carly Wright in the semi-final match that went to the third and deciding round," said coach Ray Takahashi. "Wright had Nguyen beat, leading 3-1 with less than five seconds remaining in the match. But Nguyen used an arm-pry to counter Wright's leg attack and scored two points at the buzzer."
It was so close that Nguyen didn't think she won.
"I thought I lost, until the referee raised my hand," remarked Nguyen who also won the provincial junior title in 2006. Mustang teammates Lindsay Rebernik (5th 67 kg) and Jessica Belchos (6th 72 kg) placed 5th and 6th respectively.
The Mustangs host the Western Open Wrestling Tournament on Saturday Feb. 3 in Alumni Hall gymnasium. Wrestling actions starts at 9:30 a.m. on 3 mat surfaces and will continue throughout the day until late afternoon.
Teams and clubs attending include, Lakehead, Queen's, Guelph, Brock, McMaster, Toronto, Concordia, New Brunswick, Memorial (NFLD), Team Impact (Oshawa), Montreal WC, and US teams, Mott College (Flint, MI), and Muskegon College (MI).
In the women’s division, the number one and two ranked US teams, Cumberland University (Kentucky), and Missouri Valley (Missouri) have indicated their participation
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Coyotes come out on top of wrestling tourney
February 03,2007
Jason McDaniel
Monitor Staff Writer
MISSION — In one of the most balanced events to date, six of the eight member high schools tasted gold at the District 31 wrestling tournament. But no one knows how to hoard it quite like La Joya.
The Coyotes claimed a tourney-best six gold medals on the boys side and four on the girls en route to their second consecutive sweep of the team district championships Friday at Mission High.
"This year was one of the most competitive years," Mission Veterans Memorial coach Ben Izaguirre said. "A lot of the schools have competitive wrestlers. There were a lot of colors out there in these first- and third-place matches, and the thing is, year after year, it just keeps getting better."
As does La Joya. The Coyotes’ boys placed 11 wrestlers in the 15 championship matches, helping them to a tourney-best 219 points. McAllen High, which claimed two gold medals, finished second with 157 points, and McAllen Rowe took third with 156.
The top two finishers in each weight class advance to the Region IV wrestling tournament Feb. 9 and 10 at the Blossom Athletic Center in San Antonio.
"I’m very, very happy," La Joya boys coach Joe Lopez said. "This is the most kids I’ve taken to regionals. I’m just excited because the majority of my kids are coming back next year. We’ve got a bunch of sophomores and freshmen."
The final matches didn’t start well for La Joya. The Coyotes had finalists in the four lowest weight classes, but only 119-pounder Saul Garza emerged victorious. McHi’s Chris Flores, at 103 pounds, pinned La Joya’s Jesse Cantu in the third period and, in one of the most intense matches of the day, Rowe 125-pound senior Randall Rodriguez pinned La Joya’s David Saldana.
"Actually, it was pretty tough," Rodriguez said. "Going in there, I just kept thinking about this is the last time I’ll be wrestling here in the Valley."
Rodriguez qualified for state as a freshman in El Paso, and he returned as an alternate with Rowe last season. His match against Saldana was deadlocked at zero after one round, and Saldana pointed first on a reversal in the second. But with 43 seconds left in the period, Rodriguez gained control and caught Saldana with an impressive cradle lock.
"Randy and him had gone to a two-point match three or four times already," Rowe coach Randy Madsen said. "It’s been real close, hard-fought battles. So, to have him pinned like that is phenomenal."
The Coyotes bounced back to win the next two matches behind Eddie Gomez (130) and Javi Hernandez (135), then gained control when freshman 180-pounder Joe Gonzalez outlasted McHi’s Ben Cortez for a surprise 8-5 decision. Faustino Martinez (171) and Cristobal Hernandez (189) also took gold for La Joya to earn return trips to the regional tourney.
Other impressive gold-medal winners on the boys side included Mission Veterans’ Pedro Raya at 140 and Raymond Rodriguez at 215. Raymond Rodriguez turned in a steady 5-0 decision en route to his third straight district championship. He qualified for state last season as a regional runner-up.
"(Raymond Rodriguez) knows the moves, how to set them up, and that’s the biggest thing," Izaguirre said. "A lot of the young kids want to make their moves real quick, and he’s been around the sport. He’s a senior, and he pretty much positions himself and looks for the right opportunity.
"Wrestling is not just all muscle, there’s a lot of technique, and that’s what he looks for."
Rio Grande City junior heavyweight Arnold Caraballo took gold at 285 pounds with his first win over Rowe big man Mike Gonzalez. Caraballo took Gonzalez to the mat halfway through the first period and finally got the pin with 16 seconds remaining.
"It’s been two years (and) I couldn’t beat him, and this is the year that I beat him, so it was kind of cool for me," Caraballo said.
On the girls side, La Joya claimed the team championship with 127 points after trailing Rio Grande City heading into the finals. RGC finished second with 103, and Mission Veterans took third with 98.
Lady Rattlers Jenny Garza and Krystal Montalvo took first at 95 and 102 pounds, respectively, before the Lady Coyotes took over in the heavier weight classes. Stephanie Oviedo (138), Janet Escalante (148), Clarissa Garcia (165) and Roxanne Gonzalez (215) all claimed gold for La Joya, which was a surprise repeat champion after graduating six seniors from last season.
"At the beginning of the year I wasn’t sure, but halfway through I saw the improvement that they were making and they surprised me," La Joya girls coach Mario Montelongo said. "I told them it was their district to lose, and I think they came through."
The top four finishers in each weight class at the regional competition advance to the 2007 Wrestling State Championships on Feb. 23 and 24 at the Austin ISD Delco Center.
"We showed up today to wrestle, and as long as we decide it on the mat, best one wins, that’s how we want to do it every year," Madsen said. "It was a good showcase. La Joya ran away with it. They have a good program, but you know what, we were here to wrestle, and McHi did a great job today, too.
"I’m real pleased with all the kids."
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Girl grapplers win team silver
JOHN MORROW The Abbotsford News 2/3/07
Nikkie Brar of W.J. Mouat has W.A. Fraser’s Taylor Banks in a tangle during the recent Abbotsford-Mission wrestling tournament. Brar won a silver medal at the event, and her Mouat junior girls team won the team competition with a total of four medals, including Ashley Topnik, Abrianna Thomson and Anatholee St. Ange with gold. The event featured 94 wrestlers from nine schools.
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Women wrestlers exhibit prowess in Gwalior trade fair
By ANI
Saturday February 3, 01:47 PM
Gwalior, Feb 3 (ANI): Women wrestlers have been rare in India, but they are making their presence felt at the on-going annual Trade Fair in Gwalior.
Women wrestlers from different parts of the country participated and exhibited their grappling and gripping strength, an effort which was welcomed by the spectators.
"It is good to see that women have come forward even in the wrestling field. It is necessary that they come forward," said Rajdeep Kaur, a visitor.
A good number of these eve grapplers have already participated in national and international wrestling bouts.
However, their grievances pertain to the lack of support from the government.
"The government should organise such events more often and invite women wrestlers from across the country," said Rajni Bist, a wrestler from Delhi.
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