News Page
Oilers able to handle class jump
GREG SHASHACK, Assistatn sports editor 02/12/2007
Stassi, battling illness, lost to Carbondale’s Alli Ragan 5-3 in the semifinals before being eliminated with a 2-0 loss to O’Fallon Nick Grahek in the third-place match. Norris ended his season at 30-10, while Stassi closes at 28-10.
"When you’re here, the competition is close, it’s kind of like state," Bradley said. "Anything can happen."
Ragan became the second female wrestler to qualify for state when she finished second at 112 pounds. Ragan lost a 3-2 decision to Mascoutah’s Kent Williams in the title match. Ragan is 39-7.
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SCHULTZ MEMORIAL NOTES: A healthy Van Dusen improves; Cal Poly freshman Novachkov makes his mark
Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
02/11/2007
A healthy Van Dusen reaches new level of wrestling
Marcie Van Dusen of the Sunkist Kids is excited about wrestling every day. It was a lesson she learned last year when she missed the season with an injury.
She had a very successful fall last season at 55 kg/121 lbs., when Van Dusen won gold medals at the Sunkist Kids International, the Henri Deglane Challenge in France, the New York AC Holiday International and the Ivan Yarygin Memorial International in Russia. Included in her wins was a victory over two-time World silver medalist Tina George of the U.S. Army, who was ranked No. 1 at the time.
A severe knee injury forced Van Dusen to miss the rest of the season, taking her out of the U.S. Nationals and the World Team Trials. George went on to earn the U.S. team spot without Van Dusen in the field.
Since going through rehabilation last spring, Van Dusen, a California native who is a U.S. Olympic Training Center resident athlete, has been healthy and wrestling well. The Dave Schultz Memorial International is part of her competition plan to reach the top of her weight class this year and in the future.
“I feel good out there right now,” said Van Dusen, after handling Canada’s Brittany Laverdure in the semifinals. “I have been like that for awhile this year. I just have to keep it up and keep riding it.”
The Schultz Tournament is the first of three straight weeks of international tournaments for Van Dusen, who will travel with a U.S. tour team to France and Ukraine for competition the next two weekends. This will be the first time she has gone on this grueling a travel schedule for tournaments.
“I’ve done two tournaments in a row before,” said Van Dusen. “This will be tough, but I am excited about it.”
Van Dusen defeated Russia’s veteran Natalia Karamchakova in the finals of the Schultz event. It was a good win against a talented athlete she has never faced before, but worked out with in training sessions at the U.S. Olympic Training Center over the past week. Van Dusen believes the quality of her wrestling is better than ever in her career.
“I think I am ahead of where I was last year when I got hurt,” said Van Dusen. “I was wrestling at an equal level for a long time. I felel I have climbed the mountain a bit more.”
Because of the injury last year, Van Dusen will never take for granted her health, nor the opportunities that she has every time she gets to compete.
“Every day we have on the mat is a gift,” said Van Dusen. “I take that to practice with me every day. That was the lesson I have learned.”
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Illness doesn't set back Cy Falls' Mouton
Partially blind wrestler also competitive in judo
By TODD HVEEM 2/12/07
Chronicle Correspondent
Jordan Mouton was like most little girls. She loved to play with friends. She loved to cuddle with her mother. And she was simply fascinated by life.
But one day, Mouton's outlook on life changed completely. Not emotionally, but physically. Jordan Mouton was losing her vision. And she was only 8-years-old.
"It has been getting slowly getting worse ever since," said Mouton, who is a senior at Cypress Falls High School. "It has been tough to adjust to. It is manageable, but it is hard.
"It has really been a test. But I still have my faith. I think you have to, or you wouldn't be able to deal with it."
Mouton was diagnosed with Rod Cone Dystrophy. The disease, which is extremely rare, has caused her to lose her center vision and not be able to tell colors.
But it has not caused her to lose her zest for life.
"It is true that your other senses become better," said Mouton, who carries a 3.5 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale. "My hearing is really good and my sense of smell is the best."
Mouton also has picked up a couple other fascinating traits, too. She recently qualified for the regional wrestling tournament after winning the district title at 128 points. She entered the regional meet with a sparkling record of 25-5.
"I was told I would have a pretty good chance to go to state," said Mouton, who missed the regional meet after finishing third in district at 110 pounds as a junior. "That would be quite a thrill. The top four advance."
She also loves judo and swimming. She is a member of the United States Association for Blind Athletes.
"Judo is my main sport," Mouton said. "I am on the judo team that will go to Brazil. If I do well there, I will qualify for the Para-Olympics in 2008 in Beijing. I went to France last year for Judo. It was a lot of fun."
How did she get into martial arts, wrestling and swimming?
"My brother started wrestling when he was real little," she said. "I always wanted to do it, too. My dad didn't want me to, but then he let me after I joined judo."
Hunter Mouton, who attends Blinn College, also suffers from Rod Cone Dystrophy. His disease started when he was 6. At 19, he is completely blind.
"I don't know if he takes comfort from me, but I definitely look up to him," Jordan said of her brother. "I figure if he can do it, I can do it.
"Nobody knows why this happened. My parents are both fine. But we don't sit and complain. We just do the best we can."
After high school, Jordan plans to go to Texas A&M and major in psychology.
"I really like to listen to people and help try and figure them out," Jordan said. "I definitely like to try and help people."
Jordan said she must stay focused at all times in school.
"I have to try harder at things," she said. "I have to read Braille, so it takes me 10 times longer to do my school work. But it definitely makes me stay focused. I think that helps my judo and wrestling."
Her favorite wrestling hold is to put an opponent's arms behind their neck and push their arms across their face.
"I use that one a lot," Mouton said.
Mouton plans to be on the judo team and live in the dorms at Texas A&M. She really doesn't want any special treatment.
"Sometimes, my friends even forget I have this disease," Mouton said. "That is the way I like it."
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Not just one of the guys
Fifth-grade girl wrestler triumphs over competitors -- boys included
Teri Saylor, Correspondent 2/9/07
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WAKE FOREST - For Jackeitha Baker, the best part of wrestling is beating boys. In fact, the opportunity to wrestle boys is Jackeitha's prime motivation to keep at it, even though it's a hard and demanding sport.
"I like to wrestle boys because I like to beat up on them," said the 10-year-old North Raleigh resident. "I like to prove that girls are tougher and better."
She won't get much of an argument out of Quadarias Mickerson of the Charlotte Pitbulls, a 10-year-old boy she beat Saturday to win the 70-pound division in the Strength of Heart Tournament in Raleigh.
Jackeitha holds a U.S. girls Wrestling Association national title after beating a female wrestler from Kansas in the national championship in her weight class April at Lake Orion, Mich.
A fifth-grader at Wildwood Elementary School, Jackeitha started wrestling four years ago after seeing her friends do it.
"It looked easy," she said.
She works hard to make it look easy.
On a recent day, in an aluminum office building in Wake Forest's Industrial Park, the sound of rope skipping, feet moving and heavy breathing indicated something going on in there. The room was pitch black because the coach -- as a training technique -- had turned the lights off.
The lights came on to reveal a gym and three kids laboring on floor mats as an adult coach held a stopwatch and barked commands and words of encouragement.
Jackeitha, wearing head gear and a baggy T-shirt, was the slight athlete at the far end of the room.
She finished her rope skipping drill and scampered all the way up to the ceiling on a large knotted rope that hangs down to the floor.
Sweating and breathless, she explained why she works so hard.
"Hard training is worth it," she said. "If you work hard and get in shape, you can last longer than the others and have more endurance."
Her best move is a single leg take down. She makes it sound simple.
"You shoot around one leg and take down your opponent," she said. "Then you put your arms under his arms and around his head and roll him over and pin him."
Small and slender, she has slight arms that look like they could snap right off during a tough wrestling move.
Her father and coach, Keith Baker, knew Jackeitha had exceptional athletic ability when she was a young child, but mostly he recognized her drive and determination.
"She worked hard, took her lumps and finally got tired of getting beat up," he said.
Although girls' wrestling is starting to grow, there are just nine females wrestling in local clubs, according to Baker.
There is also a great imbalance on the statewide level.
"Currently, there are 34 females registered in N.C. Amateur Athletic Union Wrestling, compared to 1,874 males," said David Smith, the organization's chairman.
Because so few girls like to wrestle, those who do compete in the sport must wrestle boys. But as word gets out about the benefits of wrestling, more girls are doing it, giving them more opportunities to compete with other females.
"Some parents don't want their daughters to wrestle boys, and some girls don't want to wrestle boys because they don't think they are strong enough," Baker said.
He maintains that girls make good wrestlers because they are flexible, aggressive and competitive.
Good training keeps injuries at bay.
"Wrestling is safe for little kids," he said. "The way I keep them from getting hurt is to make sure they stay in shape and maintain flexibility."
Baker runs Strength of Heart, a local wrestling club, which along with five other clubs is part of the Wake County Wrestling Association.
Jackeitha excels off the mat, too. She placed twice in the USA Youth Outdoor Track and Field national competition last summer in Greensboro, finishing third in the 1500-meter run and fourth in the 800-meter run.
In the classroom, her father accepts no less than As.
She dreams of competing in the Olympics someday, in track-and- field and wrestling.
Heading into tournament season, she's fired up, knowing she's already a winner.
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Hanging with the boys
Jerricha Haller proves she can hold her own against the guys
By Abbie Beane / The Bulletin
Published: February 08. 2007 5:00AM PST
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Wrestling — one of the most physical, stripped-down sports there is — can call to mind a primal battle. A battle not only for victory, but for social status, for respect and, most of all, for pride.
Now imagine getting beaten by a girl.
At first, it’s hardly noticeable.
The Bend High School varsity and junior varsity wrestling teams stride in a straight line to the benches in front of the mats and wait for the singing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” to begin. All stand confidently in their Lava Bear warm-ups.
Yet upon closer inspection, one team member is clearly different from the others — shorter, and wearing a fitted white T-shirt under the standard wrestling singlet. The wrestler also has long pigtail braids, pink shoelaces and other feminine features.
Sure enough, when the wrestlers are announced for the start of the 140-pound match, Bend’s Jerricha Haller — a girl — finds herself facing a male from the opposing team.
The teen male ego is as sensitive as a wrestler is tough.
The opposing team’s wrestler appears to be taking a ribbing from the bench.
“A lot of times the other teams talk garbage about me,” says 15-year-old Haller, a freshman and the only female wrestler on the Bend High team. “They yell out, ‘Come on! You can pin her!’ Then I start wrestling, and they find out they can’t pin me.”
Bending gender lines
Buck Davis, head wrestling coach at Bend High, still remembers Haller as a mere fourth-grader, when she stood 3 feet 8 inches tall and weighed about 70 pounds. At the time, she was wrestling as part of the Deschutes Mat Club and regularly attended her older brother Jared’s wrestling matches at Bend High.
“She came up to me after a meet one time,” recalls Davis. “She looked up at me and told me she would be the first girl to wrestle for Bend High. I looked down at her and said, ‘Well, I guess we’ll see.’ “
Young Haller nearly fulfilled her promise. Instead, she settled for becoming the second girl ever to wrestle at Bend High. Another female wrestler joined the team as a senior, the year before Haller graduated from the High Desert Middle School wrestling team to the Bend High squad.
Not only is Haller one of the few female high school wrestlers in Central Oregon, she also is one of the best.
According to Davis, she has won roughly as many matches as she has lost in the 140-pound division for junior varsity wrestlers — most of them against larger and often older boys. And she has a good shot at wrestling in this weekend’s Intermountain Conference district tournament in Hermiston.
Haller took third in her weight class two years in a row at the Central Oregon middle school district tournament, and she was told by her coach that she was the first girl ever to take third at the annual tournament.
Haller’s response? “I’m not a girl, I’m a wrestler.”
She also recently qualified for the U.S. Girls Wrestling Association National Championships by placing first in a field of four in her weight class at last month’s Oregon Wrestling Classic in Redmond. The national championship is set for March 27 through April 3 in Detroit. The USGWA is a Michigan-based organization that was founded in 1998.
“When she wrestles girls she always seems to have an advantage because she is used to wrestling boys,” notes Jerricha’s mother, Jackie Haller.
Davis notes that Jerricha (pronounced JER-i-kuh) has not only wrestled boys bigger, older and physically stronger than her, but she has also defeated them.
“She’s beat a bunch of guys,” says Davis. “She recently pinned a very mature freshman boy from Crook County High School. She also wrestled a senior guy from North Lake High School and gave him a real battle. This was a way bigger, physical kid at a solid 140. There have just been a number of situations like that.
“Some girls who wrestle are just tough girls but don’t have a lot of skills,” Davis observes. “Some boys are like that too. The first thing other coaches say when they see Jerricha wrestle is, ‘She has skills. She’s not just going through the motions. She can really wrestle.’ ”
Brother Jared, a four-year wrestler for Bend High, knows firsthand the importance of a wrestler’s technical ability.
“I’ve tried to help her out quite a bit and make sure she has all the moves just right,” says Jared. “As a female, she needs to do all the moves perfect.”
It’s no surprise to learn that Jerricha grew up in the company of four older brothers: Jared, 22; Josh, 26; Justin, 29; and Shane, 30 — both Jared and Josh were also wrestlers. She also has an older sister, 19-year-old Jasmine, who is described by her mother as a “girly girl” and the polar opposite of Jerricha.
“Jerricha realizes she won’t outmuscle the boys,” her mother says. “She must out-technique them.”
Jeff Haller, Jerricha’s father, explains that in order to acquire such skills his daughter has to work hard and pay careful attention to detail.
“She’ll watch videos of herself wrestling and analyze all the moves and what she could have done differently,” says Jeff. “Then she’ll practice and practice a certain move until she gets it right.”
Jerricha has proven that she possesses a deep passion for the sport.
“I love wrestling because it’s a team sport as well as a personal thing,” she muses. “I think it’s cool that I’m the only girl on the team. I get to have friend relationships with the guys that most girls don’t have.”
The right to wrestle
While most high school wrestlers are focused on winning a strictly physical fight, Jerricha Haller is fighting a second, long-standing battle of a more intangible nature.
Although Haller possesses the skills and the drive to be a wrestler, there remain those of the wrestling world, according to her parents and coach, who do not want to wrestle Haller or believe that it is not appropriate for her — or any girl — to wrestle, particularly among boys.
And Jerricha is not alone in her struggle.
According to Bobo Umemoto, director of the women’s division of the Oregon Wrestling Association, there are more than 200 active female high school wrestlers in the state, including a handful in Central Oregon. And, the director notes, the number of female wrestlers in the state has risen by approximately 15 percent each year during the past 10 years.
“I worry about her because of people in the stands and what they think,” admits brother Jared. “A girl wrestling can have the appearance of being inappropriate, but that’s the last thing on your mind when you’re wrestling.
“It’s frustrating dealing with people who don’t understand and support it,” Jared adds. “Jerricha could help grow the sport of wrestling for women and open a division for women in high school. I think that would be awesome.”
According to mother Jackie, Jared thought his sister’s wrestling was only a phase when she was in elementary school. Yet he agreed that by continuing to wrestle in high school, Jerricha has demonstrated that she takes the sport seriously.
“(Jared and Jerricha) never really got along, and now he teaches her arm bars,” says Jackie. “She’s not afraid to yell at him, either — even though she only comes up to his bellybutton.
Another of Haller’s former skeptics also has turned out to be one of her most ardent supporters.
Adam Malinowski, wrestling coach at High Desert Middle School, initially told Haller’s parents, according to Jackie, that Jerricha’s place on the team was inappropriate because, “My boys were always taught not to touch girls like that.”
It was an adjustment for the coach, and for his male wrestlers.
“When she first joined the team, I didn’t know how to deal with a female wrestler,” Malinowski recalls. “For the boys, it was a lose-lose situation. If they lost, they lost to a girl. And if they won, they (beat) a girl.”
Malinowski notes that there are two types of female wrestlers: girls who want to wrestle for show, and serious wrestlers who happen to be female. Malinowski quickly changed his mind about Haller when he discovered that she fit the latter mold.
“Right away, it was clear she loved the sport,” says Malinowski. “She was phenomenal technically and worked harder than any other wrestler. She became one of my favorite kids of all time.”
Haller’s parents explain that their daughter’s pure love of the sport keeps them behind her.
“We support her because she wants this,” Jackie explains. “We’re proud because this is where she wants to go.”
“Some people still don’t think she should be wrestling,” adds Jeff Haller, Jerricha’s dad. “But it always will be like that.”
Yet admittedly, the high school years — when adolescents are growing and developing — can be an awkward time to be physically grappling with the opposite sex.
“She’s had her moments,” her father recalls. “Most of the boys weigh in naked in the locker room, so she had to deal with that situation. Sometimes they find a different locker room for her to use or completely clear out the boys locker room before they bring her in. Or they move scales if they can. She’s not always comfortable, but she knows there are things out there that she has to do to wrestle.”
Competitive matches also have the potential to become awkward.
“But if the boys even take a second to think about where they’re touching her,” says Jackie, “they’re pinned.”
Jeff Haller notes that it is usually the parents, not the male wrestlers, who have a problem with Jerricha being on the mat.
“They (the parents) are embarrassed to have a younger girl beat their older son,” he says. “We’ve literally had parents yell at us.”
One of Haller’s closest teammates is also her wrestling practice partner, 16-year-old, 112-pound Jacob Graber. According to Graber, Haller once out-wrestled him about three years ago. Since, Graber says he has worked intensely on his skills in order to improve.
“Sure, it would be a big deal if she beat me now,” Graber admits. “But the guys on the team really don’t talk crap. We’re there to wrestle and learn. We’re focused on the wrestling.”
At tournaments, however, Graber’s teammates have been known to let loose.
“Sometimes when Jerricha walks out for her match they’ll yell, ‘Hey look, there goes your girlfriend!’ “ says Graber with a grin. “But if anything, other teams know to watch out for Jerricha. She’s tough.
“Most of us think it’s cool to have a girl on the team as tough as we are,” says Graber. “A girl who can take everything we can take.”
Abbie Beane
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Girl Wrestler Will Be First In State Contest
Feb 8, 2007 6:10 pm US/Mountain
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SALT LAKE CITY Candace Workman doesn’t think about smashing stereotypes or making history, but she’s doing both.
On Thursday the Uintah High sophomore will hit the mat at the Class 3-A state high school wrestling tournament as the first girl to wrestle in the event. Workman’s first match is against Tooele freshman Jake Prather.
“I will just be thinking about winning my matches,” she said. “Maybe later, I will think about the significance of it.”
Workman earned her slot in the state tournament with a third-place finish in the 103-pound division at the Region 11 meet last weekend in Morgan. She pinned one competitor in less than a minute in one match.
For the season, Workman has a 22-6 record in varsity matches. Her overall record is 35-6. Since starting the sport nine years ago, she’s also won four female national titles for her age group. Her goal is to make the U.S. Women’s Olympic Wrestling Team.
“What it means and all that is probably up to other people to decide,” she said. “I just hope other girls who think wrestling is a great sport will see it and read about it and think, ‘If she can do it, so can I.”‘
In 2004, Workman drew some attention when she was excluded from wrestling against boys at a Spanish Fork tournament. Legal action was threatened and officials reversed their decision.
Washington state and Hawaii both have separate competitions for high school girls. But Workman doesn’t want Utah to do that.
Her Uintah coach, Gregg Stensgard, said Workman’s novelty wore off long ago. He says she works out, runs and lifts weights like every other wrestler.
“She’s legitimate,” said Wasatch coach Steve Sanderson, father of Olympic Gold Medalist Cael Sanderson. “She’s a good athlete, she’s dedicated and she’s tough.”
This year, six boys from out-of-state schools forfeited matches rather than wrestle Workman. Some said they didn’t want to lose to a girl, while some cited religious reasons.
“I hate that,” Workman said. “There were two brothers from Wyoming that said it was against their morals and their religion. That made me upset. They are (Latter-day Saints) and so am I. It’s not anything sexual out there, trust me.”
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Sunday, February 11, 2007
Jason Olson, Deseret Morning NewsUintah's Candace Workman, top, battles Canyon View's Jacob Woods in a consolation round of the 3A state wrestling tournament at UVSC on Saturday. Workman lost the match 9-4 but took sixth place in the 103-pound division, the highest a girl has ever finished in Utah.
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Miller finally saw the light, did right thing for A.D.
By Mike Sorensen 2/12/07
Deseret Morning News
And finally, I for one, thought it was neat that Uintah's Candace Workman competed over the weekend at the state 3A wrestling meet, where she finished sixth in the 103-pound division. I caught her interview on television where she said a few boys had refused to wrestle her because of "moral" reasons. That's fine if they choose not to compete against her. But she made a great point when she said wrestling was a sport, that there was nothing sexual about it and that if there was, then why did the boys wrestle against other boys?
Probably the main reason the boys refused to wrestle her was the fear of losing to a girl.
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Female wrestler unladylike
Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah: Feb 12, 2007. pg. A.08
Copyright Deseret News Publishing Company Feb 12, 2007 Not good for the Workman girl who practically won the state wrestling title this weekend. What young man in his right mind could wrestle a girl? Her opponent couldn't find a place to put his hands on her. Bless him for being enough of a gentleman to not touch her whole body. My sons would be instructed and encouraged to default the match rather than touch a young woman the way a wrestler must grab and push another young man to wrestle him. A female wrestler doesn't have to be a lady, but I'm glad we can expect the boys to be gentlemen.
Shannon Magleby
American Fork
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BY: KRYSTLE GARCIA-GIBBONS Northview Valhalla
Volume 45, Issue 11 Covina, CA 91722 Friday, May 13, 2005
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Northview is a school that a national champ wrestler calls home, that wrestler is Tatiana Padilla. She is dominating both sexes of the sport. With other titles under
her belt she is sure to continue succeeding. Padilla started wrestlingat about 3 1/2 years old because her older brother, former Viking wrestling star,
Chris Lopez inspired her to take on the sport too. Lopez has also been inspirational to her because, “he has always told me never to give up even
when things get tough to keep trying.” To come in and be so successful in a mainly male sport is a huge accomplishment that Padilla has pinned.
She says, “It’s the best feeling ever. It’s great because not many girls can hang with the guys.”
At Nationals, Padilla faced some of the best female wrestlers in the United States. She went in there ready to do what everyone had taught
her to do; work as hard as she could to win. “ I always think about what moves I am going to do and I just basically focus on how I am going to beat my
opponent.”
Her strategy worked because she placed first in the nation. The fact that Padilla is a freshman means that she still has three more years to shine in the high school
wrestling scene.
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Tatiana Padilla - Her Goal is Gold on the Mat
April 5th, 2006 by Administrator
By Dan Arritt, Times Staff Writer
It wasn’t the first time Tatiana Padilla landed on her back. Just the first time she was put there by another girl.
Padilla, a sophomore at Covina Northview, nipped at her nails and stared at the floor as she recalled that split second last summer. Sweat from a recent workout still dampened her bundled hair and a red welt showed beneath her right eye.
As she sat in the classroom where her wrestling coach taught biology, the memory seemed to boil her blood like a science experiment gone wild.
“I got caught,” she explained. “I didn’t really expect it.”
She wasn’t down long. Padilla rebounded to win the wrestling match and remain unbeaten against all female opponents. Her streak will be on the line beginning Saturday at the U.S. Girls’ Wrestling Assn. national championships in Lake Orion, Mich., where she won the 114-pound high school division title last spring as one of the event’s youngest competitors.
“Even when she was 5, she rarely lost to boys,” Northview Coach David Ochoa said.
Padilla almost learned to walk on a wrestling mat, tagging alongside her older brother, Chris Lopez, who won a state title at Northview in 2000. At 3 1/2 and weighing just over 32 pounds, she wrestled in a 40-pound weight class because there was nobody her size. She didn’t wrestle another girl until she was 8. Padilla won her first girls’ national title in eighth grade and her first boys’ varsity tournament this winter.
Last summer she gave Marcie Van Dusen and Tina George — ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the U.S. at 121 pounds, respectively — all they could handle during workouts at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
“I hate losing, period,” said Padilla, who is ranked sixth nationally. Van Dusen, 23, was the first girl from San Bernardino or Riverside counties to win a boys’ league wrestling title when she competed for Lake Arrowhead Rim of the World six years ago. Padilla battled her in a nonstop hourlong match.
“I never did that before,” said Padilla, who turned 15 in December. “It was very draining.”
George, 27 and a two-time runner-up at the world championships, was not only impressed with Padilla’s strength, quickness and technique, but by her composure and maturity.
“Her prospects are very high,” George said. “She does the work that it takes to be successful.”
Padilla’s goal is to become the first woman from the U.S. to win an Olympic gold medal in wrestling. At the boys’ high school state finals last year, Patricia Miranda displayed the bronze she won at the 2004 Games, when women’s wrestling made its Olympic debut.
“Tatiana told me she got a tingling feeling in her arms,” said her mother, Lisa Padilla. “She looked at the guy next to her and told him, `I’m going to have the gold.’ “
Beijing in 2008 is her primary target. Because she has dual citizenship, she’ll attempt to qualify for the Mexican team if she doesn’t represent the U.S. Either way, Padilla believes she’s coming of age at the right time.
“I want to go to the Olympics,” she said. “That’s what gets me excited.”
Because so few girls participate in wrestling in the U.S., many of the top female wrestlers hone their skills against boys, and Padilla said she wouldn’t want it any other way.
“There’s more competition because guys are harder to wrestle,” she said. “It’s more of a challenge.”
Two states, Texas and Hawaii, do not allow high school girls to wrestle boys, but those states also have the highest percentage of girl wrestlers in the country.
According to the National Federation of State High School Assns., girls account for 28% of the wrestlers in Hawaii and 17% in Texas. The national rate is closer to 1.75%.
According to a California Interscholastic Federation participation survey, 1,230 girls statewide wrestled during the 2004-05 school year, up from 957 two years earlier. By comparison, 13,099 girls from the state played water polo and 19,847 participated in tennis.
Only a handful of California high schools offer girls’ wrestling teams. Northview, whose boys’ team recently won its third consecutive Southern Section dual-meet title, is not one of them. Only two of Padilla’s female classmates are wrestlers, and all three compete on the boys’ team.
This year, she moved up from 112 to 125 pounds but ran into a roadblock by the name of Freddy Valencia, a senior who finished seventh at the Southern Section Masters Meet and qualified for the state finals.
“She’s a lot tougher than other people I’ve wrestled,” Valencia said. “She never stops coming back at you.”
Competing primarily for the junior varsity, she posted a 20-4 record this season, all against boys.
While girls from smaller states received national attention — Michaela Hutchinson, a 103-pound sophomore from Alaska became the first girl to win a state title while competing against boys earlier this year — Padilla and her family know where to find the best girls’ wrestlers in the nation.
Last summer Hutchinson lost on a technical fall to Caitlyn Chase of Illinois in the 110-pound final at the junior women’s freestyle national championships in Fargo, N.D. Padilla, who won the 119-pound title at the same event, beat Chase, 8-2, at the U.S. national four months earlier.
With Valencia graduating, Padilla stands a good chance of wrestling varsity next year. Many believe her success will be tied to her weight class. Among girls who have had the most success on boys’ teams, the vast majority wrestled at 112 pounds or less.
“The only thing that might slow her down is her weight,” said Kent Bailo, director of the U.S. Girls’ Wrestling Assn. “When these wrestlers turn more womanly, they get fat on their bodies in places that might be nice to look at, but are not good for wrestling.”
While some female wrestlers have taken drastic steps to keep their weight down and increase their chance for success on boys’ teams, even at the risk of their health, Ochoa has been adamant about allowing Padilla to develop naturally.
Regardless, Padilla said she’s not worried about losing her edge against the boys since she believes her biggest advantage is her experience.
“I’ve been doing this forever,” she said. “There’s always been people that are stronger than me, but I still had the moves and the technique.”
And plenty of motivation to stay off her back.
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High School Focus: Mistress of the mat
Manteca wrestler focused on winning girls state championship
WILL DeBOARD
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: January 26, 2007, 04:44:47 AM PST
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Manteca High wrestlers Samantha Phillips and Jory Burns work on escape moves during practice Wednesday. Phillips is eyeing a state championship. Samantha Phillips |
Whether it's grappling with guys or pinning girls, Manteca High senior Samantha Phillips is at home on the wrestling mat.
But after placing second at last week's CIF Northern California Regional Championships, Phillips had a tough decision to make.
Did she want to compete at her normal weight of 132 pounds, going up against Santa Teresa's Alexandra Sanchez, the girl who defeated her at NorCals?
Her decision became easier when she saw the Southern California Regional results, and the top-ranked wrestler in the country, Tatiana Padilla of Northview High, was also at 132s.
Phillips will bump up a weight class when she competes in the non-CIF sanctioned state championships this weekend at Hanford High School.
"One-hundred-thirty pounds is about my normal weight," said Phillips, ranked No. 4 in the state and No. 4 in the country at 132 pounds. "But it's my senior year. I really want to go out with a state title.
"And I don't think I can do that at 132s with Tatiana there."
Instead, she'll compete at 138 pounds. Phillips will face off against heavier wrestlers, but she's hoping speed is a factor.
"It'll be my first time at that weight class, so I'm a little nervous," Phillips said. "I'll be giving up 5 or 6 pounds to pretty much everybody. I'm just going to have to be quicker."
Phillips has split time competing for Manteca.
She's compiled a 13-1 record in girls tournaments — her only loss came to Sanchez in the NorCal finals. And she's gone 6-4 against boys, with all six of her victories coming via pin.
Phillips took a long road to her ranking.
She started wrestling her freshman year, bringing an extensive background in judo to the mat.
"We had a girl the year before who was pretty laid back," said Manteca assistant coach Dave Estrada. "So when Sam showed up, we were like, 'Here we go again.'
"But Sam had such a strong work ethic. She struggled that first year because she was only going against guys, but she kept coming back."
Her sophomore year, Phillips entered some girls tournaments. And last year, she advanced to the state finals, losing to Padilla.
This year, she wasn't able to successfully defend her NorCal title, although Estrada says that could be extra motivation.
"Everybody's coming up to me and saying they're so excited I was second in Northern California," Phillips said. "But I look at it like I was undefeated before that tournament. It's driving me for this week."
For Estrada, coaching Phillips has been an eye-opener.
"It's different from coaching the guys," he said. "Girls are really good listeners and they pick up the moves so fast. Coming from the judo background, Sam is so disciplined as well."
Phillips spends most of her time drilling with Buffaloes 125-pound junior Jory Burns, one of a few returning experienced wrestlers on the team. Burns is 13-7 this season.
"We push each other really hard in practice," Burns said. "It's tough for a girl to compete, strength-wise, against boys, but she's got a lot of skills, too.
"She's really focused on her moves, and she's got great feel for her opponent. She knows when leverage is about to go one way or another."
Phillips has helped Burns, too.
"She's my size, and technically she's so strong," he said. "There's no question she's made me a better wrestler."
When she heads to Hanford this weekend, Burns said he's hoping to watch her win a state title.
"This is Samantha's year; she could win a state title," he said. "We pushed each other all year, and this weekend hopefully it'll pay off for her."
Bee staff writer Will DeBoard can be reached at 578-2300 or wdeboard@modbee.com.
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GIRLS ON THE MAT
According to a National Federation of High Schools survey, 1,230 girls from 322 schools in California wrestled. Only Texas (1,314 wrestlers from 177 schools) had more girls compete.
Nationwide, 4,975 girls wrestled, a jump of 1,943 from five years ago. A decade ago only 1,164 girls wrestled nationwide
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List of 2007 U.S. World Team Trials qualifiers in all three styles, as of Feb. 12
Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
02/12/2007
LIST OF 2007 WORLD TEAM TRIALS QUALIFIERS (as of Feb. 12, 2007)
To be updated as qualifying events are held
WOMEN’S FREESTYLE
48 KG/105.5 LBS.
U.S. Nationals champion –
U.S. Nationals, second place –
U.S. Nationals, third place –
U.S. Nationals, fourth place –
U.S. Nationals, fifth place –
U.S. Nationals, sixth place –
U.S. Nationals, seventh place –
Northern Plains Regional champion -
World Team member – Mary Kelly, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
World Team member – Stephanie Murata, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
World Team member – Clarissa Chun, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
’06 Sunkist Kids International champion – Clarissa Chun, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
’06 NYAC Holiday International champion – Mary Kelly, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
’07 Dave Schultz Memorial champion – Stephanie Murata, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
College Nationals champion –
College Nationals runner-up -
University Nationals champion –
University Nationals, second place –
International Tour medalist (within 1 year) –
’06 World University Championships bronze – Liz Short, Lombard, Ill. (USOEC)
51 KG/112 LBS.
U.S. Nationals champion –
U.S. Nationals, second place –
U.S. Nationals, third place –
U.S. Nationals, fourth place –
U.S. Nationals, fifth place –
U.S. Nationals, sixth place –
U.S. Nationals, seventh place –
Northern Plains Regional champion -
Olympic Team member – Patricia Miranda, New Haven, Conn. (Sunkist Kids)
World Team member – Jenny Wong, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
’06 Canada Cup champion – Patricia Miranda, New Haven, Conn. (Sunkist Kids)
’07 Guelph Open champion – Patricia Miranda, New Haven, Conn. (Sunkist Kids)
’07 Dave Schultz Memorial champion – Patricia Miranda, New Haven, Conn. (Sunkist Kids)
College Nationals champion –
College Nationals runner-up -
University Nationals champion –
University Nationals, second place –
International Tour medalist (within 1 year) –
55 KG/121 LBS.
U.S. Nationals champion –
U.S. Nationals, second place –
U.S. Nationals, third place –
U.S. Nationals, fourth place –
U.S. Nationals, fifth place –
U.S. Nationals, sixth place –
U.S. Nationals, seventh place –
Northern Plains Regional champion -
World Team member – Tina George, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)
’06 Sunkist Kids International champion – Marcie Van Dusen, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
’07 Dave Schultz Memorial champion – Marcie Van Dusen, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
College Nationals champion –
College Nationals runner-up -
University Nationals champion –
University Nationals, second place –
International Tour medalist (within 1 year) –
’06 Henri Deglane Challenge gold – Chelynne Pringle, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Minnesota Storm)
59 KG/130 LBS.
U.S. Nationals champion –
U.S. Nationals, second place –
U.S. Nationals, third place –
U.S. Nationals, fourth place –
U.S. Nationals, fifth place –
U.S. Nationals, sixth place –
U.S. Nationals, seventh place –
Northern Plains Regional champion –
World Team member – Erin Tomeo, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
World Team member – Sally Roberts, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Gator WC)
College Nationals champion –
College Nationals runner-up -
University Nationals champion –
University Nationals, second place –
International Tour medalist (within 1 year) –
63 KG/138.5 LBS.
U.S. Nationals champion –
U.S. Nationals, second place –
U.S. Nationals, third place –
U.S. Nationals, fourth place –
U.S. Nationals, fifth place –
U.S. Nationals, sixth place –
U.S. Nationals, seventh place –
Northern Plains Regional champion -
Olympic Team member – Sara McMann, Iowa City, Iowa (Sunkist Kids)
’06 Sunkist Kids International champion – Alaina Berube, Escanaba, Mich. (New York AC)
’06 Clansmen International champion – Kaci Lyle, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
’06 NYAC Holiday International champion – Alaina Berube, Escanaba, Mich. (New York AC)
’07 Guelph Open champion – Randi Miller, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Gator WC)
’07 Dave Schultz Memorial champion – Randi Miller, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Gator WC)
College Nationals champion –
College Nationals runner-up -
University Nationals champion –
University Nationals, second place –
International Tour medalist (within 1 year) –
’06 World University Championships bronze – Alaina Berube, Escanaba, Mich. (New York AC)
’06 Henri Deglane Challenge silver - Vanessa Oswalt, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Gator WC)
67 KG/147.5 LBS.
U.S. Nationals champion –
U.S. Nationals, second place –
U.S. Nationals, third place –
U.S. Nationals, fourth place –
U.S. Nationals, fifth place –
U.S. Nationals, sixth place –
U.S. Nationals, seventh place –
Northern Plains Regional champion -
World Team member – Katie Downing, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
’06 Sunkist Kids International champion – Elena Pirozhkov, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Northern Elite)
’06 Clansmen International champion – Randi Miller, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Gator WC)
’06 NYAC Holiday International champion – Katie Downing, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
’07 Guelph Open champion – Katie Downing, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
’07 Dave Schultz Memorial champion – Katie Downing, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
College Nationals champion –
College Nationals runner-up -
University Nationals champion –
University Nationals, second place –
International Tour medalist (within 1 year) –
’06 Henri Deglane Challenge gold – Randi Miller, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Gator WC)
’06 Henri Deglane Challenge silver – Elena Pirozhkov, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Northern Elite)
72 KG/158.5 LBS.
U.S. Nationals champion –
U.S. Nationals, second place –
U.S. Nationals, third place –
U.S. Nationals, fourth place –
U.S. Nationals, fifth place –
U.S. Nationals, sixth place –
U.S. Nationals, seventh place –
Northern Plains Regional champion –
World Team member – Kristie Marano, Colorado Springs, Colo. (New York AC)
World Team member – Iris Smith, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)
’06 Sunkist Kids International champion – Iris Smith, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)
’06 Clansman International champion – Ali Bernard, New Ulm, Minn. (Univ of Regina)
College Nationals champion –
College Nationals runner-up -
University Nationals champion –
University Nationals, second place –
International Tour medalist (within 1 year) –
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