Team Title - Balmoral’s Emma Watt locks up with teammate Michiko Araki, in Surrey. Boaz Joseph photo
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Wrestling with 2 sets of rules
Girls must pass state's mixed competition tests to compete with boys
By BRYAN CHU, Staff writer
First published: Thursday, March 1, 2007
This weekend, two high school girls will wrestle in the state tournament, a milestone in the event's 45-year history.
Yet, how Duanesburg High's Amy Whitbeck and Schuylerville's Sarah Anderson got to the postseason, some contend, highlights how girls are treated differently when they want to play with, and against, boys.
Girls who try out for a boys' team must comply with the state's mixed competition rule that requires them to take two tests annually -- a physical fitness test and a maturation test -- to determine whether they are fit to compete.
"It's ridiculous," said Buck Anderson, Sarah's father. "Ninety-nine percent of guys would fail it. These girls shouldn't be treated any differently."
The rule technically applies to boys, but it is rare for a boy to try out for a girls' team. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, the number of girls who wrestle scholastically has increased nearly 50-fold since 1990, and nearly 12-fold in football nationwide. (New York doesn't track the number of girls who compete in boys' sports.)
"It (ticks) me off," said Larry Thompson of the rule. His daughter, Heather, is a senior on the Schuylerville varsity wrestling team. "It's sexist is what it is. It's discrimination against the girls."
Largely, concerns about the rule are these: Administration of the test varies from school to school, the maturation test is too personal, and components of the fitness test are too difficult.
For example, girls who try out for the boys' varsity wrestling team have to jump a distance of seven feet without a running head start -- a feat some coaches believe boys would have trouble doing.
"The test was kind of intimidating," said Whitbeck. "It seemed really hard. It doesn't even make sense."
Cobleskill-Richmondville senior wide receiver Keala Bellinger believes the test can at least show she has mettle.
"I only weigh 120 pounds (compared) to a guy that weighs 140. People might not think it's a difference but it is," she said.
Trish Kocialski, who oversees mixed competition for the New York State Education Department, said girls have to take the test for one reason: safety.
"We want to make sure females are not injured," Kocialski said. "It's a safety precaution. The rate of (physical) change for males and females is different."
Some don't buy that.
"In any sport you can get hurt," said Fran Anson, whose daughter, Lisa, is a junior varsity 96-pound wrestler at Colonie High School.
Added Kristie Marano, who wrestled at Colonie High School and, as a member of the USA women's wrestling team, is a two-time World Championships gold medalist at 158 pounds: "There's risk of injury all the time. It's a combat sport; someone's going to get hurt."
On its face, the mixed competition rule has people wondering whether it violates Title IX of the Education Amendment, which states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance."
The Women's Sports Foundation -- an educational organization that provides consultation and educational information, not legal advice -- has received numerous calls in the past from those impacted by New York's mixed competition rule. Dr. Donna Lopiano, the foundation's chief executive officer, said she is unaware of any rule similar to it.
"It's mind-boggling," Lopiano said. "To give one test to one sex is gender discrimination.
Lopiano's solution: "There needs to be a standard test skill-based, sport-related test -- that both boys and girls have to pass."
Neena Chaudhry, an attorney for the National Women's Law Center in Washington, D.C., said the rule is discriminatory if "the purpose behind it was to treat girls differently, and case law clearly establishes that an intent to protect girls based on a stereotypical view that they are weaker is discriminatory."
If the rule has a more negative impact on girls, she said, a school would have to justify why the rule is necessary to ensure the athlete's safety.
Said Karen Newkirk, whose daughter, Katie, was a Fonda High freshman defensive end/offensive guard on the junior varsity football team last season: "I asked the school 'Do the guys have to take (the test)?' All of a sudden (my daughter) didn't have to take it."
Both Whitbeck and Anderson have more than proven they can hang with the boys. Whitbeck (39-5 overall record this season) is making her second consecutive appearance at states and will compete in the 103-pound weight class. Schuylerville's 96-pound freshman Anderson (32-2) is making her first appearance.
"I definitely think it will come to a point where it's not even going to be a surprise (to have girls make it to state championships)," Anderson said.
Her bigger issue is with the maturation test in which a girl's maturity is measured by noting the size of her breasts; a boy's by the growth of his pubic hair.
"They asked to see my boobs and they said they weren't big enough, and I was like 'first of all, if you practice and play sports you don't have boobs. You're lean,' " said Anderson. "That was kind of weird."
Dr. Hamish Kerr, who works at the division of internal medicine and pediatrics and specializes in sports medicine at Albany Medical Center, conducts hundreds of physicals for athletes.
Developmental screening of athletes is normal, he said, although he has never heard of New York's mixed competition rule.
"(We want) to make sure if they compete at a normal level, (it's) not a mismatch of maturity; we want the same maturity (for the) same level," he said.
So does breast development determine if it's safe for a girl to compete in sports?
"Breast development has no bearing on that, they are just markers. During puberty, the body changes from pre-pubertal (lacking hormones) to post-pubertal body (estrogen and progesterone). Those have a big impact on muscle tendon and bone development. (When those happen) it shows that the (girl) is stronger, faster and better at sports because of maturity."
If a girl fails the fitness or maturation test, she can appeal to the school district, which then appoints a review panel consisting of a school physician, a physical education teacher appointed by the superintendent and a physician of the parties' choice. Anderson appealed her test results.
Buck Anderson, Sarah's father, believes "parents of girls (are) so used to fighting since day one for equal rights for our kids," but not much is being done on a large scale to challenge discriminating practices.
Chaudhry of the National Women's Law Center believes parents could prevail if they decided to challenge the rule in court. "Yes, if they meet the criteria. Hopefully, if they make a case that it's burdensome and prohibiting girls from trying out, then the state will reconsider the rule. Parents and students need to make them aware of the problems this rule is causing for girls."
Despite the hurdles, many just swallow the double standards.
Says Bellinger, a football player: "If I had to go climb Mount Everest to play football, I would climb Mount Everest."
Anderson, a wrestler: "I love this sport and I'll continue doing it no matter the obstacles."
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By TERRY CARTER
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
Another key coaching award on Saturday night allowed greater Houston to clean up at the 2007 UIL State Wrestling Championships at the Delco Center.
Cy-Fair second-year coach John Banas took top coaching honors. Banas led his boys to a fourth-place finish in Austin behind Cinco Ranch, Highland Park and Canyon Randall.
Austin McCain (55-1) claimed gold at 125 pounds and Mike Murray (37-1) took second at 145. Donovan Vanderbilt (29-7) earned fourth in a tough 119-pound weight class to propel the Cy-Fair boys to their best finish at state.
The Cy-Fair girls did even better, with a third-place finish and a state crown for junior Angie Murray (32-0). Julie Smith (33-8) captured fourth at 102 pounds and senior Courtney Weiser (35-7) took sixth at 110.
Top girls
With state championships in hand, Cy-Fair's Angie Murray, Katy Taylor's Adele Kurt (30-0 at 165) and Klein's Lindsey Brooks (39-0 at 148) are greater Houston's golden girls this year.
For Brooks it's expected, since she has three state championships now. A college-bound wrestler, the Klein senior posted a high school career record of 161-6. That's five losses her freshman year and one disqualification her sophomore year for a hard takedown.
The sacrifice wrestlers make is worth the reward, but it's easy to count the lost time and days.
"This is hard work. I just kept telling myself to keep going," Kurt said. "During all the beatings and injuries, I had to keep thinking about winning state. I did it for the team."
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Timely title for Balmoral wrestlers
By SAM COOPER Staff Reporter
Mar 01 2007
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Team Title - Balmoral’s Emma Watt locks up with teammate Michiko Araki, in Surrey. Boaz Joseph photo |
For the many parent and student supporters of Balmoral Jr. Secondary, a historic provincial title for their girls’ wrestling team last weekend is more proof of why the plucky little school shouldn’t be closed.
While the North Vancouver School Board is engaged in a public process this spring to consider folding Balmoral into Carson Graham Secondary because of declining enrollment, the female wrestlers went about their business, taking the blue banner at the provincial finals last Saturday in Surrey with 63 team points, finishing ahead of St. Thomas More (43) and Carson Graham (41).
It was only the second time ever in B.C. a middle school has taken the provincials, said Balmoral’s wrestling director Ian MacDonald, who has been at the school for 21 years.
MacDonald said it’s possible he and his team could take part in upcoming public meetings about Balmoral’s future, bolstering the case to save the school with the blue banner in tow.
“I hope the school board looks hard at the decision (to close the school),” MacDonald said. “I don’t think it’s a done deal yet.”
He said if he conveys any message to the school board, it will be, “small is good — let’s use (Balmoral’s small size) as an advantage to attract students that have gone to other districts. Our lighter weight class wrestlers won this weekend — it’s appropriate,” he said.
MacDonald explained he believes the strength of his wrestling program is the fact they can accommodate almost all students interested in the sport, give lots of individual attention to athletes, and not have to make cuts.
“Anyone that shows a bit of talent, we tell to come out for the team,” he said. “I don’t want to have to think about (the possibility of Balmoral closing) before (the board’s decision on) April 24.”
Co-chair of the Balmoral parent’s group fighting to save the school, Ken Robinson, said the wrestling win feels like a symbolic boost.
“It kind of reflects the little school that could philosophy,” Robinson said.
Robinson’s daughter Melissa was one of the girl’s contributing to the team title, with a fifth in her weight class.
“The kids are ecstatic, but confused too,” he said. “They’re saying where will we wrestle?”
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3/1/07
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Not in Jello, not in mud, not wearing string bikinis--but on a regulation mat wearing real wrestling singlets in intercollegiate competition. It appears that women's wrestling may be an emerging sport in intercollegiate athletics. And Oklahoma City just may be the epicenter of this progressive move.
Oklahoma City University is starting a women's wrestling program to go along with its successful men's program. It will also be coached by the current men's coach. The program, when it is implemented next fall, will be one of only 6 programs in the country. But the move by OCU is generating significant buzz. The coach has already fielded calls from all the top female high school wrestlers in the country.
And OCU will also have the benefit in recruiting as it borders Texas, which has half of the country's 5,000 high school female wrestlers. [I find this somewhat ironic given that, last I knew, Texas had a ridiculous law that said, after age 14, girls could not wrestle against boys and because of the dearth of female wrestlers, this left many young women without the opportunity to pursue their sport. This is the story of Tara Neal (pictured above) who was the focus of the excellent documentary Girl Wrestler.]
The potential emergence of women's wrestling is probably quite dismaying to male wrestlers who already feel maligned by women athletes and Title IX who they see as taking away their opportunities to compete at the collegiate level. [This is a misconception of course. Wrestling is frequently on the chopping block when athletic departments find there is not enough money to support all the programs they have in an equitable manner but research has shown the most cuts to wrestling occurred in the 1980s when Title IX was not being enforced.]
I am quite interested in seeing how and if this trend emerges and how the introduction of women's wrestling to intercollegiate athletics will alter the overall landscape of women's athletics.
Labels: wrestling
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Wagaman qualifies for state tournament
Joe Naiman
Village News Correspondent
3/1/2007 6:57:24 PM
At the CIF Division IV championships, Priscilla Caldera of Imperial High School had become the first female wrestler to win a CIF division title in the San Diego Section. A week later, Jones became the first wrestler in the San Diego Section to eliminate a female champion when he followed his win over Romero with a 6-5 decision over the tenth-seeded Caldera.
In the match for a state berth Jones was pinned by Welsh in the second round, thus contributing to another piece of history as Poway became the first team ever to qualify for the state tournament in all 14 weight divisions. Jones and J.R. Mathys of El Camino were given a final match for fifth place, and Jones earned the higher position with a 6-2 victory.
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STM girl grapplers second in province
Mar 01 2007
The St. Thomas More Knights girls wrestling team finished second at last weekend’s provincial high school championships while the boys team came in fourth.
Although they came in second with 43 points, 20 behind first-place Balmoral, only one of STM’s girl grapplers won a weight class – Tessa Ma in 47 kilograms. Daphne Young came in third in 43 kg and Laura Gordon did the same in 57 kg. Natalia DeSousa was fourth in 64 kg while Yienia D’Amiei (40 kg), Ashley Bordignon (60 kg) and Deanna Schaper-Kotter (90 kg) were sixth in their categories.
Burnaby South tied for seventh with 19 points. The Rebels’ top finish was by Sarah Morten who was second in the 60 kg. Karen Ocampo was fourth in 43 kg while Sara Saib was sixth.
On the boys side, STM was fourth with 40 points. As expected, Max Arcand won the 70 kg division while Stefano Luongo was third in 84 kg and Zach Plych fifth in 110-plus kg.
Burnaby Central tied for 12th with 18 points thanks to a second-place finish by Fido Sahota in 63 kg and a fourth place from Michael Crisp in 60 kg.
New Westminster tied for 33rd as Eric Tuura had a fourth-place finish in 57 kg. Burnaby South was 40th with Gunvir Khosa coming in fifth in 38 kg followed by teammate Jonathan Billings.
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Northampton sophomore is Shore's first girl state wrestling qualifier
By Ted Shockley 4/1/07
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EASTVILLE — When Mandi Barnes learned Wednesday morning that she had qualified for the state Group A wrestling tournament, her reaction contradicted the hardened, stoic image of high-school wrestlers.
She burst out crying. And then she left class to call her mom.
“I’m a very competitive person,” she said.
When she takes to the mat Friday in Salem, Barnes, a plucky Northampton High School sophomore, will become the first Eastern Shore of Virginia girl wrestler ever to compete in the state tournament.
Only the top four in each weight class from each of the state’s four regions qualify for the two-day event, and in last weekend’s deciding match in the Region A tournament, Barnes finished fifth in the 112-pound weight class — falling to a rangy Mathews High School male by one point.
But one of the four who finished ahead of her was disqualified this week, and Barnes, a daughter of Karen and Larry Linton of Willis Wharf, was the first alternate.
Despite the inherent physical contact between genders during matches, the distinction of a girl competing one-on-one with boys in wrestling is becoming less rare.
Last year a Franklin High School 103-pound girl became the first to win a match at the massive state tournament, which includes hundreds of wrestlers, thousands of fans and simultaneous competition on eight mats on the floor of the Salem Civic Center.
Six girls competed in Saturday’s Region A tournament. Last year, Northampton’s Nicole Beasley, in the 103-pound class, became the first girl to win an Eastern Shore District title. Barnes won her weight class this year.
The Franklin girl and Barnes seemingly are the only two girls in this year's tournament, said Northampton coach Brian Harman on Wednesday as he flipped through names of statewide qualifiers.
“I saw a couple of Chrises,” Harman said, shrugging his shoulders over the least gender-specific on the list. “Unless they are girls, they’re it.”
A Feb. 17 story in The New York Times detailed the emergence of girls on high-school wrestling teams, saying schools in some states field girls’ teams and that more than 5,000 girls nationwide, and probably more, compete in the sport.
Girls’ wrestling also is an Olympic sport and some colleges field teams.
A member of the school’s field hockey and soccer teams, Barnes said it was the competition that lured her to ask Harman for a tryout.
Barnes, who compiled an 18-9 record this year, competed last year and said she enjoys the grueling practices, including some morning sessions held before school started.
More difficult to accept are the insults and catcalls from other teams, she said, “stuff like girls would get from other teams. Just not my team.”
She does her talking on the mat.
“A lot of the guys I wrestle, we become friends afterward,” she said.
She said another difficulty is “cutting weight” — because high-school wrestlers are classified by weight classes, she has to maintain her 112-pound frame.
Not only is she the rare 16-year-old girl who is comfortable disclosing her weight, she’s categorized by it, and it’s public knowledge.
The best part, she said, is the camaraderie of teammates.
“I like being one of the guys,” said Barnes, who wears 13 earrings in her ears and a gold stud in her nose. “That sounds weird, doesn’t it?”
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Striving to Exchange Label Of 'Pioneer' for 'Champion'; Arundel Junior Aims to Be 1st Girl to Win Md.
Ryan Mink. The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.: Mar 1, 2007.
Section: ANNE ARUNDEL EXTRA
Publication title: The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.: Mar 1, 2007.
Arundel junior Nicole Woody has been labeled a pioneer, an aberration
and one heck of a wrestler during her three-year career.
She likes the third description best.
But there's one distinction the 103-pounder and team captain wants
most: state champion.
For all of Woody's records and accomplishments, it's being a state
champion that she has dreamed about since she was in junior league. She will get
her chance when the state tournament begins tomorrow at Cole Field House in
College Park.
She became the first Maryland female wrestler to win a region title
after she defeated Centennial's Jack Western, 2-0, on Saturday.
On Feb. 17, Woody became the first girl to win an Anne Arundel County
title in the tournament's 48-year history. She did so by pinning South
River's Curtis Taylor with 18 seconds remaining in the third period.
"It's pretty cool, but I've been so worried about states recently that
I haven't had time to think about it," Woody said.
Woody, who became a junior world champion last summer, said she has
thought about what it would be like to be the first girl in Maryland to capture
a state title.
Only one girl in the country, Michaela Hutchinson of Alaska, has won a
high school wrestling title. Hutchinson accomplished the feat last year,
also at 103 pounds.
With a 31-3 record, Woody believes she has as good a chance as anybody
of winning the title, but not because of her historic performances during
the postseason.
Before the season, her goal was to win county and region championships
and to place in the top three at the state tournament.
"I was pretty cocky last year, and I thought I was going to win it,
even though I got fourth at regions," Woody said. "There's not much
difference this year. But this year I've beaten some people, and I'm one of the
top seeds. I've turned it into more of a reality than a fantasy this year."
Last year, Woody became the first girl to win a match in the Maryland
Public Secondary School Athletic Association's 4A/3A tournament by pinning
Linganore's Cody Marwine in 1 minute 57 seconds after losing her
opening match to eventual runner-up Jake Schilling of La Plata.
Her good friend Helen Maroulis of Magruder became the first girl to
place in the state tournament; she finished sixth at 112 pounds last year.
When Maroulis beat her to an accomplishment, Woody congratulated her
with a hug. But this year it's Woody who is expected to get the attention.
"I don't know if she's the favorite, but she'll be the one everyone is
watching," Arundel Coach Bill Royer said. "History might be made."
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