GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Sally Tolentino, left, of Waianae grappled with Judith Heger of Hilo in the 114 weight class yesterday.
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Woody's quest for title ends in second place
Arundel wrestler's bid to become state's first girl champion falls short; she loses 6-2 to River Hill's Mantua
Glenn Graham
Sun Reporter
Originally published March 3, 2007, 8:04 PM EST
COLLEGE PARK // Arundel's Nicole Woody reached the ultimate match but didn't get the ultimate outcome, losing a 6-2 decision to River Hill's Scott Mantua in the state Class 4A/3A 103-pound wrestling final tonight at Cole Field House.
Mantua got a takedown midway through the first period and stayed in control throughout the match to win his first championship. After Woody scored a takedown early in the second period to tie the match at 2, Mantua quickly answered with a reversal and added another takedown in the final period for the 6-2 decision.
Woody was looking to become the second girl wrestler in the country to become a state champion. Last year, Michaela Hutchison, of Keyview High School in Alaska, became the first to claim a state title against a boy.
Woody did earn the highest finish ever for a female in the state tournament with her runner-up position. She finished the season with a 34-4 record and received a standing ovation from the crowd during the final seconds tonight. Earlier this season, Mantua (36-1) earned a 9-6 decision over Woody at the Arundel tournament.
"Going out there, I just wanted to do well," Woody said. "I had already lost to Scott before, and I just wanted to wrestle my best. [But] I think that was the worst match I've wrestled in a while, technique-wise.
"Yesterday, I got excited about being a 'placer' and then today I was all excited about being in the finals. I don't know, maybe something inside of me was satisfied with being in the final instead of doing anything else."
Woody reached the final with a 5-4 overtime win over C.J. Savage of Tuscarora in the semifinals.
In the previous two weekends, Woody became the state's first female county champion -- pinning South River's Curtis Taylor to win the Anne Arundel title on Feb. 17th -- and its first female region champ, taking the Class 4A/3A East crown with a 2-0 decision over Centennial's Jack Western.
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Close races in boys, girls wrestling
By Wes Nakama 3/3/07
Advertiser Staff Writer
Punahou leads the Chevron/ Hawai'i High School Athletic Association Boys Wrestling Championships by the thinnest of margins, 71.5 points to 71, over Kamehameha after the first day of action at Blaisdell Arena.
Yesterday's results included the qualifying, preliminary and quarterfinal rounds. The tournament concludes today with the semifinals and consolation rounds 3 and 4, followed by the girls finals and consolation finals at 4:30 p.m. and the boys finals and consolation finals at 6:30 p.m.
Saint Louis is in third place with 61.5 points, followed by Kahuku (60), Kaiser (49), 'Aiea (48.5), 'Iolani (43) and Pearl City (40).
The girls team standings are almost as close, with Kahuku in first place with 63.5 points, followed by Farrington (61), Kamehameha (58), 'Iolani (54.5), Punahou (45), Kapolei (44), 'Aiea (37.5) and Wai'anae (33).
'Iolani's Carla Watase and Kamehameha's Hoku Nohara stayed on track in trying to become the second and third Hawai'i girls to win four individual state championships.
Both advanced to today's semifinals, with Watase facing unseeded Kalae Johnson of Kahuku at 108 pounds and Nohara against No. 4 seed Naoli Weller of Hilo at 220 pounds.
Yesterday's biggest individual upsets came in the girls 155-pound division. Kamehameha's Taisha Santiago knocked off No. 1 seed Amanda Soliai of Kahuku in the preliminary round, then defeated Castle's Chelsea Ganzagan in the quarterfinals.
Santiago will next face Punahou's Ilima Macfarlane, who upset No. 4 seed Kacie Davis of Kamehameha-Hawai'i in the quarterfinals. The other semifinal features two more unseeded wrestlers, Kailua's Monique Dillner and Farrington's Crystal Kalakau.
Dillner upset No. 3 seed Lindsey Tufono of 'Iolani in the quarterfinals, and Kalakau advanced with a quarterfinal victory over Sacred Hearts' Jessica Caires, who upset No. 2 seed Kulia McGurn of Kamehameha-Maui in the preliminary round.
The 120-pound division featured three upsets, leaving Farrington's Tani Ader (No. 1) as the only seeded wrestler remaining. She will face Pearl City's Jada Antolin in the semifinals, after Antolin upset No. 4 seed Danielle Hubbard of Konawaena in the quarterfinals.
The other semifinal features unseeded Cianah Hee of Kahuku and Courtney Kinimaka of Kapolei. Hee upset No. 3 seed Alyssa Morimoto of Baldwin in the quarterfinals, and Kinimaka advanced after knocking off No. 2 seed Raena Campos of Kamehameha.
There were several controversial outcomes in the boys matches.
At 152 pounds, Word of Life's Shandon Augustus was penalized for an illegal slam on Moanalua's Garrett Cockett, the No. 2 seed. Cockett suffered a concussion and was taken to a hospital and released.
Augustus lost the match because of the foul but since it was not considered flagrant, he was allowed to continue wrestling in the consolation bracket.
Cockett, however, is done for the tournament.
"He's a team captain and the emotional leader," Moanalua athletic director Joel Kawachi said.
At 112 pounds, Punahou's Bryson Fukushima defeated No. 3 seed Bill Takeuchi of Pearl City in the quarterfinals, 8-7, when Takeuchi was called for stalling in the final five seconds of the match. Fukushima won the 103-pound title last year.
And at 140 pounds, No. 4 seed Dan Quinlan of Lahainaluna was disqualified in the quarterfinals after being called for "clubbing" the head of Kaiser's Shane Yakabe. Lunas coaches disputed the call, especially after reviewing video tape of the match.
GIRLS
TEAM STANDINGS
1, Kahuku 63.5 points; 2, Farrington 61; 3, Kamehameha 58. 4; 'Iolani 54.5.; 5, Punahou 45; 6, Kapolei 44; 7, 'Aiea 37.5; 8, Wai'anae 33; 9, Baldwin 29; 10t, Campbell 28, Pearl City 28; 12t, Mililani 20, Moanalua 20; 14, Kealakehe 19.5; 15t, Kamehameha-Hawai'i 18, Moloka'i 18; 17, Castle 17; 18, St. Anthony 16; 19t, Kalaheo 15, Konawaena 15; 21t, Hilo 14, Lahainaluna 14; 23, Kamehameha-Maui 13; 24, Mid-Pacific 11; 25, Kailua 9; 26t, Hawai'i Baptist 8, Kohala 8; 28t, Honolulu Waldorf 7, Leilehua 7; 28t, Waiakea 7, 31, Roosevelt 5; 32, Waialua 4; 33t, Kea'au 3, Maui 3; 33t, St. Francis 3, Waipahu ; 37, Word of Life 2.5; 38t, Lana'i 2, Sacred Hearts 2; 40, Nanakuli 1.
SEMIFINAL MATCHES
98 POUNDS
No. 1 Taylor Ibera (Farrington) vs. Kesie-Ann Mita (Mid-Pacific); No. 2 Macy Yonamine (Kamehameha) vs. Renee Michell (Kealakehe)
103 POUNDS
No. 1 Keiko Akamine ('Iolani) vs. Brandie Dela Rama (Mililani); No. 2 Ren Yamashita ('Aiea) vs. No. 3 Alexandra Aoki (Konawaena)
108 POUNDS
No. 1 Carla Watase ('Iolani) vs. Kalae Johnson (Kahuku); No. 2 Tehani Ibarra (St. Anthony) vs. No. 3 Samantha Batoon (Farrington)
114 POUNDS
No. 1 Megan Morisada ('Iolani) vs. No. 4 Joy Yamashita ('Aiea); No. 2 Victoria Milanio (Lahainaluna) vs. Chaelyn Tan (Kapolei)
120 POUNDS
No. 1 Tani Ader (Farrington) vs. Jada Antolin (Pearl City); Cianah Hee (Kahuku) vs. Courtney Kinimaka (Kapolei)
125 POUNDS
No. 1 Danica Auna (Kahuku) vs. No. 4 Mary Brzezowski (Kamehameha-Hawai'i); No. 2 Ariella Ing (Moanalua) vs. Kaleo Souza ('Aiea)
130 POUNDS
No. 1 Pi'ikea Kalalau (Baldwin) vs. Kelia Parilla (Kamehameha); No. 2 Amanda Keli'iho'omalu (Kahuku) vs. Punahele Luafalemana (Moloka'i)
140 POUNDS
No. 1 Kara Takasaki (Punahou) vs. Jillian Fontanilla (Pearl City); No. 2 Stephanie Geltmacher (Kalaheo) vs. Hoku Kubota (Kamehameha-Maui)
155 POUNDS
Taisha Santiago (Kamehameha) vs. Ilima Macfarlane (Punahou); Monique Dillner (Kailua) vs. Crystal Kalakau (Farrington)
175 POUNDS
No. 1 Ashley Lilo (Farrington) vs. Leya-Justina Luafalemana (Moloka'i); No. 2 Kailee Andrade (Baldwin) vs. Ashley Abalos (Wai'anae)
220 POUNDS
No. 1 Hoku Nohara (Kamehameha) vs. No. 4 Naoli Weller (Hilo); No. 2 Oliva Fatongia ('Iolani) vs. No. 3 Vicky Green (Wai'anae)
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Woody advances, has eye on title
3-time champ Taweel hurts knee, loses
By Lem Satterfield
Sun Reporter
Originally published March 3, 2007
COLLEGE PARK // While Arundel's Nicole Woody continued her assault on Maryland high school wrestling history, Class 2A-1A three-time state champion Vince Taweel of Hammond lost last night at the state wrestling tournament at Maryland's Cole Field House.
Woody (33-3), at 103 pounds, pinned Magruder's Davish Chasker, rolled to a 13-3 rout of Westminster's Brian Lillehaug and next meets Tuscorora's C.J. Savage in her quest to be the first girl to win a Maryland title and only the nation's second to do so while competing against boys.
But Taweel (40-2), at 135 pounds, was upended by Beall's Stephen Whetstone, who led, 10-3, when Taweel defaulted with 1:32 left in the match with an injury to his right knee.
"I heard a pop, I tried to stand up, but it just gave out," said Taweel, who looked to join Aberdeen's Matt Slutzky (1992) and Owings Mills' Steve Kessler (1997) as Maryland's only four-time champs. "I wanted to continue, but I couldn't. I'm disappointed."
The injury to Taweel, who was taken home by his father, Ramsey, is so severe he will not be able to return to the tournament. It came during the same year when Walt Whitman's three-time champ, Eren Civan, succumbed to a knee injury that also ended his shot at a fourth title.
Glenelg advanced Brendan Conway (103), Brian Marcoux (119), Chris Stinnett (125), state runner-up Dan Bichner (130), Tim Chase (171) and Pat Black (285), and Old Mill's defending champ Greg Saumenig (125), Tim Lobuglio (130), Jon Sillaman (171), Ethan Brown (189) and Justin Faithful (285) all advanced as the Patriots seek to dethrone LaPlata of Charles County for their eighth tournament crown.
In victory, Woody would join Skyview High's Michaela Hutchison of Alaska. As a sophomore on Feb. 4 of last year, Hutchison's 1-0 victory over Colony High's Aaron Boss made her America's first girl to win a state title against a boy.
Two weeks ago, Woody (68-18 career) became Maryland's first female county titlist, pinning South River's Curtis Taylor in 5:42 of their Anne Arundel final. Last week, Woody became Maryland's first female regional finalist with a 2-0 shutout of Centennial's Jack Western in their 4A-3A North Region final.
Woody is in her third state tournament, having gone 0-2 two years ago when she and 2A-1A qualifier Jade Hendricks (Western Tech) became the first girls to make it. Last year, Woody was joined by Magruder's Helen Maroulis, whose sixth place finish made her Maryland's first female place-winner.
"I had a lot of energy and tried to be smart," said Woody, 18, who is guaranteed at least a top six finish in her class. "Losing here the last couple of years, I want it more - to be the first girl state champ, which means winning two more matches."
Hereford's Josh Asper (160, 37-0) remained on pace for his third 2A-1A crown - likely against last year's 152-pound champ Justin Ratliff of Southern of Garrett County - as did Hammond's Devon Gillett (119) and Annapolis' Bubby Graham (152, 30-0) for their second crowns in 2A-1A and 4A-3A.
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Old Mill starts off today in the top position
By BOB HOUGH, For The Capital 3/3/07
COLLEGE PARK - The Old Mill wrestling team advanced five of its six state qualifiers to the semifinals, leaving the Patriots in first place after the first day of the Class 4A/3A state wrestling tournament at the University of Maryland's Cole Field House.
Anne Arundel County will have 13 wrestlers taking the to the mats in this morning's semifinals at 11. The county had advanced 36 wrestlers from last week's region tournament.
Leading the way for the Patriots is defending state champion Greg Saumenig at 125. The senior improved to 37-3 with victories over Thomas Brannon of LaPlata and Jorge Alcoba of Springbrook. He'll face Brian Wilkerson (26-5) of Damascus this morning in the semis. Teammates Justin Faithful, Tim Lobuglio, Jon Sillaman and Ethan Brown also made the semifinals.
Faithful remained unbeaten in the heavyweight division with wins over Nathan Staffer of North Carroll and Jeff Hernandez of John F. Kennedy. He'll face Woodlawn's Alex Harper (29-2), the North region champ. If Faithful can get by Harper and Broadneck's Tom Mulligan beats Derrell Qualls of Bowie, the two would meet for the state title and a rematch of last weekend's region final, won by Faithful in a 2-1 triple-overtime decision.
At 130 pounds, Luguglio (27-4) advanced with a pin in the preliminaries and a decision in the quarterfinals to set up a matchup with North region champ Josh White (22-8) of Tuscarora.
Senior Jon Sillaman (27-12) made it to the semifinals with a 9-6 decision over Parkville's Yousef Mohamed, who entered the tournament at 34-0. He faces another unbeaten this morning in Lackey's Clyde Jones (33-0)
"It felt good, he was tough. I was preparing for this all week. Anything can happen in the states," Sillaman said.
Brown improved to 30-7 and advanced to the semifinals with two more wins at 189.
Broadneck is second among county teams with two wrestlers in the semifinals. Mulligan advanced at heavyweight and Abe Hunter will take on Chesapeake's Tyler Lomax at 152 in a rematch of their region semifinal bout, won by Hunter. Lomax was the lone Cougar to advance.
"I'm going to have a real tough match with Abe Hunter. He beat me last week, but I've been preparing all week for it," Lomax said.
Arundel, Northeast, Annapolis, Severna Park and South River also advanced one wrestler each to this morning's semifinals.
Arundel's Nicole Woody (33-3) took a step closer to becoming the first-ever female state wrestling champion with a pair of victories at 103 to set up a semifinal bout with C. J. Savage (22-7) of Tuscarora.
Northeast's Maurice Flemming remained unbeaten at 140 with a pair of pins to set up a showdown with South region champ Edwin Randall (30-1) of Northern-Calvert.
Annapolis' Bubby Graham remained unbeaten with two wins at 152. He'll face Tim Stewart (34-5) in the semifinals. If he advances, he'll face the winner of the Abe Hunter-Tyler Lomax bout. He beat Hunter, 5-0, in last week's region final.
South River's Ian Graham (31-2), the region champ at 189, will face Thomas Wootten's Mike Tobin (40-4) in one semifinal, with a possible rematch against Old Mill's Ethan Brown in the finals. Graham beat Brown, 7-3, to win the region title.
After having eight wrestlers advance to the state tournament, Severna Park has just one in the semifinals. Sophomore Billy Nichols (20-3) will take on Justin Bowersox (25-7) of Thomas Stone in a 171 semifinal.
"The competition is tough. I thought we wrestled well. In the matches we lost, we were competitive," Severna Park coach Paul Joyce said. "For some of these kids, it's their first time at the states and they get overwhelmed a bit."
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State history is taken to the mat
Whitbeck is first girl to advance to Day 2
By DAVID FILKINS, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Saturday, March 3, 2007
ALBANY -- Sarah Anderson and Amy Whitbeck seem to make history every time they step on the wrestling mat. They are the first girls in New York to win at a state qualifier, and the first girls in New York to represent their section at the state tournament.
They were at it again on Friday.
Anderson, a freshman 96-pounder from Schuylerville, and Whitbeck, a junior 103-pounder from Duanesburg, became the first girls in state history to win in the championship bracket, defeating first-round opponents before a crowd of more than 4,500 at Times Union Center.
Whitbeck made more history when she advanced to Day 2 by winning a consolation match after losing in the quarterfinals of the main draw. Anderson also lost in the quarterfinals, then in the consolation round. Her season ended on Friday.
Anderson was not available for comment after her final match, but Schuylerville coach Bill Schemp talked about the accomplishment and what it means for Anderson's future.
"Getting here was a great experience for Sarah," Schemp said. "Last year she was third in the section and this year she won a match at states. Every year is just another step toward the top. She has three years left. We will make it to the top."
The journey is ongoing for Whitbeck, who became the first girl to reach the state tournament last year, when she lost in the first round, won a consolation match, then lost her third match. She wouldn't have been happy with the same result this year, and had a clear-cut goal entering the tournament.
"To place," Whitbeck said.
If she wins her first consolation match today, she'll be assured of at least sixth place.
Whitbeck advanced to Day 2 by pinning Even Popham of Clifton-Fine 1 minute, 13 seconds into the first period and, after getting out-pointed by Pete Avellaneda of Beekmantown 8-4 in the quarterfinal round, pinned Ryan Kelly of Manhasset in the second period of a consolation match.
Whitbeck said she wasn't nervous despite being the focus of extra publicity because of her gender. Three people approached her and coach Joe Bena at a restaurant Friday morning, waving a newspaper clipping of Anderson and Whitbeck and saying, "This is you!"
"Amy doesn't show any nerves, but I would have to think there were some," Bena said. "She's been in so many big matches. She was the Most Outstanding Wrestler of a tournament in Colorado. But this is her hometown. I thought with all the publicity it would have an effect. She wrestled great today."
Anderson defeated Lance Zerniak of Sodus 6-3 in the first round, lost 13-5 to Grant Greene of Cold Spring Harbor, and was pinned by Arik Robinson of Peru.
Her first match was at 11:30 a.m. and her last was at 7:30 p.m.
"It was such a long day that I think it took its toll," said Schemp, the Schuylerville coach. "It wasn't a full-speed Sarah Anderson in that last match."
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Seven lady Dinos in wrestling final
UPDATED: 2007-03-03 02:12:13 MST
By CP
SASKATOON -- The Brock Badgers and Simon Fraser Clan both have some work to do if they want to successfully defend their CIS men's and women's wrestling titles.
The Badgers, the eight-time defending men's champion, finished the first day of the CIS tournament neck-and-neck with Simon Fraser and the Saskatchewan Huskies with all three having four wrestlers vying for gold and two for bronze.
In the women's division, defending champion Simon Fraser finds itself trailing the Calgary Dinos after the first day.
Brock's Jamie Macari will attempt to become the first wrestler to finish his varsity career with five straight Ontario and Canadian individual titles.
Macari improved his career record to 34-0 with two wins yesterday and will attempt to defend his 54-kilogram title.
In the women's division, Calgary will have seven wrestlers in the eight finals.
They are: Brandy Ens (48 kg); Gen Haley (51 kg), Andrea Ross (55 kg), Justine Bouchard (63 kg), Stephanie Buchan (67 kg), Leah Callahan (72 kg) and Megan Goldsmith (82 kg).
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Top seed falls, but Kahuku girls lead
By Paul Honda 3/3/07
phonda@starbulletin.com
|
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM |
With help from an unseeded, unfamiliar freshman, the Farrington Governors put pressure on defending champion Kahuku after one day of the Chevron/HHSAA Girls Wrestling State Championships.
In the first state-tournament match of her career, Kamehameha freshman Taisha Santiago upset top-seeded Amanda Soliai of Kahuku 7-3 in the 155-pound weight class.
Going into today's action, Kahuku led with 63.5 points, followed by Farrington with 61, Kamehameha with 58 and Iolani with 54.5.
Santiago, who placed third in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu championships, had reason to be optimistic despite a preseason loss to Soliai.
Santiago was injured prior to that loss, which resulted in a pin by Soliai. This time around, Santiago toppled the Red Raider, and then took a default win over Chelsea Ganzagan of Castle in the quarterfinals.
"This week, I changed my routine. I got my mind straight and concentrated when I warmed up," Santiago said. "I was ready for anybody."
Soliai tried to lock up on Santiago, but had little success.
"This time, she was hesitant. She wasn't as aggressive as last time," Santiago said.
Santiago will face another unseeded upstart, Ilima-Lei Macfarlane of Punahou, in today's semifinals. Macfarlane, the fourth-place wrestler in the ILH, ousted Maui Interscholastic League champion Kacie Davis (KS-Maui) in another quarterfinal.
In another stunner, Jessica Caires of Sacred Hearts Academy eliminated second-seeded Kulia McGurn of Kamehameha-Maui in another 155 matchup. Caires placed fourth in last week's ILH championships.
Three-time state champion Randolyn "Hoku" Nohara of Kamehameha drew a bye through the first day. She will match up against Naoli Weller (Hilo) in the semifinals.
Farrington's defending state champion, Tani Ader, pinned Shelby Asato (Punahou) and Tamra Takeshita (St. Anthony) to reach the semifinals. Ader, now in the 120 class, won the state title at 108 last year.
Two more top-seeded Governors advanced. Taylor Ibera, the favorite in the 98 class, outpointed Caitlin Mizoshiri (Iolani) 2-1 and Andrina Ramos (Kahuku) 10-2. Ashlee Lilo, a runner-up at 220 last season, breezed through the 175 class with pins of Kimberly Suetos (Lahainaluna) and Ashlee Kanai (Konawaena).
Kahuku got a spark from Danica Auna, the top seed at 125. Auna, who won the 114 title last year, pinned Anacleta Magalianes (Kohala) and Cheryse Sana (Waianae). Iolani got a boost from top seeds Carla Watase, Keiko Akamine and Megan Morisada.
Three-time state champion Watase improved to 38-0 as a senior with a pair of one-sided wins, though she wouldn't admit to them.
"She pinned them both," teammate Megan Oshiro said.
The latest victims for the four-time ILH champion were Kayla Giannotto (Baldwin) and Kira Hagi (Kapolei).