Danielle Hodge poses with a world champion sumo wrestler at the Arnold Classic, where she took first place in the girls wrestling tournament.
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Hodge takes first at 114 in girls wrestling tournament/McSurley runnerup at 123 pounds
Wilmington News Journal 3/21/05
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Danielle Hodge poses with a world champion sumo wrestler at the Arnold Classic, where she took first place in the girls wrestling tournament. |
COLUMBUS - Two Clinton County wrestlers placed in the United States Girls Wrestling Association Women's/Girls Wrestling Challenge at the Arnold Classic in Columbus recently.
Wilmington Middle School wrestler Danielle Hodge finished first in the 114-pound middle school class. She defeated Brandy Waller by pinfall in 2:58, Sophia Romelli by pinfall in 4:00 and by pin over Tori Haldeman in 37 seconds. She went on to pick up a decision victory over Katie Curry (12-5).
Hodge's lone loss came 4-2 to Markee Lilly.
Also, Clinton-Massie High School wrestler Janelle McSurley finished second in the challenge.
She wrestled in the high school 123-pound weight class.
McSurley was defeated in her first match, 6-0 by Sienna Valdez. Valdez went on to finish first in the competition.
McSurley rebounded to defeat Myranda Stahl 8-3, pinned Samantha Van Houten in 19 seconds, picked up a DQ win over Jennifer Peabody and pinned Mallory Perry in 35 seconds.
Janelle McSurley wrestling in the tournament. McSurley finished second in her weight class.
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What’s a nice girl like you doing here?
Amateur Wrestling News at WrestlingPod.com
March 21st, 2007 by Thomas
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BALTIMORE - Ever since the Olympians of Ancient Greece began hurling each other down in dusty arenas, we have marveled at the visceral, sweaty undertaking of wrestling with pride and awe. It feels so good — so manly, if we’re completely honest — to vanquish a foe with cunning and power.
That said, you’d be surprised at what one of the Baltimore area’s top 103-pound wrestlers likes to do on the weekends.
“My nieces come over, and we play with Barbies all the time,” Arundel High’s Nicole Woody said. “My room is decorated with pink roses. I love to dance — oh my gosh, if there’s a dance around, I am there. I love to dance, have sleepovers, braid hair — the whole thing.”
Overinflated balloon of testosterone, meet pink pin of social evolution.
‘Nicole is a pioneer’
Women’s wrestling isn’t new, but its popularity — and success against boys — is on the rise. At the vanguard of this movement is an 18-year-old from Odenton.
Woody has broken barriers at the Maryland high school level and owns an expanding trophy case of national and international championships. She’s also in a prime position to compete for a spot in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and/or the 2012 London Games.
“All you have to do is watch one of her matches,” Arundel Athletic Director Bernie Walter said. “She’s a feminine young woman who’s an outstanding wrestler.”
Woody started wrestling at age 9 at the suggestion of her mother — yes, her mother. Mary Woody, whose family has deep wrestling roots, was thrilled with the discipline the sport taught her older son William, a Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“They excel in whatever they do,” Mary said of wrestlers. “I just knew that if it was good for him, it was good for her.”
Nicole was a natural. In her first dual match, she pinned her opponent in 10 seconds.
“And he quit,” Mary said, with a hint of pride. “She’s done that to a couple kids.”
Before long, Woody started wrestling year-round and climbing up the ranks. In 2002, she won the U.S. Girls’ Wrestling Association National Belt Folkstyle championship, which preceded three more USGWA national titles.
Currently the USGWA’s top-ranked 100-pounder, she is hoping to become the first girl to win four titles at the annual Junior National Championships in Fargo, N.D., this summer. Last August, she was the only American to win a title (97 pounds) at the Junior World Championships in Guatemala City. She has also competed in Austria, Canada and Russia.
But that’s all against girls during the high school offseason. Woody prefers in-season male competition.
“Because of wrestling [boys] and the intensity with the coaches,” she said, “they make practice harder and work me harder.”
With a career varsity record of 66-18 that has come almost exclusively against boys, Woody enters this weekend’s state championships as a legitimate contender at the lowest weight class. And after arriving at Arundel three years ago as a previously home-schooled 16-year-old freshman, she’ll graduate with honors this spring.
“She works harder than any boy we’ve got in the room,” Arundel coach Bill Royer said. “She travels more than any boy we’ve got in the room. It’s not a male-female issue. She’s a wrestler, she wants to be a champion, and she’s succeeding in that.”
Woody is making a habit of making history. In 2005, she and former Western Tech wrestler Jade Hendricks became the first Maryland public school girls to qualify for the state tournament (Woody went 0-2). Last season, she joined Helen Maroulis of Montgomery County’s Magruder as the first females to win a state match. On Feb. 17, she became the first girl to win an Anne Arundel County title after pinning South River’s Curtis Taylor with 18 seconds left in the 103-pound final. And on Saturday, she became the state’s first female regional champion after beating Centennial’s Jack Western, 2-0, in the 4A/3A East Region final.
“Nicole has a lot of respect throughout the state. My impression of her is higher after that match,” South River coach John Klessinger said of the county final.
She has been featured in Sports Illustrated twice, Time Magazine, USA Today and Wrestling USA Magazine.
“Nicole is a pioneer at this sport,” Royer said. “My daughter wants to wrestle now. She follows Nicole around. It’s neat what she’s doing and the interest she draws to the sport.”
‘Those days should be over’
“Hopefully they will have their own teams until then the whole thing is a circus. Another stupid example of title 9 in action. How wonderful to read the paper and see our sport represented by women. … it’s just a freak show.” — “DY” from Perry Hall, on the MarylandWrestling.org message board
At last check, Sports Illustrated’s Jan. 22 article on Woody had prompted nearly 4,400 combined views on forums at MarylandWrestling.org and TheMat.com. Women’s wrestling is a hot issue, and a brief visit to these chat rooms reveals the sharp, often hostile divide of public opinion over the blurring of wrestling’s once-rigid gender lines. Woody has plenty of supporters, but there are others, it seems, who’d like her to swap her singlet and arm bars for a tutu and pirouettes.
Woody, though, is not a crusader for womanhood. She’s not out to prove anything. She’s just a girl whose personality long ago embraced both femininity and physical competition.
“I just always liked working hard, and then when you come out [of competition], you just feel so much better about yourself,” she said.
Local reaction to her has been mixed. Every so often, she runs into teams that forfeit a match rather than send a boy out to face her. Is it a not-so-subtle statement from a sexist coach? Is he simply trying to shield his boy from the perceived shame of losing to a girl? Either way, Royer has had enough.
“This embarrassment thing has got to end somewhere,” he said. “It’s not just her. Some teams, it doesn’t matter who the girl is, they won’t wrestle her. It’s just their principle. Those days should be over.”
Two years ago, the media attention surrounding Woody and the jealousy it spawned among some teammates and parents forced Royer to call a clear-the-air team meeting. One of boys eventually transferred schools. Since then, the situation within the team “hasn’t been great, but it’s been OK,” Royer said.
Having a female teammate “can be good, and it can be bad,” Arundel 140-pound junior Jordan Hernandez said. “The good thing is, you think it’s going to be easy, but the bad thing could be if you get beat by her, you feel really horrible. She’s cool and everything. … I give her mad props for going to states as a girl.”
Some of Woody’s own relatives object to her wrestling, according to her mother. Still, Woody presses on, unflinchingly. She said she has never felt ostracized by her teammates. Disrespectful opponents are easier to deal with.
“I can’t remember specifically, but I remember getting upset about something last year and then beating the crap out of somebody,” she said, laughing.
A ‘hopeful’ Olympian
Nicole Woody, U.S. Olympian? That’s a distinct possibility.
She has received a scholarship offer from the U.S. Olympic Education Center at Northern Michigan University, one of four Olympic training centers in the country. If she accepts, she would be a full-time student at the university and a full-time USOEC athlete.
“She has been to several training center camps, and we’ve seen her compete against the best women and girl wrestlers in the country,” USOEC women’s wrestling coach Shannyn Gillespie said. “Her work ethic is real high, and her resume helps out.”
Woody is also intrigued by Oklahoma City University, which just announced it will start the nation’s fifth collegiate women’s wrestling program in 2007-08. But first, she is planning to take a year off from school to train for the 2008 Olympics. Beijing is no pipe dream.
“Hopeful, yes,” she said. “Hopeful is the word.”
But you know what Woody is really looking forward to? One night later this spring — when the weather is warmer and senioritis is in the air — she’s going to paint the town red.
“I love to dress up,” she said. “My friends — we have all these homecoming dresses that we’ve only worn once. So we’re going to rent a limo on a Friday night, dress up and all go out to eat.”
What a girly thing to do.
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Staff Report 3/21/07
Dill (Unatego), a freshman, competed on the University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) women’s wrestling team.
Cumberlands won its second consecutive National Collegiate championship March 10, scoring 106 points to beat Missouri Valley College by 34 points.
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Oscoda novice youth wrestlers boast 100 percent success
by Doreen Fouchey 3/20/07
STANDISH - Thirteen beginner wrestlers from the Oscoda Youth Wrestling Club traveled to an open meet at Standish-Sterling Central on March 10, where every single grappler earned hardware.
The annual meet is exclusively for novice youth wrestlers and gives them a shot at earning a medal against other beginners.
The most significant achievement came from the 7-8 age division, with seven of the wrestlers earning hardware.
Thomas Frasier (52 pounds) brought home second place; Alec Poland (46 pounds), Devon Wagner (61 pounds) and Christopher Wagner (61 pounds) all scrapped solid to bring home third place, and Daniel Eudy and Dennis Fay (55 pounds) both took fourth.
Heavyweight Danny Bennigas also took fourth place in his respective division.
The 9-10 age group had two victors, with Shane Fay (90 pounds) wrestling for third and heavyweight Robby Ellman grappling for a salient second.
There was one Oscoda youth in the 11-12 age division to medal and that was Calvin Businski (112 pounds), who brought home gold.
Three wrestlers from the 13-14 age division brought home medals.
Mauri Businski (138 pounds) took top honors and earned a well deserved first place.
Alex Bidlake (75 pounds) and Keenan Isgnogle (138 pounds) both captured bronze medals.
Businski did so well that she decided to journey back to Standish-Sterling on Sunday to compete in the National Girls Wrestling Association Tournament, where she earned third place.
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Posted by Kurt Epps March 20, 2007 11:15AM
Categories: High School Wrestling
Here is a nice story from a side of wrestling you guys rarely get a peek at. This comes courtesy of my friend Kurt Epps, a passionate writer and an enormous fan of this great sport.
Last year, the gutsiness of two competitors at the USGWA (All-Female Wrestling Association) prompted me to write a tribute to them. One was Lisa Treat, 36, a mother of ten children who wrestled because her kids threw down a gauntlet. The other was Darlene Huff, 44, who wrestled to better understand the challenges faced by her special ed students, and in memory of a dear family friend who died too early. Both are remarkable women, and both were in attendance at yesterday's USGWA Tourney held in East Brunswick. Only Lisa was in combat, Darlene being injured and on crutches.
I approached Mat IV when Michelle, my female 101 lb. wrestler was called on deck. As most coaches do, I scouted around the mat to see who her opponent would be. You know the drill. Is he/she a stud? Can my kid take him/her? We do that to size them up and make an early prediction. That matside prediction is rarely accurate, but, like breathing, we do it out of habit. Michelle's opponent looked lean and wiry from where I stood. And she also looked something else.
Old.
Older than Lisa Treat and Darlene Huff. Much older. She looked to be close to my age, and I'm almost 60.
Michelle won by a 15-1 score, but for the second straight year, I was once again fascinated by a competitor at this annual event. She wasn't very technically sound, but she was extremely flexible, had great balance and was very strong. It was very difficult for Michelle to turn her, even with a half sunk in very deep.
As the day wore on, with some incredibly exciting matches popping up far more frequently than most guys might think possible at a girls' event, I made up my mind to chat with this apparent anomaly. She was at matside warming up for her next match when I sauntered over.
"Hi," I said. What's your name?
She turned to me with a huge smile and bright, alert eyes and said, "Abigail Scudder."
And the conversation/interview was underway.
I discovered the following facts about Abigail. She was wrestling for the first time, and she was doing it after being challenged by one of her students. Turns out that Abigail--all 101 lbs. of her-- is the strength coach (!) at Danbury High School in Connecticut. So she and some of her students drove the four hours to get to East Brunswick. Abigail also allowed that she is an active triathlete and a power lifter. Pretty impressive resume if you ask me. And here she was wrestling--for the first time ever.
After she won her consolation match, I asked her the inevitable question:
"So how do you like wrestling?"
Her immediate reply was, "I absolutely love it." And she said it twice for effect.
Then my last question:
"Is this the hardest thing you've ever done?"
And this thin, wiry 53- year old (!!) triathlete/power lifter said without hesitation, "Absolutely the hardest thing I've ever done. And you can quote me. Right now, I could go do a two-hour triathlon and have no problems. But I'm wondering how the heck I'm going to get through the next six minutes of my next match. Absolutely the hardest thing I've ever done."
Because I didn't want to be presumptuous or rude, I didn't ask her if she had ever given birth. But her answer confirmed the famous quote by Dan Gable:
Once you've wrestled, everything in life is easy.
Our sport is often maligned by those who don't know it, and sometimes by the behavior of those in it who should know better. But if it's attracting and keeping participants like Abigail (who is planning to wrestle in Long Island next weekend), the nobility of wrestling as a sport is secure.
©Kurt E. Epps 2007 All rights reserved
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Wednesday March 21,
GREGORY ELVIKIS SILHOUETTE STAFF
For the athletes of the McMaster Marauders men's and women's wrestling teams, reading week was not exactly a well-deserved break.
The first weekend of the break saw the Marauders compete in the OUA Championship competition in Toronto. To nobody's surprise, the immensely talented and strong Brock Badgers men's team delivered a strong performance, winning in a convincing fashion.
However, McMaster's men did not back down in a single match, and put forth a strong team performance of their own. Their showing resulted in a second place finish with 51 points, putting them in second place behind Brock's dominating score of 67. The team's 51 points was enough to edge out Western for the Silver medal.
In OUA wrestling, teams accumulate a certain number of points in individual events that cumulate to rank each school as a whole team. McMaster's individual standouts were numerous to say the least.
Steve Rennalls claimed OUA gold in the 65 kg category, Matthew Miller claimed gold in the 68 kg category, Dusan Milakara earned gold in the 72 kg division and defending CIS champion Sheldon Francis captured gold in the 78 kg category. Francis was also the winner of the Keegan Trophy, which is given to the OUA's top male competitor.
Honourable mention goes to Mike Hutchinson and Len Payne who placed fourth in the 90 and 130 kg weight classes respectively for McMaster.
However, the story of the day not only for McMaster, but also for the entire competition was the gritty performance of fourth year standout Mike Celli. Suffering a devastating injury last season, Mike fought his way back and qualified for the OUA's only to re-injure himself prior to the bronze medal match. The gritty senior did not make any excuses and inspirationally competed for the bronze in the 61 kg weight category.
Celli won the match, much to the amazement of everyone in attendance. The performance was a truly courageous put forth by the tenacious Celli.
In total, the team put together seven medals—a performance McMaster can truly be proud of.
McMaster also had several women compete, and the women's team claimed three medals. Caitlyn Goodfellow won the silver medal in the 55 kg division, while Gaya Arathmeiser claimed bronze in the 63 kg weight class.
McMaster's outstanding woman of the day was Stef Howorun, who claimed gold in the 67 kg weight class. Despite the strong showing by the women as a team, they fell short of medaling, placing fourth while accumulating 27 points.
After the OUA Championships, it was on to Nationals at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.
Only a week after his injury, Mike Celli competed once again in his 61 kg weight class, placing just out of the medals in fifth place.
Dusan Milakara represented McMaster well, placing sixth in his weight class. Steve Rennalls, after winning a gold medal in the OUA Championship, lost in a semi-final match, but rebounded to claim the bronze medal.
The story of the competition for the men's wrestling team was the extremely strong performances by Sheldon Francis and Matthew Miller.
Francis showed his versatility as a wrestler by competing this season in a weight class lower than his usual 82 kg category. He cruised in straight 12-0 victories over Simon Fraser's Pat McDonald, and UNB's Darcy McKinney in his round robin matches. He defeated Brock's Chris Sands to clinch a spot in the National Title match.
Facing hometown wrestler Dan Olver from the University of Saskatchewan, Francis did not disappoint. He captured his second consecutive CIS gold medal—a truly impressive accomplishment.
Francis' victory, however, was on the heels of teammate Matthew Miller's exciting rise to CIS supremacy in the 68 kg weight category.
Miller was in tough in the 68 kg class facing Regina's Sean LeBlanc in the round robin. Miller pulled out a close 5-3 victory, which would prove crucial later in the competition. After defeating UNB's Tyler Nicholson and Western's Josh Dawson, Miller found himself neck in neck in points with Sean LeBlanc. Miller won the round robin tiebreaker, however, due to his aforementioned head-to-head victory against LeBlanc.
Miller's narrow escape from Pool B pitted him face to face with Simon Fraser's Hardeep Auijlaa. Miller came up with a surprising victory to take the gold medal. It was his first ever CIS gold medal.
Thanks to the efforts of athletes like Miller, Francis, and Rennalls, McMaster fell just short of placing in the medals as a team. They accumulated 33 points, but Saskatchewan claimed the team bronze with 51 points. Simon Fraser and Brock tied for gold with 53 points apiece.
McMaster's three female OUA medalists made the trip out to Saskatoon to compete in their respective divisions. After strong showings against the best competitors in Canada, Caitlyn Goodfellow and Stef Howorun both placed fourth and just missed medals. Gaya Arathmeiser also competed well with a strong sixth place showing in her weight division.
McMaster's long season of hard work cumulated in a very successful showing at CIS Nationals. McMaster was well represented in both the OUA and CIS competitions, and shows a great deal of promise for next year.
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Title IX challenge
We generally stick with sports and leave the political windbaggery to others, but since we've already waded into the gay marriage issue today, we might as well tackle Title IX.
From Erik Brady in today's USA TODAY: 3/21/07
An advocacy group for men's sports that seeks to set aside the three-part test at the heart of Title IX regulations filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Roanoke, Va. Equity In Athletics filed the suit in response to a decision by James Madison University to cut 10 teams — seven men's and three women's — effective July 1.
"The elimination of opportunities for men does not expand opportunities for women," said EIA President John Licata, a former wrestling coach at James Madison. EIA incorporated last month with a donation from a wrestling gear company. Title IX is the federal law that bans sex discrimination at schools receiving federal funds.
It'll be tough to find Equity in Athletics on the Web, given the number of sites already using that phrase. But the College Sports Council, devoted to "preservation and promotion of the student athlete experience," is online, and USA Wrestling tracks selected Title IX stories and comments. Curiously, most of those stories and comments say little about the prospect of adding women's wrestling to meet Title IX regulations.
If you'd like to read more about meeting the "three-part test" at the core of Title IX disputes, check the Department of Education's "Clarification of Intercollegiate Athletics Policy Guidance: The Three-Part Test." Want more? Check "Additional Clarification of Intercollegiate Athletics Policy: Three-Part Test -- Part Three."
The basics: Schools must do one of the following ...
1. Proportionality. The number of athletes from each sex should be roughly equivalent to enrollment percentages. If your student body is 50-50, the athletes should be 50-50.
2. History and continuing practice of adding women's sports.
3. Meet women's interests and abilities. Usually, a survey is required.
The Women's Sports Foundation also isn't happy with the cuts at James Madison, which will include three women's teams. The group argues that the school is simply putting a sharp focus on football and basketball, that women's club teams are losing their fights for varsity status and that Title IX simply isn't to blame: "The Save Title IX Coalition calls on JMU to reconsider its decision to cut teams and instead to allocate its resources in a way that would provide more participation opportunities for both male and female students."
The coalition could argue that JMU isn't meeting the second and third prongs of the test. But if they're meeting the "proportionality" prong, they're in compliance. So the coalition can argue that Title IX isn't to blame for the cuts, but they couldn't use Title IX to fight against them. (Again, IF the school is now meeting the "proportionality" prong.)
Update: Here we go -- Equity in Athletics, Inc. The group argues that JMU is cutting 10 teams to attain proportionality but does not mention that three women's teams are on the chopping block.
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