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OCU adds Wayne James as assistant wrestling coach

7/18/2007

Wayne James aided Lindenwood (Mo.)'s run to the 2005 and 2007 NAIA wrestling titles.

OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma City University has hired Wayne James as assistant coach for its men’s and women’s wrestling programs.
James concluded a stint as top assistant at Lindenwood (Mo.), where James was part of NAIA championship teams in 2005 and 2007 and runner-up finishes in 2003 and 2006. James was a three-time all-American wrestling at Lindenwood.
James wrestled for OCU coach Archie Randall at El Reno High School (Okla.) and finished as a state runner-up as a senior.
“I’ve known Wayne James most of his life,” Randall said. “He brings to OCU experience. He’s an experienced college coach and a veteran.”
Also, Link Davis takes on additional duties as assistant for the women’s program as well as the men’s program.
OCU’s men and women open the season with the Sunkist Open in Phoenix on Oct. 26, then OCU’s men wrestle Oklahoma, Missouri Valley and Neosho County (Kan.) in duals on Nov. 4 at Abe Lemons Arena.
OCU’s first women’s duals ever are scheduled to happen Oct. 13 against Cumberlands (Ky.) at noon at Abe Lemons Arena.

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Young Wrestlers Come Second in Manila

Written by G.Ganbayar
Thursday, July 19, 2007.

THE Mongolian contingent at the Asian Junior Freestyle Wrestling Championship returned home from Manila in the Philippines with 13 medals – two gold, five silver and six bronze. The event, held from July 6 to July 8, was host to 132 young wrestlers from 16 countries. The number of participants had been expected to be higher but the quality of the wrestling compensated for that disappointment.
The performance of the 16-strong Mongolian team, with boys and girls in equal number, was better than at the last championship where they had claimed 3 silver and 2 bronze medals.
The gold for the girls came to O.Nasanburmaa in the 72-kg section. Ts.Bayarzaya got the silver medal in the 67-kg section but many felt she squandered a good chance to win the gold. The girls who finished with bronzes were B.Davaasuren (48-kg), D.Otgontsetseg (51-kg), Kh.Bat-Erdene (55-kg), B.Batnavch (59-kg) and Ch.Narangarav (63-kg). This haul of 1 gold, 1 silver and 5 bronze medals placed the Mongolian team first among the girls.
The gold for the boys was won by D.Tsogtbaatar (50-kg), and the silvers by P.Onorbat (66-kg), N.Tserenchund (84-kg), B.Zayamandakh (96-kg), G.Gannyam (120-kg). The bronze came to B.Ankhbayar (60-kg). The boys thus ended the tournament with 1 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze medals.
Iran collected seven gold, four silver and two bronze medals, as it topped the joint team ranking with 140 points. Mongolia came second with 125 points, claiming two golds, five silvers and six bronzes.


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Centennial sends six to prestigious wrestling meet

BY ANDREW MAY, Staff Writer
(Created: Thursday, July 19, 2007 7:39 PM CDT)

To find out exactly how far the Centennial wrestling program has come, look no further than the lineup for the ASICS/Vaughan Junior and Cadet National Championships, the nation’s most prestigious youth wrestling event.

The field for next week’s championships is littered with Titans, a considerable contingent sure to heat up usually chilly North Dakota. Twenty female wrestlers will represent Team Texas, five of whom will don the Centennial blue and red. In a wrestling hotbed like Texas, such a ratio represents a powerhouse on the rise, regardless of how the individuals perform in Fargo.

“It says a lot about how talented these girls are,” Centennial wrestling coach Mike Eaton said.

Lené Wood, Emily Martin, Neda Hassani, Maliha Mithani, and Haley Hunter will attack the mats in the Peace Garden State with the hope of garnering All-American status. All five, along with sophomore Cody Curtiss, qualified for the meet by placing in the top three of the Texas USA Wrestling State Championships in May at Arlington Bowie High School.

Wood and Martin are no strangers to the high-profile meet. Wood, a two time UIL state champion in the 95-pound division, has been named to the All-America team the past two years. The soon-to-be freshman at Oklahoma City University set the standard for Centennial women’s wrestling and is largely the reason the sport’s popularity has skyrocketed in Frisco.

Martin, then, can be viewed as her understudy. But this isn’t a case of Batman and Robin. Martin, the reigning District 16 Wrestler of the Year, is a formidable force in the 110-pound division, having picked up her first state championship in February after knocking off the defending two-time titleholder. She narrowly missed out on finishing in the top eight, and consequently claiming All-America status, at last year’s Fargo meet. This time around, the senior is out to avenge the loss that kept her from the elite echelon. “She is ready to go this year,” Eaton said.

For Hassani, Mithani, and Hunter, it is a choice opportunity to get some exposure and let their names be known to the nation. Hunter and Mithani were both All-District 16 second-team selections this season, but such an honor pales in comparison to showing out at a national meet. College scouts and coaches from every institution that pays attention to wrestling will be on hand to take in the action. Martin and Wood had their coming-out parties at the event, and their teammates could be next.

“They see the development Lené and Emily have had and know they can attain that with extra work and dedication,” Eaton said. “A lot of colleges really focus on this tournament. It allows girls to get known.”

Curtiss will represent the Titans as the lone male. Others, such as Curtis Holtrop and Ryan Garner among others, qualified, but won’t be able to go for various reasons. Among the dozen or so Centennial wrestlers that won’t be making the trip, some have scheduling conflicts and others weren’t able to come up with the funding to afford the four-digit voyage. Curtiss qualified in both Greco-Roman and freestyle, but may only wrestle freestyle because of a lingering injury.

“If you can excel at this level, if you weren’t known before, you will be after,” Eaton said. “Scouts are looking.”

Women will wrestle freestyle only, which differs from what most are accustomed to. The UIL employs a folk style that emphasizes more of a ground game. Scoring in freestyle is more prevalent and can be done from many positions.

“You can score more easily without control in freestyle,” Eaton said.

It is a great chance for wrestlers like Wood to make the transition, as college and Olympic competitions utilize freestyle. More than anything, it is about gaining more experience on the mat during the summer when many wrestlers are on the couch.

“Mat experience during the summer is very important for us,” Eaton said. “It keeps everybody focused and improving for the season.”

Not that the Centennial program needs the work. The Titan men were the district champions this season and set the Frisco ISD record for the highest individual finish at a state tournament. The Lady Titans scored two individual state titles and earned state runner-up as a unit.

The ASICS/Vaughan Junior and Cadet National Championships will begin today and run through Thursday in Fargo. Greco-Roman competition takes place July 21-23, freestyle hit the mat July 24-26, and women compete July 23-24. More than 3,500 wrestlers from 49 different states and Puerto Rico will be in attendance. Last year’s event drew more than 4,200 entrants. One hundred eleven women competed in 2006, a number that is expected to soar this year, continuing to make the meet the largest wrestling tournament in the world.

“This tournament is huge. The cream of the crop will be there,” Eaton said. “It is really a big tournament for the fact that scholarships are handed out based on how well you perform.”