news

Piccolotti is a charter member of OCU's women's wrestling program. The 18-year-old freshman came to Oklahoma City from Pacifica, Calif., where she followed in her father's footsteps and became a girl's state wrestling champion, going 44-2 last season.

That in itself makes Piccolotti unique. But the 138-pounder's vocal talents set her apart.

"I've been singing longer than I've been doing anything else,” she said. "I grew up watching Disney movies and singing along with the Little Mermaid and Mary Poppins.”

Her love of singing, especially country music, led to the recording of a demo tape that eventually landed into the hands of a friend of Merle Haggard. Piccolotti took the summer off between her sophomore and junior years in high school to perform with Haggard's drummer at shows in Sacramento. Her family eventually hired a manager, and before long, Piccolotti was in talks with PolyGram on a recording contract. It wasn't to be, and that was Piccolotti's call.

"It got to the point where I had a chance to sign and move to Nashville and be home schooled,” she said. "I just sat back for a minute and thought about what I wanted to do and I wanted to be a state champion like my dad. I wanted to finish what I started.”

Piccolotti sometimes thinks about what could have been. As it is, she's a typical college kid, and very much a girl. She even brought her prized Maltese onto the winner's platform at meet in California. But with the right breaks in Nashville, anything might have been possible.

"When I go to practice I sometimes think ‘Why am I doing this',” she said. "At the end of the day I always think I made the right decision. I don't know where I'd be without wrestling. It's kept me focused.”

She hopes to make the 2012 women's Olympic team. And maybe after that she'll get serious about music again.

"When I was three I dreamed about being on stage and singing,” she said. "Now wrestling is a different stage for me. I've made the mat my stage.”

The United States Olympic Education Center in Marquette Michigan is hosting China versus USOEC on Saturday Oct. 23rd. The event is a huge event for the USOEC and United States Olympics in general. Four China Olympic teams have made the trip to the United States, and all of them will compete head-to-head against United States competitors.

Women’s freestyle wrestling, men’s Greco-Roman wrestling, Weightlifting and boxing will be the four sports contested by the two teams, and all matches will be played at the Barry Events Center.

At 7 p.m. on Saturday, the event will take place with all of the groups competing against the players they have been practicing with since October 14th.

Yang Xia, the vice director of Hunan Weightlifting Sports Administration Center was the gold medal champion in 2000 at the Sydney Olympics for weightlifting in the 56k grouping. She has dedicated her entire life to the cause, including two years of her life where she dropped all other responsibility and weightlifted.

This event will be the last one for the resident boxers in Marquette as the program is closing in December. The programs in Marquette serve as the training center for Olympic athletes across the nation.

For more information on the event call the Barry Event Center box office.

Organised in Vancouver in Canada from Nov 1st. It will be a "Grand Prix " Event under FILA rules from next year. Please publish the details in your excellent website www.wrestlegirl.com and also inform your friends about it.

The Hargobind Wrestling Club and Burnaby Mountain Wrestling Club are honored and excited to be hosting the 2007 Hargobind International Wrestling Championships. Over the past 30 years this competition has been known as the Clansman International and has been held at Simon Fraser University. This year the tournament will offer some exciting new changes and is set to be hosted in the city of Surrey BC. Athletes will be competing for over $30,000 in cash awards. We hope to make this a spectacular International event for all involved.

Tournament Brochure (pdf)
Entry Form (pdf)

If your Federation is interested in participating in this prestigious event, please fill out the Entry Forms as soon as possible. Please provide all names, birth dates and passport numbers of your delegation members that require a visa for this event. As soon as your Federation provides the information, a visa support letter will be sent to the Canadian Embassy in your respective country. All delegations must plan to depart by November 4, 2007 unless special arrangements are approved by the organizing committee. All regulations concerning this event will be posted on the tournament website www.HargobindWrestling.com. Thank you for your interest in participating in this World-class event. We are looking forward to the arrival of your delegation.

Wrong! With two provincial titles and a third place finish at the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Nationals under their belts, the London-Western women's wrestling team prove that wrestling is for girls too.

The London-Western women's wrestling team began in 1996 with only one member but today it is coached by former Olympian Ray Takahashi and has become one of the province's most successful wrestling clubs. And while these girls may look sweet and gentle, these talented athletes are ready to take on anyone who dares argue that their sport be left to the men.

Laura Skopelianos, a 5th year Kinesiology student at UWO, has made her mark in the world of women's wrestling since she first joined the London-Western team 4 years ago. She's a two-time Canadian Junior Nationals gold medallist and placed second at the 2004 Junior Pan American Games in the 48kg weight class.

Terri McNutt has been wrestling for 11 years, 6 of them with the London-Western team. With a background in jiu-jitsu and karate, its no wonder she won two medals at the National University Championships this year.

Jennifer Nguyen, a third-year Health Science student at UWO, is the 2007 Junior National Champion 55kg category. Her strength and determination earned her a spot on the Canadian Junior Team and a chance to compete at the Junior World Wrestling Championships in China where she finished 9th last August.

Katie Patroch, 25, has been on the London-area wrestling scene for 10 years. A member of the Senior National Team, she won gold at the 2007 Senior Pan American Games in El Salvador. "I want to be at the Olympic Trials in December," says Patroch. "My goal is to stay on the international scene."

Lesley McCallum, 23, is attracted to wrestling because it's different than any other sport. "I like the individual aspect of wrestling," she says. She's still got a few more years before she completes her Sociology degree, but graduation won't stop her from being involved in the sport she loves. "I really want to get into coaching," she says.

Katrina Huszarik, co-captain of the London-Western team, recently placed fourth in the 59kg weight class at the 2007 Commonwealth Championships in June. But she's used to people being surprised that she's a wrestler. "My grandma doesn't like it much," she says. "She says it's a manly sport, but I assure her that it's not."

Craig Sesker USA Wrestling
10/17/2007

The road to Beijing is traveling through Marquette, Mich.

The U.S. Olympic Education Center program at Northern Michigan University is currently hosting Chinese athletes in Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle wrestling during a 10-day camp. Chinese boxers and weightlifters also are taking part in the camp and visit to the USOEC.

The visit by the Chinese will conclude with a China vs. USOEC competition on Oct. 23 in the Berry Events Center on the Northern Michigan campus.

The 2008 Olympic Games begin on August 8, 2008 (8-8-08) in Beijing, China.

The visit has allowed the U.S. to learn more about Chinese culture in preparation for the Olympics. The USOEC also has arranged for the Chinese athletes to visit local schools and NMU classes, in addition to meet community members at various events.

“The significance of the Chinese teams visiting the USOEC is monumental because this is the first time four different sports from China have come to train and compete at the same time in the USA,” said USOEC Women’s Freestyle Coach Shannyn Gillespie. “Northern Michigan and the USOEC are getting a glimpse of what the competitors will be like next year in the 2008 Beijing Games via this multi-sport competition. It is rare to have an international multi-sport event outside of the World University Games, Pan American Games or the Olympic Games. It is even more rare to host such an event.”

The China vs. USOEC competition will be available for viewing on B2 Networks. The live events will be aired through the event website http://webb.nmu.edu/ChinaVsUSOEC/ as well as http://www.b2livetv.com. Fans wanting to watch the competition via B2 Networks will need a high-speed Internet connection and a current version of Microsoft Windows Media Player. Fans may choose to watch one sport, wrestling includes both men's and women's matches, for $6 (U.S.) or purchase an event pass for $10 (U.S.). The event pass will give the opportunity for fans to switch between the wrestling and boxing matches throughout the duration of the competition. The competitions in each sport will be broadcast simultaneously.

The matchups for next week’s Greco-Roman competition between the USOEC and China have yet to be announced, but USOEC Greco-Roman coach Ivan Ivanov said he is “very pleased” with how workouts are going.

There are eight Chinese Greco-Roman wrestlers here training with USOEC athletes at Northern Michigan.

“This is a great opportunity for us, training with the Chinese team,” Ivanov said. “This training camp has been very valuable to our wrestlers. Our focus is on getting a lot of live wrestling in during the time the Chinese are with us. This camp is going to be very beneficial for us.”

The three women’s freestyle wrestlers from China are each scheduled to wrestle a pair of matches during the competition with the USOEC. Liang Yue is scheduled to face Katie Crouch and Lindsey Brooks at 72 kg/158.5 lbs. Ge Zhen is scheduled to wrestle Schuyler Brown and Shyla Iokia at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. Wang Li will meet Iokia and Amy Borgnini at 63 kg.

“This is a multicultural exchange that will blend the best of the sport and the best of education into a melting pot of learning,” Gillespie said, “that will foster lifelong memories and will help bridge the gap between two nations.”

CHINA TEAM ROSTER FOR TRIP TO USOEC

Women’s freestyle
72 kg/158.5 lbs. - Liang Yue
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Ge Zhen
63 kg/138.75 lbs. - Wang Li
Coach – Ma Zeng Liang

Greco-Roman
Song Jidong
Chen Xiaofei
Liu Ming
Yang Lin
Wang Chao
Shen Zhixue
Xu Shuo
Wang Hui
Coaches – Zhang Longqi, Chen Lijun

Stephanie Murata, women’s freestyle, 48 kg/105.5 lbs. The eight-time U.S. World Team member is looking to make her first Olympic Team. Murata, a past World silver medalist, placed fifth at the 2007 World Championships. The 37-year-old is a nine-time U.S. Nationals champion.

MURATA DATA: High School: Mercy (Calif.); College: California-Davis: Residence: Colorado Springs, Colo.

Marcie Van Dusen, women’s freestyle, 55 kg/121 lbs. Finally healthy after suffering injuries to both knees, Van Dusen made her first U.S. World Team in 2007. She placed 10th at the 2007 Worlds, but is looking to come back strong at the 2008 Olympics. She is a past World University champion and a 2007 Pan American Games silver medalist.

VAN DUSEN DATA: High School: Lake Arrowhead, Calif. (Rim of the World); College: University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, Minnesota-Morris, Cal State-Monterey Bay; Residence: Colorado Springs, Colo.

Vocal talents set Piccolotti apart