Wrestling Canada Lutte has been awarded the first Olympic Qualifying Tournament for women trying to qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

The event will be held in Sherwood Park, Alberta which was the site of the 2004 Canadian Olympic Wrestling Trials. The competition will take place at Strathcona County’s Millennium Place complex which is one of the top multi-sport facilities in the country. The competition will be held May 16 & 17, 2008 and should attract women wrestlers from over fifty countries looking to gain access to the 2008 Olympic Games.

Clive Llewellyn, President of Wrestling Canada Lutte, noted the great interest and support of the Edmonton based Friends of the World Cup Wrestling Society which allowed the national association to make its bid to FILA, the international body responsible for Olympic style wrestling. The Society has formed an Organizing Committee for the event with long time Edmonton wrestling personality Bill Dowbiggin serving as Chair.

“Olympic qualification and Olympic performance are the main thrust of our high performance program for the next ten months. Hosting an Olympic qualification event for women both shows the support of the Canadian Wrestling community to our Women’s program and allows the continued exposure to high level women’s wrestling to take place in our country spurring on the many young women who are involved in this sport”; said Llewellyn.

Dowbiggin noted that the Edmonton group has been involved in several significant wrestling events including hosting the 1994 World Cup and the 2002 World University Wrestling Championships. “The 2002 event saw women’s wrestling added for the first time and was instrumental in the FISU adding women to both the FISU Games and the World University Wrestling Championship since then. Our Society values the opportunity to showcase women’s wrestling at the highest international level and look forward to a great event in May of next year”; added Dowbiggin.

Canada’s National Women’s Coach, Leigh Vierling, commented; “the depth of the field in women’s international wrestling has increased dramatically since the 2004 Olympic Games and hosting this event is one of the most important elements in our plan to maintain a top three position in Beijing for our Women’s Team”.

Six-time World Champion, Christine Nordhagen was pleased to hear that Canada would be hosting this important event. “Canada has played a leadership role in women’s wrestling and being awarded the Olympic Qualifying Tournament is a sign of the respect our program has gained internationally”; said Nordhagen who is now an Assistant Coach at the University of Calgary and an Apprentice Coach in the National Team program.

The event is being supported by the Government of Canada, the Province of Alberta and Strathcona County.

Further information on the event can be obtained at:
www.strathcona.ab.ca/2008wrestling.

Barrett tackles new discipline

Hutchison won the final of the 103-pound weight class during Alaska's big school wrestling championships. The Skyview High sophomore entered the state tournament ranked No. 1 in her weight class.

Amid chants of "C'mon Michaela" and "Girl Power," Hutchison earned a 1-0 victory Saturday over Colony High School's Aaron Boss.

She scored an escape with 16 seconds left to beat Boss for the second time in as many weeks. Family and friends mobbed Hutchison as she walked away from the mat with a bloody nose, while the crowd rose in a standing ovation.

She finished the season with a 45-4 record that included 33 pins, one shy of the state single-season record. Hutchison is the third in her family of 10 children to win a state title, joining brothers Zeb and Eli.

Hutchison, a freshman at Skyview, is the only ranked female wrestler in Alaska. She is currently fourth at 103 pounds, though she was third as recently as last week.

She is ranked because she routinely dispels the notion that girls can't compete with boys.

At last weekend's Glenn Vandergaw Classic at Dimond, Hutchison lost only once, a heartbreaking overtime decision in the semifinals, and took third at the tournament.

Because of her prowess against boys or girls, Hutchison has quickly established herself as a torchbearer of sorts for girls wrestling.

That's fitting because Hutchison's older sister, Melina, was one of the first-ever female place-winners at a state wrestling tournament when she took third in 2000 at the 4A championships alongside Homer Olympian Tela O'Donnell, who took sixth that same year.

Michaela is still considered by many coaches and fellow wrestlers as the likeliest girl to win a state title, if not this season, then possibly as a sophomore or junior.

"She's got as good a shot (to win state) as any boy her weight or age," said Skyview coach Neldon Gardner.

Her coach isn't the only person saying this. Accolades for Hutchison come from coaches around Alaska.

"She's one of the best 103-pounders in the state, boy or girl," said South coach Tom Ritchie Jr. "She is the real deal."

And Kodiak's Pat Costello, who has been coaching that program for 15 years, says: "Michaela is the best girl wrestler I've seen."

Clearly, Hutchison is at the forefront of the dozens of girls who wrestle varsity in Alaska, even though she doesn't feel anything like a role model.

She views herself as just a wrestler -- not a "girl wrestler" either -- and many are beginning to view her and the growing number of girls competing in a boy-dominated sport the same way.

Almost technically as good as boys, especially at the lower weights. Girls know they are still at a disadvantage at the middle and heavy weights because they're not as strong as the boys in those divisions.

That doesn't prevent Hutchison, or the other two girls on Skyview's team, from challenging boys, even if they're heavier and stronger.

It's that attitude, and the ability to back it up, that has people taking note of the strides female wrestlers have made in Alaska.

But while Hutchison and many other girls in this state have come a long way, earning respect and establishing themselves as equals on the mat, they cahttp://mensstuff.org/archives/hutchison.htmln go further still.

The history of girls wrestling in Alaska is cloudy. Many of Alaska's large-school coaches said girls first began showing up for wrestling tryouts in the mid-1990s, although former ACS wrestler Jason Hofacker -- who just last month hung up his whistle as the ACS wrestling coach after seven years -- remembered girls wrestling at the small-school level in the late 1980s.

Regardless of when girls started going toe-to-toe with boys on the mat, they didn't truly make their mark until 2000. That's when Melina Hutchison and O'Donnell became place-winners at state -- and instant pioneers.

On Dec. 16, 2000, Melina Hutchison, wrestling at 112 pounds, placed third and O'Donnell, wrestling at 119, placed sixth at the fall state wrestling championships in Kenai, solidifying their legacy in the sport.

"I think Melina and Tela did wonders for girls wrestling," Gardner said. "When they came into the picture, it wasn't like guys were saying, 'Oh, you got this one.' They beat a good portion of the boys."

Numerous girls cited both Melina Hutchison and O'Donnell as either the reason they got involved with wrestling or their motivation for sticking with it once they reached high school.

For all the influence Melina Hutchison and O'Donnell have had on girls wrestling in Alaska, however, it was Michaela Hutchison who actually turned her older sister onto the sport.

Long before that, in the early 1970s, the roots of girls wrestling in the United States were forming. In 1972, Congress passed Title IX legislation to provide equal educational and athletic opportunities for women.

Due to Title IX, many universities eliminated wrestling because it was for men only. But over time, universities that wanted to keep wrestling instead decided to create equitable women's programs.

The popularity of those programs -- and the added scholarship opportunities -- created the need for developing wrestlers at the high school level.

At the same time, high schools began allowing girls to compete alongside boys in wrestling.

The numbers have grown ever since. In Alaska, the number of girls wrestling has steadily increased. Of the 1,267 high school wrestlers during the 2004-05 school year, 74 were girls, according to the Alaska School Activities Association.

That's roughly 6 percent of wrestlers. That also represents an increase of about 50 percent from the reported 36 girls who wrestled during the 2002-03 school year.

If the numbers continue to increase, credit might go to one Alaskan, O'Donnell, who in 2004 earned a spot on Team USA for the debut of women's wrestling at the Summer Olympics.

O'Donnell's journey to Athens, Greece, and her matches there, were chronicled extensively by local and national media.

Before O'Donnell earned her trip to the Olympic Games, though, she was just a student at Nikiski High, living with the family of former Nikiski wrestling coach and current Sitka assistant wrestling coach Steve Gillaspie and undergoing the training that would eventually make her a wrestling icon in Alaska and in the United States.

Gillaspie's daughter Abby, who still talks with O'Donnell regularly, has fond memories of O'Donnell living under the same roof and ultimately convincing the then-seventh-grader to give the sport a try.

"I never saw a girl wrestle until Tela," Abby said. "She was my inspiration to get into the sport."

Though O'Donnell isn't related to Gillaspie, she nonetheless played a sisterly role for the aspiring wrestler, and it's clear that many girls get into wrestling because of an older sibling's influence.

West sophomore Aubrae Putnam's older brother Cody formerly wrestled for West, and his practice sessions at home all but guaranteed that little sis would end up on the mat someday.

Putnam loves fighting back, and she loves fighting aggressively, especially when it's a boy across the mat from her.

"It's the best feeling beating a guy," she said. Especially the guys who tell Putnam, "I'm going to beat the crap out you."

Like Putnam, Lathrop sophomore Leah Bachert's older brother wrestled when he was in high school. So did Bachert's sister. Since she looked up to her older siblings and thought wrestling "looked really cool," Bachert wound up in the sport.

She's been wrestling for seven years, first as a freestyle and middle school wrestler and now as a varsity wrestler. She's never been made to feel like an outsider.

Girls today say they are welcomed into the testosterone-fueled wrestling rooms, but that wasn't always the case.

Tom Ritchie Sr., the longtime Lathrop coach who also coached at North Pole, remembers being "shunned by some people for allowing it" after first allowing girls in the mid-90s.

"The first time a girl walked into my room I was like, 'Oh, I don't know,' " he said.

Now Gardner and the rest of Alaska's coaches know that girls have as much right to compete as boys. They've become fixtures in wrestling rooms across the state. And they've become the sisters, to each other and to the boys they compete alongside.

There are still some gender issues being resolved, like ensuring there are separate locker rooms and separate weigh-in facilities before meets and tournaments. But the biggest issue surrounding girls wrestling arises after a match -- when a girl beats a boy.

One of Putnam's favorite T-shirts was a gift from former West wrestler Iris Mucha. It reads: "You wish you could wrestle like a girl."

Putnam is one of two girls wrestling for West, a school that also figures into the lore of girls wrestling history because as a sophomore, Mucha became the first girl from Region IV -- and the fourth statewide -- to qualify for a state tournament.

When Mucha wrestled and beat boys to qualify for state, or when Melina Hutchison and O'Donnell did the same, they began eradicating the notion that losing to a girl wasn't the end of the world.

"When I first started, I'd hear people say to them, 'Oh, you got beat by a girl!' " Bachert said. "Lately it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. People are more accustomed to girls wrestling."

And the girls are more accustomed to succeeding at a sport where they've sometimes struggled.

"The stigma against wrestling girls isn't what it used to be," Costello said. "They have beaten enough guys to earn respect.

Girls have earned the respect of most boys, like Chugiak sophomore Brady Schultz (112), who learned first-hand to respect girl wrestlers. He lost to Bachert last season, although he beat her at the end of last season and also at last weekend's Glenn Vandergaw Classic.

"You're kind of nervous cause you don't want to lose and get made fun of," Schultz said. "But you respect what they can do."

Schultz, along with other guys, said they must go as hard against girls as they do against other boys, and coaches all said they instruct their wrestlers to do that too.

That's fine by most girls, who view wrestling boys as a way to make them better.

"I like wrestling guys cause most of the girls I wrestle aren't as into it," Bachert said. "The guys are more of a challenge."

Boys face a pretty big challenge if they lose to a girl -- deciding whether or not to stick with the sport. West coach Paul Kongaika said he has seen boys quit the sport after losing to a girl because there still exists an undercurrent, "If you get beat by a girl, it's time to find a different sport."

Ritchie Jr. agreed, noting that if a boy this season loses to anyone but Michaela Hutchison, it can be devastating.

"Michaela is pretty well respected, she's beaten hundreds of guys in Alaska," he said. "But people who aren't around the sport don't know that. It's kind of a no-win situation for the guys."

Abby Gillaspie has to endure almost five more months as a junior at Sitka High, but she is about to begin working on her senior project -- coordinating an all-girls open wrestling tournament in Sitka that will follow the Class 4A state tournament in February 2006.

She hopes to draw the top varsity girls from around Alaska as well as up-and-coming junior varsity girls. She also hopes to get O'Donnell to town to hold workshops and provide some motivational speeches.

That could be a portent of things to come for girls wrestling in Alaska. Some coaches and athletes said they'd like to see a separate girls division at the large- and small-school state tournaments, although the numbers statewide would need to increase before that becomes a reality.

With the growing number of girls becoming interested in a sport long dominated by boys, however, the prospect of an all-girl division at state -- something other states have done -- could happen, even if the numbers seem slim at first.

"There won't be very many at first, but there will be soon," Costello said. "The girls are here, they wrestle hard and they're good. There's no doubt (an all-girl division will happen)."

Most of the girls wrestling in high school today are less concerned with how much they draw newcomers to the sport than how well they do in their respective matches.

But there's no doubt that as ambassadors for the sport, wrestlers like Leah Bachert and Abby Gillaspie are there to inspire young girls the way Melina Hutchison and Tela O'Donnell have inspired them.

"I would encourage them," Bachert said, "even if they're not getting it right away."

Michaela Hutchison -- by no means a crusader for girls wrestling with her words but certainly with her ability -- also would encourage young girls to take a chance and follow their heart. Her one simple piece of advice?

Two Anchorage private schools, Anchorage Christian and Grace Christian, won't allow girls to wrestle.

The schools, each affiliated with local churches, have policies prohibiting girls on the team, rules rooted in religious tenets.

Jason Hofacker, a 1991 graduate of ACS who returned to his alma mater to coach, has spent the past nine years as the school's wrestling coach and the past three as athletic director.

He said the policy is in place for a simple reason -- it would contradict everything held sacred at Anchorage Baptist Temple and Anchorage Christian Schools.

"We teach these kids at church and at school that girls are to be respected, and then we tell them, 'Now go and beat them up'?" he said.

Unlike public schools, ACS and Grace Christian write their own policies and codes of conduct.

"We are a private school so we hope that people respect our rules," Hofacker said.

Hofacker said no one has ever challenged the school's policy of refusing to let girls wrestle, but if someone did it could mean the end of wrestling at ACS.

"We would probably shut down our program before we allow that to happen," he said.

Back when Hofacker was a freshman at the school in the late 1980s and found himself paired against a girl at the regional tournament, he had to forfeit his match because ACS wrestlers weren't allowed to compete against girls.

ACS now requires its wrestlers to have parental consent to compete against girls should such a pairing happen at a tournament.

A huge proponent of girls athletics and of wrestling, Hofacker was quick to point out that he "would be in full support of girls having their own season" and their own team.

Local Report:

Two Scotts Valley girls -- sophomore Haylee Childs and senior Jessica Peasley -- are ranked fourth in the U.S. Girls Wrestling Association pre-season state poll.

Peasley, who is home-schooled and in the process of joining the Falcons, competes at 124 pounds.

Women's Wrestling Weekly Notebook

Summary:

After participating in three straight tournaments, the Boxers turn to attention to the dual meet schedule with a pair of duals against Simon Fraser and Douglas

THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC WOMEN'S WRESTLING
Sat. Nov. 10: at VisionQuest Duals, Auburn, Wash.
vs. Simon Fraser, Noon, and vs. Douglas (B.C.), 1:00 p.m.

BOXERS MOVE FROM TOURNAMENT TO DUAL ACTION: After spending the first two weekends of the season competing in three tournaments, the Pacific women's wrestling program moves from the tournament setting to the dual meet setting. The Boxers travel north to Auburn, Wash., just south of Seattle, to participate in the VisionQuest Duals against Simon Fraser and Douglas.

CLAN INTERNATIONAL: Results from the annual international competition, held at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, B.C., have not been released.

MIKE CLOCK OPEN: Valerie Prise (Sr., Diamond Bar, Calif., pictured) captured her first championship of the season and Jazzy Green (Fr., Santa Monica, Calif.) finished second to lead Pacific's performance in the Mike Clock Open, held Sunday at the Pacific Athletic Center. Prise was truly challenged only once on her way to the title in the 44-48-kilogram weight class. Prise needed all three rounds to knock off Sevah Palani in the first round, but rolled in the final two rounds by pinning Lauren Tallman and allowing just one point in a two-round defeat of Maria Henriquez.

Green performed well in her first performance on the home mats, capturing runner-up honors at 51 kilograms. She opened by scoring a 3 minute, 15 second pin of Jacqueline Davis before holding off Rita Pare in two rounds, 3-1, 5-4. Green then took Katherine Fulp-Allen to three rounds, taking the second round before being blanked in the third in the loss. Pacific also received third place finishes from Summer Steenberg (Fr., Kent, Wash.) at 59 kilograms, Samantha Stych (Fr., Oxnard, Calif.) at 63 kilograms and Andrea Hale (Jr., Chicago, Ill.) in the combined 67-72 kilogram class.

Simon Fraser and Menlo each posted two champions each. Miranda Dick led the Clan to a first place finish in the 55-kilogram class and Stacey Anakie captured top honors at 63 kilograms. Fulp-Allen paced the Oaks to the championship at 51 kilograms, while J'aime Sage was the champion at 59 kilograms.

ABOUT VISIONQUEST DUAL OPPONENTS: Both Simon Fraser and Douglas are very familiar opponents to the Boxers. Both teams competed at the Mike Clock Open on Sunday. Simon Fraser came away with two champions in Miranda Dick (55 kg.) and Stacey Anakie (63 kg.). The Clan also received second place finishes from Raissa Dickinson (59 kg.) and Denni Torgeson (63 kg.). Douglas had two placers in the Clock Open, receiving a second place finish from Sevah Palani in the combined 44-48 kg. class and a third place finish from Amy Russell at 55 kg. Simon Fraser and Pacific met once last season, with the Clan taking a 28-3 victory from the Boxers in Forest Grove on 11/11/06. A scheduled December dual with Douglas in Forest Grove was cancelled due to travel difficulties.

MILLER'S MOMENTS: Quotes From Head Coach Scott Miller
On The Team Performance: "We're pretty pleased with the intensity level that showed this weekend, but we do feel that some wins got away from us. Our girls have been practicing exclusively folkstyle, so we're pleased that we went 12-10 this weekend in freestyle against true freestyle programs. I was pleased with the way our women continued wrestling during the day and finding wins later in the tournament."

On Valerie Prise: "Valerie did a great job and earned her first college tournament championship. She did a really good job of holding position and making elevation changes. Beating (Sevah) Palani was a big win for her. I'm very proud of her performance."

On Jazzy Green: "Jazzy got a great win over Rita Pare from Simon Fraser and had a tough fought match in the finals against Fulp-Allen that could have gone our way. Jazzy is wrestling very tough right now and we're looking forward to a great season from her."

On The VisionQuest Duals: "We look forward to wrestling Simon Fraser and Douglas at the VisionQuest Duals. We'll wrestle both folkstyle and freestyle, so it should be a full day of wrestling."

A COMBINED FREESTYLE/FOLKSTYLE SCHEDULE: Unlike past seasons for the Pacific women's wrestling program, the Boxers will wrestle a schedule that will combine both freestyle and folkstyle (also known as collegiate style). Pacific has elected to join the National Collegiate Wrestling Association's (NCWA) women's wrestling division, which was created in July. Pacific will wrestle folkstyle against NCWA opponents, but will wrestle freestyle against a number of other college teams. Pacific's first counting NCWA dual will be on Jan. 6 against San Jose State.

VALERIE'S PRIZE: In her three seasons, Valerie Prise had not won a tournament. Last season, the closest she came was second in a year that saw her go 22-18 overall. Prise finally broke through at the Mike Clock Open on Sunday, winning the combined 44-48-kilogram weight class. Prise fought hard for the victory, going three rounds in her match against Douglas' Sevah Palani before going to a third round to pin Lauren Tallman of Menlo. Prise's final round was her easiest, allowing just one point to Menlo's Maria Henriquez in a 4-1, 7-0 victory. Prise is now 3-2 overall this season after dropping both of her matches at the Sunkist Kids Tourney.

JAZZING THINGS UP: In her first two weeks competing for the Boxers, Jazzy Green has certainly made a strong impact on an experienced program. The freshman flew through to a second place in the 51-kilogram bracket at the Mike Clock Open. Green scored a fall and a two-round match before falling in a closely contested match to Menlo's Katherine Fulp-Allen. Green is off to a 3-3 record. She was the only Pacific wrestler to win a match at the season-opening Sunkist Kids International.

WOMEN'S COLLEGE RANKINGS: Pacific has opened the season with six wrestlers ranks in TheMat.com's U.S. Women's College Preseason Rankings. Megan Richardson (Jr., Santa Paula, Calif.) opens the year with the highest individual ranking, No. 2 at 80 kilograms. Summer Scott (Jr., Castro Valley, Calif.) is ranked fourth at 55 kilograms. Three wrestlers are ranked seventh in their respective weight classes. Valerie Prise is seventh at 48 kg., Jazzy Green is seventh at 51 kg. and Andrea Hale (Jr., Chicago, Ill.) is seventh at 63 kg. Candace Sakamoto (So., Kaneohe, Hawaii) rounds out the list with a No. 8 ranking at 44 kg.

PROJECTED LINEUP
48 kg.: Valerie Prise (3-2)
51 kg.: Jazzy Green (3-3)
55 kg.: Teresa Ayala (1-2)
59 kg.: Summer Steenberg (1-2)
63 kg.: Samantha Stych (2-4)
67 kg.: Jade Anderson (1-4)
72 kg.: Andrea Hale (2-1)
80 kg.: Forfeit

CAMPBELL ON THE ROSTER
This year, the Sun Devils have a first on their roster as Kelsey Campbell is the first woman to join the Arizona State program. A transfer from Pacific (Ore.), Campbell comes to Tempe after competing for the Boxers during the 2005-06 season and then representing the ASU Women's Club Team last year. During the 2006-07 season, Campbell competed in her first National Collegiate Women's Wrestling Championships and won the 63kg (138.5) national title as an unseeded competitor. In the event, she knocked off the No. 4, No. 1 and then No. 2 seeds on her way to her first tournament title.

TOP OF HER CLASS
Kelsey Campbell is currently ranked on a pair of national women's lists, including No. 1 at 59kg (130 pounds) in the Collegiate Women's Wrestling Association preseason rankings. She also is ranked No. 5 in TheMat.com's U.S. Senior Women's Rankings (May 2007).

Women's wrestling off to a great start

At just her second tournament, the women's wrestling team's Rachel Groft finished fifth at McMaster University this past weekend

James Cooney

Rachel Groft, seen above, wrestles her opponent. Groft competed in two recent tournaments where she faced some of the top competitors in the world.

The women's wrestling program has arrived.
This past weekend the women's wrestling team sent Rachel Groft as well as two other women to compete in a competition at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. Groft placed fifth in the tournament.
In the first match of the tournament Groft faced the second ranked woman's wrestler in the world from University of Cumberland. Groft would lose the match but she came back to win her final two matches by pin fall in route to her fifth place finish.
This wasn't the first tournament that Groft has competed in. Early in the year she competed at the Sunkist International Tournament at Phoenix, Arizona. This is considered the biggest women's wrestling event of the year.
With this years tournament falling on an Olympic year, the try out latter for the women's Olympic team were there competing. Also, top ranked women's collegiate wrestlers from all over the country were there. Other countries besides the United States had competitors there such as, Russia, Canada, and some South American countries.
"Rachel has the ability to compete at that level. We felt she would respond positively and she did," said Head Coach Terry Fike.
It was a double elimination tournament and Groft found herself match up against two hard opponents. In her first match she had to face the No. 2 ranked woman again. After losing to her, Groft had to face the No. 7 ranked woman. The result of the match was the same, but it was a huge first step in women's wrestling at Lock Haven University.
"Rachel returned from a three year layoff and we wanted her to compete on that level," said Coach Fike.
This is the first year for the women's wrestling team, but LHU has a past history of women's wrestlers. Three past women from the Haven have competed on the national level. Coach Fike wants to continue this tradition.
"We are committed to providing great training and competitive opportunities," said Coach Fike. "If someone has the talent we will take them to the best competitions to get them where they want to go."
The team will be holding a meeting on Thursday, tomorrow, at 8:00 p.m. at the Thomas Fieldhouse classroom.
"The meeting will provide information on training and competition. We will show the present state of women's collegiate wrestling, including video of competitions, highlights, as well as an opportunity to observe practice," said Coach Fike.

CANADA SECURES WOMEN’S OLYMPIC QUALIFYING TOURNAMENT