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LAFAYETTE -- The Centaurus High School cheerleaders were mesmerized.
They weren't alone.
In a steamy gymnasium on a frigid Friday evening hundreds of prep wrestlers from four states went at each other on five different mats in what has become the best wrestling tournament Colorado has to offer outside of the state bracket in February.
And this year the only girl in the largest field in the tournament's history has advanced to the quarterfinals of the 103-pound weight class.
Candace Workman is no stranger to the sort of success she is enjoying at the prestigious Top of the Rockies tournament at Centaurus High School. She became the first female wrestler in Utah state history to qualify for the state tournament last season as a sophomore at Uintah High School in Vernal, Utah.
When she won her qualifying match, she cried, and no one held it against her because many of them were crying, too. She placed sixth at state.
She hopes to better that result by five spots this year, and she is off to a gCandace Workmanood start with a 30-6 overall record heading into today's action. Workman won her first- and second-round matches Friday becoming the first female to advance to the quarterfinal round of this 12-year-old event.
Her second-round opponent was Centaurus freshman LeRoy Delgado, who had easily dispatched his first-round foe. He struggled with Workman, who came back in the third 2-minute period to win 11- 7. She did it with a good chunk of the 1,327 in attendance watching, including a group of cheerleaders who didn't seem to know what to make the of the show.
Workman also defeated Tim Mooney of Legacy High School by major decision 14-1.
"She's pretty good," Delgard said. "She's going to train with the Olympic team."
Her father, Jason, serves on the Uintah coaching staff and was a high school wrestler, too. Candace fell in love with her father's stories about the sport when she was young and she often wrestled with dad in the family livingroom when she was small.
Jason Workman said his daughter went through several years when she wanted nothing to do with wrestling, but came home from second grade one day with a permission slip. A career was born and it could lead to a scholarship to Northern Michigan where she would train for the Olympics with 19 other girls from around the country.
Her teammates call her "Superstar" because she is often asked for interviews. She is not a fan of the nickname because she doesn't want to be treated any differently than her teammates, who number at least 30 at the varsity and junior varsity levels. At first, she was a curiosity to many, but there is little doubt she has earned the attention.
"When I first got into high school, a lot of kids didn't know me and you could hear them talking before," she said. "They were usually thinking it was going to be an easy match.
"I guess I earned their respect."
As she stood in a hallway Friday after advancing to the semifinals, respect was eCandace Workmanvident. Other wrestlers repeatedly patted her on the back and gave congratulations. Many of these wrestlers are members of ranked teams and hold individual rankings themselves.
Longmont coach Ty Tatham has brought his team to this tournament every year since its inception.
"I don't know if it has been any tougher than this year," Tatham said. "I tell my kids it's a measuring stick. You don't win the state championship here, but if you want to be the best, you have to wrestle the best."
Today, the best at 103 pounds might be a feisty female who has suffered her fair share of fat lips and black eyes along the way. They are the hazards of the sport.
"Some girls don't like it because they think I'm just in it for the attention because I'm the only girl," Workman said. "Some don't think it's right that a girl is wrestling boys. A lot of girls come up to me and say how cool they think it is."
Shayne McKee is the father of Jessy McKee, who wrestles at 140 pounds for Uintah. He has witnessed most of the highs and lows Workman has experienced over the past three seasons in the very male wrestling world.
"She's all girl when she ain't wrestling," he said.Candace Workman
McKee said each year Workman is credited with a handful of victories because her male opponents refuse to wrestle her and forfeit. It breaks his heart.
McKee said he has heard and coaches of her opponents justify forfeiting on religious grounds. Others say they're worried about Workman being hurt. Some say it is inappropriate for boys and girls to engage in a competition, where no areas of the anatomy are off limits to contact.
McKee said some wrestlers take a match against Workman to the opposite extreme. He believes they might go a little harder, rake an arm across her face with bad intentions. Stuff like that.
"You can't break her spirit with it," he said. "She takes it and keeps coming."
 Candace Workman |
Talk about brutal.
That might be the
best way to describe the 135-pound weight class at the Top of the Rockies
wrestling tournament at Centaurus High School.
In that
classification for the 33-school tournament, considered the toughest in the
state by several coaches and wrestlers, are four state champions and 15 ranked
among the top-10 individuals by On the Mat.
For that matter,
the entire tournament could be considered brutal. There are 29 wrestlers from
the three classifications ranked No. 1 and 20 ranked No. 2.
Of the four champion
135- pounders, only Pueblo South's Jeremy Aguero had what could be considered a
tough first- round match. He faced Ponderosa's Austin Gabel, ranked No. 4 in
Class 5A, and earned a 5-1 victory. He pinned Brighton's Luke Case in 5:38 in
the second round.
Pomona's Nick
Jones, Fort Lupton's Saul Guerrero and Greeley Central's Scott Schaeffer pinned
their first-round opponents. And considering none had trouble in the second
round, they could face each other in the semifinals today.
After two rounds,
Alamosa leads with 601/2 points, Ponderosa is second with 521/2, and Broomfield
and Roosevelt are tied for third at 511/2.
"This is one
of the toughest tournaments that I've been in in my life," said Aguero,
the 119- pound champ in Class 4A last year who is 10-1 and coming off an
early-season injury. "(Gabel) was a real tough kid. He made it difficult
for me to do my stuff."
Guerrero, who is
seeking his third championship in 4A, pinned Brent Bodkin of Adams City in 50
seconds in the first round and won by a technical fall (17-0) against Travis
Stickney of Conifer in the second.
Schaeffer pinned
Anthony Delgado of Centaurus in 3:29, then pinned Sean Mahaney of Alamosa in
3:50. Jones pinned Jarron Cito of Roosevelt in 1:32 and earned a 19-2 technical
fall victory against Justin McCarrell of Cheyenne Central.
Guerrero (20-0) and Jones (22-2) are on the top half of the bracket, Aguero and Schaeffer (18-2) on the bottom.Candace Workman
"Coming into
the tournament, I knew there was a chance for a couple state champions, but
four - this bracket is loaded," said Guerrero, who won state at 119 pounds
as a sophomore and 130 last season.
Jones, who won
state last year at 119, is from 5A, with the other three from 4A. "This is
definitely a tournament that you prepare for, as almost all the top guys are
here," Jones said.
"This is
really fun and I like the competition here," Schaffer said. "I like
how the officials were able to spread it out and at least give the four of us a
chance to reach the semifinals. . . . I think the tougher competition gives all
of us a chance to pick it up."
Also advancing was
Candace Workman, of Uintah High in Vernal, Utah, who beat LeRoy Delgard of
Centaurus 11-9 in a 103- pound match to reach the quarterfinals. The
sixth-place finisher at the Utah state tournament is the only girl at the event
and improved to 31-8.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
She doesn’t wrestle with an agenda. She doesn’t have an axe to grind.
No, Candace Workman wrestles for just one reason.
“I’ve just always enjoyed it,” she said.
Just as she’s done throughout her career, Workman impressed a lot of fans over the weekend.
The junior from Uintah High School in Vernal, Utah, fared well in one of the region’s toughest invitational tournaments of the season.
Her quest for a title in the 31st Warrior Classic came to a halt Saturday morning when she lost 8-0 to Central’s Matthew Gurule in the quarterfinals of the 103-pound bracket.
Although she didn’t claim the title, Workman still made history, becoming the first girl to place at the Warrior Classic. She finished fifth.
Workman’s foray into wrestling began like many other wrestlers — at home.
Her father, Jason, wrestled in high school in California, and she and her dad used to wrestle for fun when she was younger.
About 10 years ago, the elementary school in Vernal was having sign-ups for youth wrestling. It sounded like fun, so she added her name to the list.
“I tried it and stuck with it,” she said.
Not only has she persevered, she’s done well.
Last year, despite being the No. 2 103-pound wrestler on her team, she finished sixth in the state tournament (Uintah’s top 103-pounder was the state runner-up).
In Utah, more than one wrestler from a team can compete in a weight class at a regional tournament. As in Colorado, the top four in each region qualify for state.
Since junior high, nearly all of Workman’s athletic focus has been on wrestling. She runs cross country during the fall, primarily to stay in shape for wrestling season.Candace Workman
It was when she was in junior high that she faced possibly her toughest challenge. The organizers of one tournament wanted to ban her from competing. The family hired an attorney from the American Civil Liberties Union to fight for her to stay in the tournament.
“That was the only time I felt I had something to prove,” she said.
She proved it. The family won the case. She went on to win the junior high state title later that year.
She’s competed since elementary school.Candace Workman
“I’ve been wrestling so long I’m pretty well-known in Utah,” she said.
That may be, in part, because of the lawsuit three years ago that drew statewide media attention.
By the time she reached high school, the Uintah coach knew what he was getting.
“I knew that she had potential,” said Uintah coach Gregg Stensgard, whose coach when he was Candace Workmanin junior high was Workman’s father. “She has good flexibility and good speed.”
One thing she lacks, relative to the other wrestlers in her weight class, is upper-body strength, but her quickness and maneuverability counteracts that weakness.
Her Uintah teammates have accepted her as one of the team.
“They’re all my best friends,” she said.
“For us, we don’t see Candace as a girl anymore,” Stensgard said. “We see her as part of the team.”
Workman isn’t just the token girl on the team.
“She’s earned the right to be there,” Stensgard said.
Workman, though, isn’t content to just be a part of the team. Like all other wrestlers, she wants to get better.
Her summer calendar is filled with two activities. She races jet skis. And she wrestles.
Last summer, she attended a wrestling camp in Estes Park, went to a team camp in Reno, Nev., attended Unitah’s own summer camp and, to cap it off, participated in a 28-day camp in Minnesota — the last two days of which she had to miss so she could compete in the annual national freestyle tournament in Fargo, N.D.Candace Workman
She’s the first girl to graduate from the month-long Minnesota camp (she’s done it twice).
And for the record, she finished second in the 103-pound women’s division at Fargo. With her sixth-place finish at state last year and all her work during the summer, Workman had two missions this season. The first was to make the varsity.
Mission accomplished.
The other goal will take her all season to accomplish.
“I want to be a state champion,” she said.
She hopes to wrestle for a collegiate women’s team in a couple of years and, ultimately, on the U.S. Olympic team. This summer, she’ll compete in the U.S. national trials in Las Vegas “just to see how I measure up,” she said.
Even with all her achievements, opponents still occasionally make disparaging remarks.
“I hear it from time to time,” Workman said. “It doesn’t really affect me.
“I let my wrestling and my performance speak for itself.”
Sat Jan 19 2008
By Allan Besson
AISLYNN TORFASON has traded in her ballet shoes and tutu for wrestling boots and tights. It's a move the Grade 12 Fort Richmond Collegiate student hasn't regretted.
There are, however, a few wrestlers out there who probably do.Torfason grappled with the decision for a while, but after giving it a shot, she discovered wrestling was the right sport for her.
"I took dance with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet since I was 12," said the 17-year-old, adding that she was also into jazz and tap dancing. "I have always believed that if you want to be really great at a sport you have to commit yourself, and make sure that sport is what you are truly dedicated to, so I made a choice. The ballet though, has helped me tremendously. It has given me a great sense of balance, great sense of body awareness and makes me an all around better athlete."
Torfason, who also plays the flute and piano and dances with the school dance team, won the 16- and 17-year-old 56-kilogram gold medal at the Pan Am championships in Panama City last August.
She also competed last year at the Polish Memorial Cup in Bydgoszcz, Poland (placed second) and the Austrian Ladies Open in Gotzis, Austria (placed fifth). She also finished third at the Canada Cup in Guelph and earned a spot on the cadet national team after winning her weight division at the trials in Whitby, Ont. "I was ecstatic," she said. "I was screaming and hugging my coach and my mom, who supports me in this totally."While university scholarships have begun to make their way to her door, Torfason says she isn't interested. "I got an offer from Oklahoma City University, but I really want to stay in Canada," she said. "I don't think I could get used to their style of wrestling down there."
Tony Paukovic, her Grade 9 guidance teacher at Acadia Junior High, introduced her to wrestling. "He asked me to join the wrestling team, so I tried it out, and this is one sport that came very easy to me, so I just stayed with it."
Speed, strength, agility and technical skills aren't Torfason's only wrestling talents. She is also an innovator, having invented a move all her own. "At the nationals I was trying to do one move, and it kind of turned into a different move, but it worked, so I just kept doing it. So, yes, I invented it."
When she applies the move during a match, Torfason pulls down on her opponent with her left arm, while stepping in with her right leg to hook it behind her opponents right leg. All the while, she is driving forward forcing her opponent back onto the mat. At the recent Kelvin High School tournament, she pinned an opponent in four seconds, before going on to win her division.
In Poland, and at the Canada Cup in Guelph, Polish and Korean wrestlers asked her to teach them the move. "The Polish wrestlers have been using it since, but the Koreans didn't quite get it.
"Did I give the move a name?," she said laughing. "That little sweeping thing. I don't know."
Torfason's coach at the Winnipeg Wrestling Club is Chris Stasiak, a former member of the Polish junior national team. "He is amazing,"
said Torfason. "He seems like a bear, but he wants you to succeed in every way. He truly cares for every athlete. I wouldn't be where I am without him."
"I hope to make the 2012 Olympic team," Torfason says, but Stasiak is cautious, "2012 is four years away, and lots of things can happen. It depends how much she wants to be an Olympian or world champion and how tough mentally she is."
Away from the wrestling mat Torfason does have a life, and it includes her boyfriend Ivan Orsnik, who is also a student at Fort Richmond and a gymnast. She says he doesn't find her wrestling to be a challenge to his masculinity."He doesn't mind going out with (a tough girl). He totally supports me being a wrestler."
TAIYUAN,
China - The United States women's freestyle wrestling team knocked off reigning
World team champion Japan on Saturday to reach the finals of the World
Cup.Cy Ridge, Waller girls to meet for state duals
title
For the Chronicle
 |
The Houston area will have its first state dual wrestling champion crowned today.
Both the Cy Ridge and Waller girls' teams advanced to the state finals earlier today at the Merrell Center in Katy at the Texas High School Wrestling Coaches Association State Dual Championships.
The pair will meet for the second time in three days to determine Houston's first state dual champion at 6:30 p.m. today. In their first meeting of the season on Thursday, Cy Ridge and Waller tied 30-30 with five pins each. Waller won on a criterion.
The rematch looks to be just as dramatic.
Waller defeated El Paso Hanks 42-18 and Centennial 33-22 to reach the finals. Cy Ridge (13-1) edged Arlington 28-24 and Coppell 34-24 to advance in the 8-team tournament.
In 2003 the Westside became the only Greater Houston boys' team to advance to the state dual finals. Highland Park edged the Wolves by two points that year, according to area coaches.
In the boys' dual action, Canyon Randall and St. Marks will meet in the finals at 6:30 p.m. after semifinal wins over Arlington Bowie and Allen.
Klein finished second to Arlington Bowie in morning pool action with a 2-1 record, which l
Mary Jane Fernandez (98), Sabrina Ross (103), Jennifer Fernandez (108), Jennifer Avelino (114), Breanne Boggs (122), Jasmine Dalangion (126), and Johanna Knight (132) are all still vying for individual championships. Leah Ri (98) finished the day 2-1 and is still alive in the consolation bracket.
eft the Houston's top team battling for a chance at fifth place. Cinco Ranch finished 2-1 in the morning and will wrestle for 12th place.
The Katy Taylor boys beat Randall 40-36 in early pool action then lost to Highland Park and Lake Highlands. Westside was 1-2 in the morning action, but edged Cinco Ranch and will compete for 10th place.
Mary Jane Fernandez (98), Sabrina Ross (103), Jennifer Fernandez (108), Jennifer Avelino (114), Breanne Boggs (122), Jasmine Dalangion (126), and Johanna Knight (132) are all still vying for individual championships. Leah Ri (98) finished the day 2-1 and is still alive in the consolation bracket.