News Page

HIGH SCHOOL: Gonzales’ Torres undefeated in wrestling tournament

Salinas Californian,1/21/08

Chris Torres of Gonzales High won the 130-pound title Saturday at the Jim Root Classic at West Valley College in Saratoga.

Torres went 4-0 in the tourney to earn the crown

Taking third from Gonzales was Andre Carrillo at 135 pounds and Sergio Moreno at 140 pounds.

Mark Avalos took seventh at 103 and Edward Escobar was seventh at 119 for Gonzales.
Palma: The Chieftains took 13th at the Tim Brown Memorial Invitational in Sacramento.

Zach Jimenez was fourth at 191 pounds, Hunter Baird was fourth at 217 and Jarron Ramirez was fifth at 114. Ramirez was unable to compete in the medal round due to the five-match per day limit.
Salinas: The Cowboys placed third at the Jim Root tourney.

Sean McVannel, a sophomore, was an individual champion by going 4-0 in the 140-pound division.

Ryan Block was second at 112 pounds, Eddie Edeza was third at 171, Jairo Rodriguez was sixth at 125, Nico Cerna was sixth at 119 and Eric Blakeman was sixth at 189.

For the Salinas girls, Josaro Pipitone was third at 145 at a state qualifying meet in Sacramento and Brenda Mai was eighth at 108 pounds.

 

Prep Report: Napa’s McChesney, Gardner place at NorCal wrestling championships

Monday, January 21, 2008
From Register Staff

Alyx McChesney, a Napa High senior, placed third in the CIF Girls Northern California Regional Wrestling Championships held Friday and Saturday in Sacramento.
McChesney, wrestling in the 122-pound weight class, went 5-1. She lost only to the eventual champion, Katarina Perez of Buhach Colony, who had also handed McChesney her only loss a week before at the ASICS Napa Valley Girls Classic.

Samantha Gardner, a sophomore at 132s, went 3-3 to earn a sixth-place finish for Napa.

The wrestlers are preparing for the State Championship, in Hanford on Feb. 1-2.



Walter Murray the heavyweight in wrestling

Darren Zary, The StarPhoenix

Published: Monday, January 21, 2008

On the wrestling mat, Walter Murray is tops in both girls' and boys' action. The Marauders pulled off big wins last week. The Marauders edged the Guardians 39-36 on the boys' side. Jon Sailor was named the outstanding wrestler for Murray. In girls' competition, Walter Murray took down St. Joseph 24-21. Meghan Clancy was selected as the Marauders' top female wrestler.

Walter Murray is atop the girls' wrestling standings with a 5-0 mark. St. Joes is second at 3-1, followed by Marion Graham at 3-2 and Holy Cross at 2-2. Walter Murray is also No. 1 in the boys' standings at 4-0, followed by St. Joseph at 3-0 and Marion Graham Falcons at 3-2. Holy Cross is fourth at 2-2.


Brazoswood goes 5-0 at Wood Shed Duas

By Joel Luna
The Facts,Published January 21, 2008

CLUTE — Hoping to snag a few top seeds in the District 24-5A Wood Shed Wrestling Duals, Brazoswood did better than that.

The Bucs finished 5-0 with wins over Clear Creek, Clear Brook, Clear Lake, Beaumont West Brook and Friendswood Saturday at Performance Gym.

“We wanted to get some good hard wrestling in and get matches for our kids,” Brazoswood coach Bill Baker said. “We were coming in with a thin lineup and then yesterday find out our 112 Michael (Martin) was not going to get to go. If you’d have told me this morning that we were going to win this thing, I’d never believed it.”

Brazoswood had a one-point win over Clear Lake (40-39) and two-point advantages over Clear Creek (41-39) and West Brook (42-40). They also beat Brook, 45-39, and Friendswood, 42-30.

“The guys just battled so hard and got pins when they needed them,” Baker said. “These were really close duals. We actually tied Clear Lake but got the victory because we won eight of the 15 weight classes. They just don’t get any closer than that.”

A couple of the Buc standouts were Jakob Baumeister and Trevor West. In five matches on the day, Baumeister came out unscathed as far as opponents’ points were concerned.

“I had five bouts and I pinned each one in each bout,” Baumeister said. “The scoring didn’t surprise me much, because I usually don’t cut guys and give them points. I make them earn their points.”

A wrestler since he was 6, Baumeister brings a lot of experience to the mat as a sophomore. Even he was surprised at some of the victories he recorded.

“I wasn’t expecting to beat the wrestlers from Clear Creek and Beaumont West Brook so handily, but it gives me good confidence going into the district tournament,” Baumeister said.

An ailing West secured a team win with a loss.

“Because of a kid missing weight at 140, Trevor wrestled with a bad shoulder, but wrestled hard all day and lost a match against West Brook,” Baker said. “In that West Brook match he fought off his back and did not get pinned, and by not giving up the six-point pin, we end up winning that dual by two points. So he came up huge for us.”

For their contributions on the day, both Baumeister and West were selected wrestlers of the tournament.

Baker is feeling a lot better heading into the Feb. 3 district meet at Beaumont West Brook.

“We are looking pretty good, probably half of our kids are going to be first or second seeds,” Baker said. “There are a few third seeds which is OK. Fourth seed is the one you don’t want to be in district, because you’ll have to wrestle the No. 1 guy right off the bat. I just can’t believe all the pins we got when we needed them.”

With 248 points, Creek came in second. West Brook finished with 244 points. Clear Lake was fourth with 193. All three teams finished with 3-2 records Saturday. Brook finished 1-4 and Friendswood did not win a match, 0-5.

The girls wrestled in between matches, with each one facing off against an opponent. Baker was pretty impressed with a Clear Brook wrestler.

“For some reason, our numbers are down on girls in district, but Elizabeth Hawk in the 128 from Clear Brook, I think she is going to make some noise in the region,” Baker said. “I think Kayse Slaughter did well for us in that same weight, but is going to have to improve to beat Hawk.”

Brazoswood will close out the regular season with a finale at the Katy Taylor Woodlands Triangular on Wednesday.


Tascosa Girls notch tournament victory

by PanhandleAl on Mon Jan 21, 2008 11:28 am

Three Amarillo ISD schools combined for seven first-place wrestling medals and Tascosa won the girls division Saturday at the Red River Classic in Vernon.

The Lady Rebels took eight wrestlers to the tournament, and each came home with medals, including first-place honors for Jodi Martinez (128 pounds) and Sarah Alpar (138), en route to 115 points. Palo Duro, which had three first-place finishers, took second with 105 points. Amarillo High also had two first-place finishers in the girls division to finish in the top six.

PD was the only metro team that competed in the boys division, and the Dons placed fifth with a first-place showing from Omar Hernandez. Hernandez finished the weekend without losing a match.

Tascosa coach Johnny Cobb said the title could be a springboard.

"My girls needed a shot of confidence before getting into district competition," Cobb said. "It's a great confidence-builder going into the upcoming tournaments."

PD's Baille Lomelli, who took first place at 148 pounds, was a pleasant surprise for the Lady Dons. Lomelli faced Tascosa's Breena Maul in the championship match, and was behind by 13 points before throwing a headlock on Maul. Maul couldn't escape and was pinned when just one takedown could have won the match.

"It was a good win for Baille," Palo Duro coach Steve Nelson said. "It will give both girls reason to train harder heading into district."

Amarillo High's Dakota Dodgen finished first in the 119-pound division and earned the tournament's most valuable wrestler award.

"Dakota had some tough matches. She wrestled smart and made some good decisions," AHS girls coach Charlie Rose said.

Dodgen faced an old friend, PD's Brittanie Lomelli, in the finals.

"It's hard wrestling Brittanie," Dodgen said.

"We are friends off the mat, but once you cross that circle friendships are out the window. After the match is over, everything goes back to normal."

Red River Classic

Girls

Team Results: 1. Tascosa, 115; 2. Palo Duro, 105.

Area Individual:

95: 1. Sabrina Plasencio, Palo Duro; 2. Kim Jade Packer, Tascosa.

102: 3. Stephanie Morgan, Tascosa.

110: 2. Alexis Morgan, Tascosa.

119: 1. Dakota Dodgen, Amarillo High; 2. Brittanie Lomelli, Palo Duro, 2nd. (pinned third period)

128: 1. Jodi Martinez, Tascosa, 2. Jasmine Stelle, Palo Duro.

138: 1. Sarah Alpar, Tascosa; 2. Janeesha Woods, Tascosa; 4. Amy Moreno, Palo Duro.

148: 1. Baille Lomelli, Palo Duro. 2. Breena Maul, Tascosa. (Headlock and pinned after being up 13 points.)

165: 1. Sangie Gonzales, Amarillo High; 2. Jamie Martinez, Tascosa.

185: 1. Dorothy Scott, Palo Duro.

Most Outstanding Wrestler: Dakota Dodgen, Amarillo High.
 

Marcus Somerstein Oak Cliff Classic--girls results

Girls Team Scores:
1) Kimball 107.00
2) Skyline 67.00
3) Arlington Sam Houston 66.00
3) Bishop Dunne Catholic 66.00
5) Frisco 62.00
6) Arlington Lamar 55.00
7) Midlothian 39.00
8) L.D. Bell 27.00
9) W.T. White 24.00
10) Adamson 22.00

Girls Individual Place Winner:
95:
1st Colleen Miley—Arlington Lamar
2nd T. Curley—Kimball
3rd Amy Nguyen
4th Krysta Ramirez—Skyline

102:
1st Adreana Barrera—Bishop Dunne Catholic
2nd Driana Flores—Arlington Sam Houston
3rd T. Bombard
4th Kristina Haddock

110:
1st E. Jackson—Kimball
2nd Carolina Perez—W. T. White
3rd Blanca Garcia—Skyline,
4th Natalie Coronado—Midlothian

119:
1st Angelina Ramirez—Skyline
2nd Laura Ulmet—L.D. Bell
3rd Adreana Vega—Kimball
4th Christan Bennett—Frisco

128:
1st Suzanne Baker—Arlington Lamar
2nd Kirsten Strickler—Frisco
3rd Alex Dean—Bishop Dunne Catholic
4th Lashonda Stigler—Arlington Sam Houston

138:
1st Jessica Lemmer—Midlothian
2nd Adriana Trevizo—Arlington Lamar
3rd R. Williams—Kimball
4th Elena Trejo—W.T. White

148:
1st Vivianna Moncada—Adamson
2nd Maragrita Hinojosa—Skyline
3rd Sarah Stewart—Midlothian
4th Patty Coronado—Midlothian

165:
1st Alannah Griego—Frisco
2nd Lauren Roberts—Arlington Lamar
3rd R. Coleman—Kimball
4th Winnesha Higgins--Skyline

185:
1st Lauren Birks—Bishop Dunne Catholic
2nd Melissa Reyes—Frisco
3rd W. Brown—Kimball
4th Wymesha Pinson—Skyline

215:
1st D. Brown—Kimball
2nd Sara Vernon—Arlington Sam Houston
3rd Tamarra Grimes—L.D. Bell
4th Lesley Moore—Bishop Dunne Catholic

Hoquiam girls win Emerald Ridge mat title

By the Daily World staff,Monday, January 21, 2008 10:39 AM PST

SOUTH HILL — Hoquiam made off with team honors in the girls division of the Emerald Ridge wrestling tournament on Saturday.

Team scores and even the weight classes were unavailable at press times.

Hoquiam’s Kelsey Klein, a reigning state champion, won her division. Teammate Alex White placed second in her class, while Juline Girts, Dallas Wagner and Marissa Aube each finished third.

“Our girls wrestled anywhere from four to six matches throughout the day and they wrestled excellent,” said Grizzly assistant coach Wes Cormier.

He cited Aube and Girts for particularly fine performances.

 

WORLD CUP JOURNAL (Updated Jan. 21): Team receives an opportunity to explore Beijing

Katie Downing Team USA
01/21/2008

 Everyone took a little longer to wake up this morning. Today was mostly travel back to Beijing. There’s not much to say about wrestling for now. We’re going to get in a practice with the local sports school team tomorrow. Hopefully, most of their National Team will be there too.

Many of the girls went shopping today for some clothing bargains and authentic Chinese wares. I went to visit the Beijing Normal University where many of the USOC staff will stay during the Olympics, and where many of the athletes will train away from the Olympic Village. It was exciting to see the brand new gym complex being built, and to look around what may be our practice sites next fall. For now, we mostly got to look in windows to see what eventually will be something else when we arrive for the Games. Still, it felt good to be walking around what could be a part of the big dream later this year.

Patrick Borkowski, the strength and conditioning coach at the Olympic Training Center, is here making plans for all of the gyms U.S. athletes will use at the University right before the Games. He also made his way out to Taiyuan to see the final round of the World Cup. He missed his flight from Beijing, and got delayed, stuck in a cold airport, and sent to the wrong hotel in Taiyuan. The people at our hotel gave us his key so he’d have it when he finally did arrive. That spelled danger for Patrick. You just can’t give a bunch of wrestlers a lot of time on their hands, and the key to your unmonitored room. We brainstormed several devious options for defiling his room, and finally settled on the simple, yet effective “surprise” in the toilet. Patrick put us through a workout the next morning, but gave us no immediate reaction to the condition of his room. We kept trying to bait him into reacting to his bathroom gift, but we got nothing until the very end of our practice. He was going over his travel mishaps and said, “. . . and to top it all off, I thought this was a nice hotel, but there was a big dump in the toilet when I got into my room!” We replied, “No way! Who would do such a thing!” It was the payoff we were looking for, because Patrick’s face just froze as he thought it over, and then dropped once he realized that shenanigans had taken place.

Half of our delegation went home today. Sara McMann and Jenny Wong were among them. We are all wrestlers, but we are all women too, so we share what’s going on in our lives. Sara and Jenny both practice at Limestone College in South Carolina rather than the Training Center. A handful of Limestone wrestlers came to the Training Center, so we got to know them a bit. Trips are a chance for us girls to catch up with Sara and Jenny, and to hear about how the Limestone guys are doing too. It’s also neat to have Jenny on our trip in China because both of her parents were born here. I liked having dinner with her because she could tell me what all of the food was, and she’d tell us how her mom prepared the same dishes. It was also funny to see Jenny say something in English, and still have people talk to her in Chinese, assuming she’d be fluent. She knows just enough Chinese to give us interesting bits of info.

JAPAN FALLS TO U.S., TO WRESTLE FOR BRONZE AT WORLD CUP


TAIYUAN, China (January 19) -

Marcie Van Dusen saddled Saori Yoshida with her first loss in international competition and the United States claimed a 4-3 victory over Japan on the opening day of the World Cup of womenfs wrestling.

Van Dusen, a 10th-place finisher at last yearfs world championships, countered takedown attempts with tilts in both the first and second periods to claim a 4-1, 2-2 triumph over Yoshida at 55 kg of their group A pairing. Yoshida, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist and five-time world champion, saw her personal winning streak dating back to 2001 snapped at 119. She also lost for the first time in 115 matches in international competition going back to 1996.

Japan, second in group A, will face group B runner-up Kazakhstan for the bronze medal. It will be the second straight year that Japan, the winner of five World Cups, will be denied the title.

In its first group A pairing, Makiko Sakamoto came up short against 2004 Olympic champion Irina Merleni at 48 kg, but Japan reeled off five straight wins in a 5-2 victory over Ukraine.

Japanese results in group A competition:

Japan 5, Ukraine 2

48 - Makiko Sakamoto lost to Irina Merleni, 1-2 (1-0=2:15, 0-1, 0-1=2:16)
51 - Hitomi Sakamoto df. Oleksandra Kohut, 2-0 (4-0, 3-0)
55 - Saori Yoshida df. Nataliya Synyshyn, 2-0 (1-0, 5-0)
59 - Kei Yamana df. Katerina Dombrovska, 2-0 (2B-2, 1L-1)
63 - Mio Mishimaki df. Yuliya Ostapchuk, 2-0 (1-0, 4-0)
67 - Mami Shinkai df. Kateryna Burmistrova, 2-0 (2L-2, 1-0)
72 - Asuka Sano lost to Svitlana Saienko, 1-2 (0-1, 1-0=2:03, 0-8)


Japan 3, United States 4

48 - Chiharu Icho df. Stephanie Murata by fall, 2P=2:00 (6-0, 6-0)
51 - Hitomi Sakamoto df. Jennifer Wong, 2-0 (2-0, 4-0)
55 - Saori Yoshida lost to Marcie Van Dusen, 0-2 (1-4, 2-2L)
59 - Kei Yamana df. Leigh Jaynes, 2-0 (3-1, 1-0)
63 - Mio Nishimaki lost to Sara McMann, 0-2 (2-2L, 1-2)
67 - Mami Shinkai lost to Katie Downing, 0-2 (0-2, 0-1)
72 - Asuka Sano lost to Stephany Lee, 0-2 (0-7, 0-3)

 

 

JAPAN REBOUNDS FOR 3RD, CHINA RETAINS WORLD CUP CROWN



TAIYUAN, China (January 20)

-

Japan rebounded from its upset loss the previous day to claim the bronze medal with a 5-2 victory over Kazakhstan on the final day of the World Cup of womenfs wrestling.

Japan, which fell to the United States 4-3 the opening day of competition, fielded a younger group of wrestlers for the bronze medal match against the up-and-coming Kazakh squad.

Chikako Matsukawa, filling in for world champion Saori Yoshida, dominated former Asia cadet bronze medalist Saltanat Abdrakmanova for a 5-0, 2-0 victory at 55 kg.

Meanwhile, in the gold medal final, defending champion China edged the U.S. 4-3 for its second World Cup title. Ukraine finished in fifth place and Canada sixth.

Bronze medal final
Japan 5, Kazakhstan 2

48 - Makiko Sakamoto df. Tatyana Bakatyuk, 2-1 (1-0, 4-4B, 2L-2)
51 - Hitomi Sakamoto df. Aiym Abdildina by fall, 1P=0:46 (6-0)
55 - Chikako Matsukawa df. Saltanat Abdrakhmanova, 2-0 (5-0, 2-0)
59 - Kei Yamana lost to Olga Smirnova, 0-2 (0-1, 1-2)
63 - Mio Nishimaki lost to Yelena Shalygina, 0-2 (0-3, 0-1=2:05)
67 - Mami Shinkai df. Olga Kalinna, 2-0 (3-0, 4-0)
72 - Asuka Sano df. Darya Kardenko, 2-0 (1-0=2:08, 1-0)