womens wrestling news

Even with forfeiting three and sometimes four weights, the Woodward Boomers have turned into a formidable dual team on the wrestling mat.

The Boomers finished fifth in the Newkirk Dual Tournament on Saturday, primarily as the result of a tiebreaker.

Woodward tied for first with two other teams in its pool, but the first tie-breaker was total matches won,and that's where the open weights hurt the Boomers.

Ironically, during the pool round, Woodward defeated the eventual champion, Winfield, Kan., 42-39.

"We had some good wins and wrestled really well;" said Woodward coach Bobby Cook. "We're improving every match. Overall things look pretty good."

Some people say they don't belong. Others say they shouldn't be allowed. Paige Nemec, Lisa Light and Jamie Kager don't let that negativity deter them from wrestling for Crestwood High School.

All three girls have been competing in the predominantly male sport for several years, so they've heard parents, coaches, opponents and teammates voice their disapproval. They've heard that they're too fragile to compete against boys. They've heard that teenagers of different sexes rolling around together is just too, well, awkward.

''I don't really worry about it,'' said Nemec, a sophomore who has been wrestling since she was 5. ''If they think I shouldn't wrestle, I don't care. I'm just here to wrestle. I'm not here to prove anyone wrong.''

Nemec, however, unintentionally has proved many people wrong by achieving an unprecedented level of success for a girl wrestler in Northeast Ohio. She has an 18-4 record and has won three tournaments in the 103-pound weight class this season.

Nemec might be the star, but Light was the pioneer at Crestwood. She became the first girl to wrestle for the Red Devils when she took the mat as a freshman.

''Some of the guys were not very happy with it,'' said Light, who has been wrestling since she was 11. ''But they all kind of started to grow used
to it, and they started helping me and were pretty cool about it toward the end of the season.''

Kager, a freshman who has been wrestling since she was 9, is 9-13 this season in the 103-pound weight class.

All three girls have handled the pressure of being at the center of an ongoing controversy with grace, and their community has started to accept them.

''It was a tough pill to swallow, at first, but it's something that I've come to accept,'' Crestwood coach Dave Wrobel said. ''And they've made it easier just because they work so hard. They're here for the right reasons.''

Nemec, Light and Kager said they have stuck with wrestling for so long in part because of the support they've received from their first coach, Dean Olson.

''I always felt that they're kind of an underdog, so I've always been for them,'' said Olson, who has been the head coach of the Mantua Youth Wrestling Club for the past 10 years. ''And also, I had done some international wrestling over in Europe in 2001, and there were girl wrestlers there from countries all over the world competing.

''After seeing that, I realized there are huge opportunities for girls out there, and they shouldn't be held back. And I think it's been a totally enriching experience for our whole team here at Crestwood.''

The opportunities for girl wrestlers are not only growing, but they also are becoming more mainstream.

Nemec, Light and Kager are members of the Northeast Ohio Girls Wrestling Club, which Olson started seven years ago. The club competes in such tournaments as the United States Girls' Wrestling Association National Championships, which featured 707 participants last year, making it the largest girls wrestling tournament in the world.

Kent Bailo, the founder and director of USGWA, said girls wrestling is a sanctioned varsity high school sport in Texas, Washington and Hawaii. Six colleges in the United States have women's wrestling as a varsity sport, and several others are in the process of converting their clubs to varsity teams, Bailo said.

Competing against boys

Nemec, who already has won three national girls titles, Light and Kager don't have the same opportunities as girls in other states. They need to compete against boys to stay active in the sport on a regular basis simply because there aren't nearly enough girl wrestlers in the area.

Wrobel, who is in his seventh season as the Red Devils' coach, said that situation causes the most complaints.

''A lot of people take issue because it's girls wrestling boys,'' Wrobel said. ''A common thing that I hear is, 'I have no problem with her wrestling, but she should be wrestling other girls.' ''

Olson said he thinks girls wrestling will eventually become a high school sport in Ohio, but it's going to take some time for attitudes to change.

''I think we're 20 years away,'' Olson said. ''I think it takes a mind-set of parents and coaches to allow that to happen. There are several schools that won't allow their boys to wrestle girls or won't allow any girls in their wrestling clinics.''

That's the way it used to be at Crestwood. Light initially was turned down when she tried to make the transition from practicing with her eighth-grade team to working out with the Red Devils.

''In eighth grade, he (Wrobel) wouldn't let me come up to practice,'' Light said. ''Some of the eighth-grade boys came up to practice with the high schoolers after our season was over, and he wouldn't let me. But he has grown used to it.''

Olson said Light, who wrestles in the 125-pound weight class, paved the way for other girls at Crestwood by earning respect through her dedication.

''I have the highest admiration for Lisa because she always had guts and has gotten beat up tremendously and has never lost her determination and her hard work,'' Olson said. ''She was voted the hardest working on this team two years ago. She was the first girl to break into this room and has handled herself very, very well.''

Overcoming objections

Now that Light is a senior and Nemec has proved to be a phenom, people at Crestwood are accustomed to having girls on the wrestling team. Some of the Red Devils opponents have shown that they still object.

''It's difficult when another team won't wrestle them and they forfeit,'' Olson said. ''I just try to be a motivator to them and tell them that they can overcome the negativity. We have people who say that girls wrestling is ruining wrestling. And I laugh and I say, 'It's making it that much better because now everybody has to compete a little bit harder.' ''

Do people who oppose girls wrestling boys have valid concerns? Has the sport led to any inappropriate situations or sexual harassment at Crestwood?

''Sometimes you're going to be in awkward positions,'' Wrobel said. ''It's part of the sport, but I try not to even bring that attention to it. In the four years, I've never heard one complaint about that.''

''A lot of people are concerned about what I call 'the grope factor,' '' Bailo said. ''The competitors never even think about it. They just want to win. They're not looking for a date to their prom because getting beat by Paige Nemec is embarrassing. It shouldn't be because she's a great wrestler, but that's the way some men think about it.''

Paving way to state

The girls at Crestwood said they've been wrestling so long they're not fazed by many of the concerns and stereotypes outsiders perpetuate.

They're focused on other things, like following in the footsteps of successful Cleveland-area women wrestlers: 2004 Olympian Toccara Montgomery and two-time world silver medal winner Tina George.

Nemec, whose cousin Sean won three state titles while wrestling for Lakewood St. Edward, seems to have a legitimate chance to create her own legacy. A girl never has qualified for the state tournament in Ohio.

''It used to be that the coaches didn't want them there,'' Bailo said. ''But when they see the Paige Nemecs of the world, they want them there because they see she works as hard as anybody.

''If Paige qualifies for the state tournament, there will be a different attitude in Ohio about girls wrestling.''

Cleveland Heights girls writing own stories

While no girl wrestler in Northeast Ohio has ever enjoyed a season like Crestwood sophomore Paige Nemec, several girls at Cleveland Heights are having moderate success.

Tigers veteran coach Larry Hoon has a 103- pound senior in Sa mantha Price who is 14-5 this season and finished second last Saturday in the Woos ter Tournament. A second senior, Erica Bowling, is 7-7 at 112 pounds, and a third girl, India Walker, starts at 125.

Cleveland Heights wrestles more dual meets than Crestwood and fewer tournaments. Nonetheless, Hoon said he's happy to have the trio of girls.

I always remember something said by Dan Gable, who wants to promote girls wrestling," Hoon said.

"He said wrestling isn't for everybody . . . but it should be. I can attest firsthand that this sport helps people grow and become better human beings, so we shouldn't say no to girls who want to wrestle.

"Our girls are all much better than they have been, and every bit as tough as I'd like a wrestler to be. They always show up on time, are reliable, and they never let us down."

Familiarity with the style of Walsh Jesuit freshman John DiJulius did not breed contempt Saturday for Aurora sophomore Ty Mitch at the Alliance Top Gun Tournament, where Mitch won the 103-pound title using low double- and single-leg takedowns to win a 10-6 decision.

"I'll admit I was nervous before the match because I know what John does and he knows what I do," Mitch said. "We've been drill partners from the second through eighth grades. I won this time because he started reaching, and that opened up some shots for me."

Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy senior Jared Kusar stunned Aurora senior Billy Painter, 9-1, in the 152-pound finals of the Top Gun, with single- and double-leg takedowns the same way Mitch did, and for the same reason.

"I wrestled [Painter] a lot in the summer," said Kusar, third in the state [Division II] at 152 pounds two years ago. "I know what he does, so I came after him. I wasn't going to wrestle him on the mat . . . he's real good with legs."

Kusar, a junior high state champ, will have a tough road to win state now that CVCA is in Division III. That's because defending state champ Jedd Moore of Marion Pleasant is back.

"So what?" Kusar said. "If we were still in Division II, I'd have [state champ] Coby Boyd [St. Paris Graham] to deal with. I was really hoping Boyd would be at the Top Gun. I'd rather wrestle the good tough kids like Boyd, Moore or [Jesse] Dong [Westerville North]."

A few thoughts from the week in sports

DOYLESTOWN -- The Chippewa Invitational Tournament got an unexpected makeover Saturday night.

For the first time in the 28-year history of the annual wrestling tournament, a female grappler won a championship there.

The CIT became the Chick Invitational Tournament.

Mantua Crestwood sophomore Paige Nemec used takedowns in the first and third periods to beat Akron Hoban senior Sammi Gheith 5-1 for the 103-pound championship.

"It doesn't seem like you're wrestling a girl," Gheith said. "She's pretty good."

Soft-spoken and a girl of few words off the mat, Nemec was in total control on it during all three of her matches. She reached the finals by pinning Brett Sandford of Copley (:53) and Drew Hutkowski (3:35) of Canton Central Catholic.

Nemec went 23-9 as a freshman, but a back injury kept her from having a chance at reaching the Div. II district tournament.

This season, Nemec has been even better. She upped her record to 14-3 at the CIT after previously having won tournament titles at Aurora and Manchester.

Asked how she has been able to make such improvements, Nemec said, "I'm not sure. I have more drill partners than last year; that helps."

One of her workout partners is actually another girl who placed third at the CIT in the same weight class: Jamie Kager. Coaches at the tourney agreed to let backups fill in if weight classes weren't full.

Asked if the boys she's wrestled against have been good sports, a slight smile came across Nemec's face and she said simply, "It's a little mixed."

When quizzed about her goals as a wrestler, Nemec said, "I don't really have any. I do want to go to districts."

Finally, Nemec talked a little more when I asked her, "Why do you wrestle?"

"I just started when I was 5 because I saw my cousin wrestle," she said with a smile. "I thought it looked interesting and wanted to try it."

It turns out Paige's first cousin is none other than Ohio State freshman wrestler Sean Nemec, a three-time state champion from Lakewood St. Edward.

If Paige could qualify for the state tournament herself it would be even bigger news to many than her well-known cousin's state titles.

No girl is ever believed to have ever advanced to the state wrestling tournament in Ohio.

After watching Paige Saturday, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to think she might do it. She's at the lightest weight, has presumably three seasons to try it and is actually an extremely good wrestler. In a decade of regularly covering wrestling, I'd seen only a handful of female varsity wrestlers and none had ever won more than a single match in a tournament.

Canton Central Catholic coach Dan McAnallen was thoroughly impressed as well.

"She's the best girl I've ever seen at the high school level," said McAnallen, who had his 103 pinned by her in the semis. "She has a real nice shot and is very good on her feet. The one drawback I could see when she goes against some of the top wrestlers is the muscle factor.

"She'd have to win on technique, but then again it usually comes down to technique anyway."

Girls competing against the guys in wrestling isn't too common at the high school level and even fewer have had winning records

And, let's face it, guys are often not too keen on wrestling a girl. No one wants to hear, "You lost to a girl." The girls I've seen wrestle in the past were physically overmatched and injury was a concern I heard brought up.

Not with Paige, though.

"I've seen coaches refuse to have their kid wrestle against a girl," McAnallen said. "I have no problem with (Nemec), though. I told her great job."

The way Nemec moves on the mat, someone in the stands who didn't know about her probably wouldn't even realize she's a girl until her shoulder length brown hair falls out of the headgear after the match.

If she ever makes it to state, though, it will be hard to find any wrestling fans who haven't heard of Paige Nemec.

GANTZ, KACSANDI

In a difficult weekend, Western’s Jennifer Nguyen was the only member of the Mustangs wrestling team to medal in the Guelph Open Wrestling Tournament last Saturday, finishing third in the 51-kg division. On the men’s side, no Western wrestler earned a podium finish.

Former Mustangs wrestler and Western alum Terri McNutt placed third in the women’s 55kg division.

Wrestlers Anthony Lamport and Monica Kirkpatrick are Terra Nova's athletes of the week, as selected by the school's coaching staff. Lamport, a sophomore who wrestles at the heavyweight division, took third at the Los Gatos junior varsity invitational. He also is the varsity dual meet heavyweight. He has a 15-12 record. Crossfield, a junior, is the fifth ranked female wrestler in the State in her 165-pound weight class. She took third at the Asics Napa High School girl's invitation.

CORRECTION:

A lost picture prevented the Pacifica Tribune from publishing Terra Nova's first selected athletes three weeks ago. Those athletes were (pictures below) Armando Gala and Synne Bradshaw. Gala, who wrestles at 112 pounds, finished 4-1 at the Freedom Duals, fifth at the Coyote Classic in Bakersfield, 4-2 at the Western Invitational and 5-1 at the Silicon Valley Cup challenge. Bradshaw, in her first year of wrestling, was the female tournament champion at both the Manteca and Pittsburg tournaments.

Each wrestler of the week receives a food certificate from the Upper Crust Deli in Park Mall.