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Congratulations to Joey Miller on signing to wrestle at Oklahoma City University.

Miller committed to the school last year and will join the Stars for the 2008-2009 year.

The Stars, in the first year, are ranked No, I among women's wrestling teams and will host the

Certainly; she will leave Woodward as one of the most decorated athletes in school history.

In women's wrestling, Miller is a four-time national champion, and a three-time high school All-American.

She is already a two-time senior All-American and placed third at the WorId Team Trials her freshman year.

She' is still the only girl to medal in the Oklahoma High School State Championships,

The Bay of Quinte championship tournament takes place on Feb. 12 at Centennial with COSSA set for Feb. 20 at I.E. Weldon in Lindsay.

A wrestling 'icon'

Cobb's influence reaches beyond the mat

After 20 years on the job, Tascosa wrestling coach Johnny Cobb is hanging up the wrestling shoes.

"I don't see how Cobb is still doing it," said Ken Medling, Cobb's former assistant coach. "He's got a lot of energy, bouncing around like the Energizer bunny."

Eight of Cobb's wrestlers are participating in this weekend's Region I Tournament at Randall, including undefeated 145-pound senior Collin Brown.

"I have known Coach Cobb forever," Brown said. "He is always there for you, and not just as a coach."

"He is everything any kid would need," Welch said. "He never hesitates to help a kid out with anything. From advice to a ride home after practice, he is there for them."

"I call him 'Coach Dad,'" junior 138-pounder Sarah Alpar said. "He has helped me with relationships, and helped me get closer to my family. He has been the biggest mentor in my life."

"I had just recently lost my father when the wrestling coach saw me in the hallway," Cobb said. "He asked for my schedule, looked at it and said 'No, this isn't right, you're wrestling.' He changed my schedule right up and I got into wrestling."

Cobb won three straight district championships for the Rebels, losing only one match in three years at Tascosa.

Injuries ended Cobb's Oklahoma State University wrestling career, bringing him back to his hometown of Amarillo.

"When I came back, I tried to get involved and promote wrestling in the community," Cobb said.

His hard work paid off when he was hired as the assistant director at the then Maverick Boys Club. In 1971, Cobb founded the Panhandle's first youth wrestling program.

After starting with six kids his first year, Cobb two years later had more than 100 kids wrestling. Three of those happen to be some of Cobb's current coaching rivals.

Palo Duro coach Steve Nelson and Caprock coach Scott Tankersley wrestled in Cobb's youth program, while Randall coach David Quirino wrestled under Cobb at Tascosa, becoming his first state champion in 1990.

"Cobb could arguably be considered as the best coach in Texas history," Nelson said. "Cobb can be credited with the start and success of Amarillo wrestling. He has won three state titles. Tankersley has won five. I have won two and Quirino is a state contender each and every year."

While winning three state titles, Cobb became the only wrestling coach in Texas history to win boys and girls state titles.

Even though they stand on the other side of the mat from Cobb, the coaches notice the relationship he has with his wrestlers and seek to follow Cobb's success.

"His caring attitude makes him a lovable coach," Nelson said. "Everything he does influences me. I try to instill his policies in my wrestling program."

Tankersley has taken one of Cobb's old sayings to heart, using it in his program.

"He made me feel like I was a winner, regardless if I won or lost," Tankersley said. "One of his favorite sayings was, 'A class act is more important than a gold medal.' I love his positive body language."

In addition to the local coaches, Cobb coached the only Olympic gold medalist in Amarillo history, Brandon Slay.

"One of the best things about Coach Cobb is he did have a strong desire to win," Slay said. "He did have a strong desire for us to be state champions which we were in 1991, but the most important thing Coach Cobb did was build the character of his wrestlers and the lifelong friendships.

"You look at certain guys who were on his teams, they have character and are still giving back to the Panhandle. Like David Quirino, the Randall head coach who does such a fabulous job. They took second in state last year. He wrestled for Coach Cobb. Oh, he loved to win. But Coach Cobb always made his life available to his wrestlers. That takes a special man."

"The journey down life's road is filled with ups and downs, and it can be a really rough road," Cobb said. "If you have wrestled, you will be prepared for those dips and bumps in that road!"

Nelson described Cobb in five words no Amarillo coach can deny: "Coach Cobb is an icon."

After the Walter Murray Marauders girls belted out a victory song -- apparently Crank Dad by rapper Soldier Boy -- the Marauders boys cranked it up a notch in defeating the Holy Cross Crusaders.

In the end, it was a clean sweep by Walter Murray at the Saskatoon city high school wrestling dual championships Thursday night at Bedford Road Collegiate.

The Marauder girls defeated the St. Joseph Guardians 25-21. The Marauder boys then knocked off the Crusaders by a 47-30 count.

"This was who has the best wrestlers and it was our school. It was really nice. We worked real hard getting everybody out and it was just awesome."

An extra 20 points -- due to four defaults by Holy Cross in weight categories it couldn't field a wrestler -- proved to be the difference for the Marauders boys, who at one point enjoyed a 38-11 lead in the final.

"It was a great day," said Murray coach Gil Wist. "The kids came to wrestle. The last few days at practice have been good. It's been good preparation to get ready for this. It paid off for them.

"Cross is tough. Having those four defaults for them, that was a big plus for us."

Holy Cross placed third in the girls' competition. St. Joes took third among the boys' teams.

The Bedford Road Classic wrestling meet goes today and Saturday. The novice meet begins today at 1 p.m. The elite tournament begins Saturday at 9 a.m.

Girl makes it in 'boy's sport'

Sam McGovern, a senior at Voorhees High School, is like a lot of other wrestlers: tough and disciplined, hard-working and passionate.

The thing that makes McGovern different than most wrestling teammates and opponents is, well, she's a girl -- Samantha McGovern

McGovern has proven to be a quick study at Voorhees. She joined the Vikings team as a junior and earned a starting spot at 103 pounds on the varsity this season.

She recently picked up her first victory, beating a boy, and has also received four forfeits.

"Oh yeah, it's definitely been a great experience," said the High Bridge resident. "It's the best sport out there for me.

"As a lot of people have told me, it's one of the toughest sports a high school has to offer, and I really enjoy the challenge -- physical and mental."

McGovern first approached her father as a sophomore and said she was interested in trying out for the wrestling team.

Pound-for-pound, Samantha Klingel is the nation's preeminent female wrestler and she has no intention of relinquishing that title anytime soon.

In fact, the 14-year-old Kresgeville native has made a self-promised four-year plan of maintaining her dominance in girls wrestling.

"I want to win nationals from now until my senior year," said Klingel, alluding to the annual United States Girls Wrestling Association National Championship.

Klingel, an eighth-grader who is on the Pleasant Valley Middle School wrestling team, challenged herself to that pledge after she won the 10th annual USGWA National Championship on April 1.

The yearly tournament was held at a high school in Livonia, Mich. The onerous eight-and-a-half-hour drive the Klingel family made seemed to be more arduous than the 83-pound foes Samantha grappled with in the rounds preceding the championship match.

They "were pretty easy," said Klingel, who added that she either pinned them or executed a technical fall, a victory by at least 15 points.

But in the finals, Klingel found herself in some trouble with 10 seconds remaining. Her opponent, Emily Webster of Cameron, Mo., was able to tie the match, sending the contest into sudden death. During the 30-second intermission before overtime, Klingel went to her coach, her dad, Ed Klingel, and he provided her with some fatherly advice.

"I told her, 'Don't be nervous and do your best,'" said Ed, who wrestled when he was in high school.

And when the two teenaged wrestlers returned to the mat, Klingel was able to best her toughest of four weekend opponents by reversing Webster's patented leg move, a maneuver Klingel scouted, and decisively dropped Webster to the mat. Samantha's intuition landed her a 6-4 victory and a gold medal.

"I was real happy," Klingel said of all the hard work she put in preparing for the tournament, which was the first time she has squared off against girls. "It paid off."

But before taking the cushioned glory ride through the sky, Samantha devoted endless hours preparing for a chance to bask in her national achievement.

Samantha, who has wrestled for just two years, enters 20 to 30 tournaments per year.

Samantha's mom, Nancy Klingel, said Samantha has a rigorous five-day training regimen, including traveling to Easton two or three days a week to shore up her adeptness with wrestling behemoth Jack Cuvo, a two-time NCAA Division I national champion at East Stroudsburg University.

"She does everything guys do and beyond," said Cuvo, a 1989 graduate of ESU. "She has great technique and a great attitude."

Klingel also takes that innate attitude with her to five-day summer camps in State College with the Penn State University coaches.

And despite predominately being the only girl among boys on the mat, Klingel candidly said, "Being on the mat with the boys makes me work harder."

"She's the hardest worker in the room," her dad immediately added, "which means a lot because she's out there with the boys."

Klingel's career began after being, "a tackling dummy" for her brother Ernest, 12, in the basement of their house the past six years, Nancy said.

As Ernest was learning new things and using them against his older sister, Samantha said that piqued her interest in the sport and it was benefiting her, too.

"Watching Ernie helped me a lot," said Klingel, who also has a twin sister, Christine, and a 20-year-old brother, Nick. "It helped me learn the moves."

Another move Klingel has in store is joining the PV varsity wrestling team next year. And after graduation, she plans to go to the University of Iowa to wrestle. Nancy instantaneously asked her to explain her intercollegiate aspirations.

"I want to do girls Olympic wrestling," said Klingel, who also participates in scholastic cross country to enhance her endurance during competition.

"You have to wrestle in the college level before the Olympics," Nancy explained.

Cuvo said she certainly can retain success if she keeps her impeccable work ethic.

"If she continues to do what she is doing, she can compete," Cuvo said. "I think she can do great nationally against the women and hold her own against the guys."

And she has been able to hold her own against the boys. At the end of the '07 wrestling season, Klingel had a 29-7 record — 25-7 against boys and 4-0 against girls.

"She doesn't back down from any boy," Nancy said. "She's got the heart of a lion."

Cuvo said the matches against the boys translates into success against the girls.

"What helps her against women is that she competes against the guys," said Cuvo, who added that boys her age are generally stronger than her. "Naturally, when she competes against the girls she's prepared."

Klingel said it is the personal instruction she has with Cuvo that undoubtedly helps her on the mat.

"He's improved me a lot," said Klingel, who admits the biggest difference with wrestling the girls and the guys is that the guys possess more inherent toughness. "He gives me more confidence."

And when it comes to wrestling, Samantha having fun is the only thing that makes wrestling worthwhile, her parents said.

"We're really proud of her. She does something most girls don't want to be around," Ed said. "They look at you weird because they don't think it's a girls sport, but as long as she enjoys it is all that matters."

FORT WHITE -- Zach Cormier hesitated as his sister yelled, "Let's go!" and grabbed him in a headlock.

With his head in one of her arms and her cousin's head in her other, Katlynn Cormier smiled up at the camera.

They were playing around -- but only somewhat. Wrestling is something they do often and with much seriousness.

All three of them are on the same team at Fort White High School -- the varsity boys wrestling team.

Since Katlynn,14, is the only female wrestler in Columbia County, she participates on the boys' team.

"I like wrestling boys because it's more fun," she said.

She competes against boys from sixth grade to twelfth grade

We have to tell the wrestling coach to tell her teachers we don't beat her because of all the bruises," said Jeff Cormier, Katlynn's father.Katlynn wrestled against a boy for the first time at Clay Middle School last year. She was nervous, she said, but ended up winning."The stands went crazy when she won," Jeff said.
Photo By Zak BennettKatlynn Cormier (in red), 14, wrestles Caleb Sanders, a senior at Suwannee High School. She recently placed fourth in the boys' district competition, and is the only girl wrestler in Columbia County.
This year, she won first place for the 119-pound weight class at the Clay Middle School tournament."When they lock up with her, they don't just throw her around, they've got to fight for it," Jeff said.After placing fourth in the boys' district competition last week, Katlynn will go on to compete in the regional competition on Friday."She's pretty tough for a seventh-grader," said Caleb Sanders, a senior at Suwannee High School who wrestled Katlynn in the district competition.If she places at the regional competition, then she will compete in the boys' state wrestling championship.In January, Katlynn went to the girls' state championship and placed fourth.She is the only seventh-grader in state history to wrestle against varsity girls at the state championship, Jeff said."The girls at state did not have the technique that wrestling boys gives Katlynn," he said.Katlynn's signature move is the "crab ride" in which she sits on her opponent's back and intertwines her legs in theirs, forcing them to fall over, Jeff said."It's all about technique; it's not about strength all the time," said Dawn Cormier, Katlynn's mother.
Photo By Zak BennettKatlynn Cormier, 14 stands in front of her many awards that she has won in a variety of areas, from wrestling to cheerleading. Katlynn Cormier (in red), 14, wrestles Caleb Sanders, a senior at Suwannee High School. She recently placed fourth in the boys' district competition, and is the only girl wrestler in Columbia County.
If Katlynn places at the state girls' wrestling championship all throughout high school, then she will be the first in history to ever place five times in a row, according to Jeff."The wrestling coach said that if she keeps her grades up, he could have her signed to a college for wrestling by the time she's in tenth grade," Jeff said.The high school has tried to get more girls to participate in wrestling, according to Dawn.This year, there were four girls in the beginning, but all of them dropped out except Katlynn, she said.While the coaches and students are supportive of Katlynn, her parents get more negative comments than positive ones, Dawn said."People ask us how we can let our daughter wrestle and aren't we afraid of her getting touched inappropriately," she said. "Once the boys lock up on her, touching her is the last thing they're thinking about."This summer, Katlynn will be participating on a national girls wrestling league for the Florida team, Jeff said.The team will travel to Osceola, Fla., Atlanta, Ga., and Fargo, N.D., and get a chance to train with women Olympic wrestlers, he said.Katlynn joined the high school team last year after hearing an announcement at school."It didn't shock us at all that she joined," Dawn said. "She'll do anything a boy does; she's not a girly-girl."Katlynn's brother, Zach,15, got involved with the team after watching one of his sister's tournaments."She's the reason he got into it," Jeff said.Jeff and Dawn have never missed a competition that their children have been in, they said. If their kids have competitions on the same night in two different places, one parent will go to each.After Katlynn joined the wrestling team, her cousin, Rey Ozuna, 14, also joined.Including wrestling, Katlynn holds 35 awards in bowling, T-ball, cheerleading, softball, football, Future Farmers of America, gymnastics, a beauty contest, and ice cream eating."She competes in everything," Dawn said.Katlynn's first wrestling trophy is the biggest one in her collection.Wrestling is her favorite sport and her favorite part is competing, Katlynn said.Earlier in the year, Katlynn was on both the wrestling and cheerleading teams. She has been cheerleading since she was 6 years old, Dawn said.She quit cheerleading when there was a conflict between events for the two sports earlier in the year.The cheerleading coach told Katlynn to choose between wrestling and cheerleading, Katlynn said.She chose wrestling.Next year, Katlynn plans to participate in cheerleading again, along with wrestling and weightlifting.She can currently bench press 110 pounds, almost her body weight, Jeff said.Katlynn, Zach and Rey all plan to participate in freestyle wrestling later this spring.Katlynn will wrestle against the boys as long as she can, but soon she may not be able to wrestle in the boys' state competition, according to Dawn."Girls' wrestling isn't sanctioned by the state yet; once they are, she won't be able to wrestle in the boys' competition," Dawn said. "You have to do one or the other."

WASHOUGAL - The Washougal girls wrestling team wanted to make a statement at the sub-regional tournament on Saturday.

The Panthers' depth led to the tournament host winning the all-classification tournament with a team score of 110 points.

Second-place La Center finished with 78 points, and Kelso took third with 66 points.

Washougal won the title despite winning only one of 10 individual titles, but the Panthers will advance more than one wrestler in three weight classes to Saturday's regional tournament at Tumwater.

The top four sub-regional placers advanced to next week's tournament, with nine wrestlers representing Washougal.

"One of our goals was to make some noise at whatever level we could," Washougal coach Heather Santos said. "The results showed that everyone tried their best for the team."

Sophomore Chelssea Eakins was the only Panther to win a title. Eakins pinned Battle Ground's Kaitlyn Regan in the championship at 145 pounds.

Sophomore Madelynn McIlwain pinned La Center's Lucy Kulla in the 112 semifinals. It was the first time McIlwain defeated her local rival. The sophomore finished second to Kelso's Emma Destromp.

Washougal's Sarah Thiesen, a foreign-exchange student from Germany and a first-year wrestler, got her first win of the season last week and since then has strung together a series of victories, leading to a second-place finish at 160.

Washougal teammates Miranda Berry and Colleen Wright faced each other for third and fourth place in the 125 class. Berry won with a 4-2 decision. It was the same scenario in the 135 third/fourth-place match, with a meeting between Panthers Courtney White and Adrianah Antonetti. White won by pin.

"I am so elated that the girls did so well," Santos said. "They worked hard all week."

The 103 finals featured state-ranked wrestlers Melissa Watkins from Camas and Sarah Rowen from Columbia River. Watkins, who finished second at the Clark County Championships against boys, won with an 8-0 decision over Rowen for the sub-regional title.

Rowen won the 103-pound division at the first girls wrestling state championship last year. Watkins did not participate in the girls postseason last year after just missing qualifying for the state boys tournament in 2006.

Hockinson's Kayla Keeler won the 135 match with a pin over La Center's Naomi Johnson. Jessica Sokolowski (125) and Christina Cox (103) both won titles for second-place La Center.

Unlike last year, the regional tournament will feature a 12-person bracket instead of eight.

Hanford West wrestler wins title at state invitational

Wrestling

The Lady Longhorns won their fifth straight District 6 title Saturday night in front of 200 fans at the Caprock Activity Center.

Caprock scored 142 points, beating second-place Hereford by 22 points by placing 10 wrestlers in the top four, including six first-place efforts.

"Our girls stepped it up and did what we needed them to do," Caprock coach Scott Tankersley said."

Candy Martinez (95 pounds) ignited the Lady Longhorns' impressive night with a pin against Palo Duro's Sabrina Placensio, an opponent she has beaten three times.

Placensio looked to stop the trend with a double-leg takedown 30 seconds into the match. It didn't take Martinez long to respond with an escape 10 seconds later.

Joining Martinez with titles were Hilory Cordero (102), Lisa Martinez (110), Daffney Barbosa (138), Mercedes Gonzales (185) and Britnee Barbosa at 215 pounds.

Caprock, which advanced eight to the regional tournament at Randall next weekend, received runner-up efforts from Nicole Alamanza (119) and Tara Mayes (165).

Hereford wrestlers Luzette Villago (128), Kirsten Iruegas (148) and Samantha Moya (165) placed first, and Gabby Vallejo (110) and 138-pounder China Saucedo finished second.

"We are hitting our stride at the right time," Hereford coach Sion King said. "I don't mind losing at the beginning of the year. Here is when it counts."

Tascosa advanced four to the regional tournament with four second-place medals from Stephanie Morgan (102), Jodi Martinez (128), Breena Maul (148) and Marissa Schrepel (215). Palo Duro had second-place efforts by Placensio and Dorthy Scott (185).

In the boys division, the Randall Raiders won their sixth straight district title.

The Raiders grabbed six individual titles and needed all those points in edging second-place Caprock, 215-202.

"It has become a cross-town rivalry that will continue through the years," Randall coach David Quirino said.

What was the difference? Randall had two fourth-place finishes to Caprock's one.

Randall and Caprock went head-to-head six times in the finals, splitting those matches.

The highlight match between the two was the 180-pound final between Randall's Cody Dudding and Caprock's Thomas Dewald.

Dudding grabbed the early lead with a takedown 30 seconds in, but he was unable to mount any other offense. After starting on bottom in the second period, Dudding escaped to grab a 3-0 lead heading into the third period. Dudding pinned Dewald with 19 seconds left.

Randall also secured first-place efforts from Victor Dotson (112), Josh Martinez (125), Jace Bennett (152), Joey Sykes (171) and 189-pounder Joseph Flores. With second-place finishes by Michiel Roberts (119), Jimmy Allen (215) and 285-pounder Donald Clem, the Raiders advanced nine to the regional tournament.

Caprock will send eight to regionals with first-place efforts by Cody Garcia (119) Chris Contreres (130), Rene Montoya (135), Chris Rodriguez (140), Jeremiah Johnson (215) and 285-pounder Jose Naranjo.

Team toals: 1. Caprock, 142; 2. Hereford, 120; 3. Tascosa 76; 4. Palo Duro, 54; 5. Amarillo High, 30.

2 sisters, 2 wrestling titles

Mat mania today at Centennial

Posted By Paul Svoboda

Posted 4 hours ago 2/8/08

A wrestling 'icon'

Cobb's influence reaches beyond the mat

Sweep for Marauders wrestlers

Darren Zary, The StarPhoenix

Girl makes it in 'boy's sport'

Hanford West wrestler wins title at state invitational

Megan Wiles: uncommon dedication

Published: Tuesday, February 5, 2008 11:17 AM CST

Earning way into tournament

Wrestling

Fifth straight for Sabres