By Barry Pump 2/14/08
Special to The Seattle Times
COVINGTON — At wrestling tournaments across the
country, Ruben Navejas looks around and sees a lot of dads cheering and
helping their sons on the mat.
But the freshman from Kentwood High School, ranked No. 1 in
the state at 103 pounds, says he doesn't see a lot of families.
Especially wrestling families like his so immersed in the sport.
His sister Antonia, a junior at Kentwood, is a defending girls
wrestling state champion.
His father, Ruben Sr., is in his third year as a volunteer
coach for the Conquerors.
His mother, Irene, often captures his every move with a video
camera, a record to be dissected later if dad and sis can't be at the
match.
Even 10-year-old brother Juan is getting into the family
pastime through club wrestling, also coached by Ruben Sr.
"It takes a lot of support, this sport," Ruben Jr. says. "Our
whole family is behind us all the way. It's a really nice thing to
have, because a lot of other wrestlers don't have it."
The full force of the Navejas family's support will be on
display Friday and Saturday at Mat Classic, the state championships at
the Tacoma Dome.
Beginning Friday, Ruben Jr.'s mission is to cap an undefeated
season with his first Class 4A state title.
Antonia, wrestling at 119, seeks her second state girls
championship. As a sophomore, she won last year's state tournament
— the first sanctioned for girls by the Washington
Interscholastic Activities Association — with an 11-1 major
decision.
For a family whose idea of light reading is wrestling
magazines and manuals, Ruben and Antonia's accomplishments may seem
expected.
But they have hardly been effortless. Wrestling is a
dawn-to-dusk endeavor for Kentwood's brother and sister act.
During the wrestling season, an average day for the duo
includes at least an hour in the gym, two hours practicing after
school, and two more hours volunteering with the Kent Cougars club team
for kids ages 5-12.
Antonia partly credits her volunteer work teaching the
fundamentals of the sport for her competitive edge.
"My brother and I, we don't just leave practice," she said.
"We go over to the club, and we roll around with the little kids."
Kentwood coach Ken Sroka says the tenacity and dedication that
leads the Navejas pair to spend so many hours practicing each week, as
well as attend individual tournaments around the country in the
off-season, is readily apparent on the mat.
"They don't stop until the end of the match," Sroka said.
"They have fun — it's not like they're 100 percent business
— but when they're on the mat, they are 100 percent business."
And that's just the way Ruben Sr., a corrections officer at
the King County Regional Justice Center in Kent, wants it.
"Wins and losses don't concern me," Ruben Sr. said. "It's the
way you approach the match. I do demand professionalism when they go
out there."
Antonia admits, though, that being professional off the mat
sometimes can be difficult for a young woman in a traditionally
male-dominated sport.
"The other kids have to get used to it," she says. "It's not
something they're used to hearing and seeing."
Antonia was largely shielded from barbs from kids when she
took up club wrestling at age 5. That changed when she entered middle
school and high school.
Antonia, now 17, remembers some of the reactions. "She's a
girl," kids would say, "so she can't do the sport."
"We can see what you can do," others might say, "but you're a
girl!"Patricia
Hill
Antonia has a simple response. She smiles, she waves and she
beats her next opponent.
All with her family's help.
"I get a lot of support from my brother. ... He's out there
training with me," Antonia said.
"I can't leave the sport," she said, speaking as much for the
rest of her family as herself. "I just live to wrestle."
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Feb. 14, 2008)
-
Boughton Law Corporation is proud to announce its support of
Canadian wrestling athlete, Brittanee Laverdure. Hailing from Watson
Lake, Yukon, this young member of the Kaska Nation is also part of the
Canadian Women's National Wrestling Team competing to qualify for the
2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
"I love my sport and I am working hard to be part of the Olympic team,"
said Brittanee Laverdure who is competing in the 55kg division.
"Wrestling pushes my physical and mental limits. It is a sport that is
almost impossible to perfect so you just keep working hard everyday."
Ms. Laverdure is a recipient of numerous Canadian and international
awards including a silver medal at the Canadian Senior Championships in
the 55-Kg division. Last year, she was named Female Athlete of the Year
by the University of Calgary. This was the first time in the
University's history that a woman wrestler had won the award.
She continues to train full-time with the University of Calgary's
Wrestling Club, and plans to attend Law School next year. Boughton's
sponsorship helps pay for training, coaching, travel and living
expenses in preparation for Olympic competition.
"It is a privilege for Boughton Law Corporation to be associated with a
dedicated and passionate athlete such as Brittanee Laverdure," said
William Gemmell, CEO of Boughton Law Corporation. "Our athletes face
many challenges while training to compete across Canada and around the
world. By helping a promising athlete such as Ms. Laverdure, we hope
she can achieve her goals."
About Boughton
Boughton Law Corporation is a premier, full-service Vancouver law firm.
Boughton has been privileged to serve the Vancouver business community
since 1949.
Boughton lawyers have expertise in aboriginal law, administrative law,
banking, bankruptcy and insolvency, commercial and corporate law,
complex litigation, employment and immigration law, environment law,
estates, trusts and wills, intellectual property, labour, real estate,
securities, taxation and transportation.
At Boughton, we serve our Canadian and International clients from our
Vancouver, BC and Whitehorse, Yukon offices.
Azerbaijan
14.02.08 19:59
Azerbaijan, Baku, 14 February / corr. Trend News Z. Safarov/
Women Wrestling Team of Azerbaijan will take part in the international
tournament, which will start on 14 February in Kiev.
The team includes the winners of Olympic license Maria Stadnik
( 48 kg), Olesya Zamula ( 63 kg) and Sona Ahmadli, Elvira Mursalova
(both 59 kg), Maria Kachina ( 63 kg), Dina Ivanova ( 72 kg) and Zumrud
Gurbanhajiyeva. The tournament is an important stage to get prepared
for the European championship in Tamper. The winners will obtain a
right to obtain a license for the Olympic Games in Pekin.
The team will go to Belarus after the tournament, where they
will take part in other tournament.
Kansas
PUBLISHED:
Thursday, February 14, 2008
By
Cristina Janney
Newton
Kansan
Eleven-year-old Darian Gonzalez is a champion in her sport.
But it is not in volleyball or tennis or any of the other
sports her mother played as a girl.
Gonzalez, a sixth grader at Hesston Middle School, has earned
her accolades in wrestling, competing both against girls and boys.
She has won national titles in girls’ wrestling and
missed qualifying for state by one place in the open division last
year. She also has been a three-time Kansas Girls State Champion, among
other titles.
Gonzalez began wrestling with her brother when she was in
kindergarten. She remains the only girl on Newton Wrestling Club team.
She practices with the boys and wrestles in open tournaments with boys
and girls.
It can be tough for a girl in a boy’s sport.
“Some of the boy’s see it as a lose
lose,” said Anthony Gonzalez, Darian’s father and
coach. “If they lose to a girl, they were supposed to lose.
If they get beaten, then they lost to a girl.”
Gonzalez said parents can be more difficult to deal with than
the athletes.
“We sometimes hear parents saying within earshot,
‘You better not lose to that girl,’” he
said.
Darian smiled.
“I don’t get teased by boys,”
she said. “They know I can mess with them even
more.”
Although Darian began wrestling on her brother’s
team, she now has opportunities to practice with a girls’
team, the Kansas Krusaders, and wrestles in all-girl tournaments.
“When I was younger, I saw my brother wrestle, and I
thought it was really cool,” Darian said. “I have
been going ever since.”
In 2007, she won the Rocky Mountain National Championship and
was voted No.1 Kids Female Wrestler for 2006.
Darian has faced challenges even in the girls’
division.
Darian continues to win, despite being one of the youngest
girls’ in her age division as a sixth grader.
At the Rocky Mountain Nationals last year, there
weren’t enough girls’ in her division, so she
wrestled and beat a high school freshman to win her title.
More opportunities are opening up for girl wrestlers, Anthony
Gonzalez said.
The Olympics added wrestling for women in 2004, and women will
compete again in the games this year.
Seven colleges have varsity wrestling with full scholarships.
Kansas State University has discussed adding a men’s
wrestling program, and to keep the Title IX balance, a
women’s team also might be added.
Darian said her goal is to someday earn a scholarship to
college.
High school wrestling also is expanding with an estimated
5,000 female athletes.
Gonzalez is an assistant coach for the Krusaders, and he is
regularly encountering and recruiting girls at open tournaments who are
unaware girls’ tournaments and teams exist.
“I’ve recruited 15 girls this year who
have never heard of it,” Anthony Gonzalez said.
“Like Darian, their brothers did it, and their parents
decided to let them do it and see what happened.”
Girls’ wrestling differs from boys’
wrestling in that girls tend to concentrate more on technique as
opposed to trying to overpower an opponent with muscle, Darian said.
Girls’ wrestling also differs in the way they break
the competitors into divisions.
Girls wrestle in weight blocks. Girls weigh in at a tournament
in the morning, and then competitors are then broken into groups.
Boys’ wrestle in a specific weight class. If they
don’t make weight, they don’t wrestle that day.
Darian still tries to watch her weight. She cuts out pop and
seconds during wrestling season and tries to concentrate on eating
vegetables and other healthy foods.
But Anthony Gonzalez said Darian and her brother are old
enough to make their own food choices.
“We really don’t push diet,” he
said. “Some girls cut weight, but Darian just tries to change
her eating habits during wrestling season.”
The girls also tend to have less heated rivalries, and Darian
said she had many friends among her opponents.
When they aren’t at tournaments and on the mats,
they e-mail and text each other. She said the time she spends with her
friends at tournaments is her favorite part of wrestling.
But don’t mistake. Darian’s heart is in
her competition.
“Once we are on the mat, we pretend we
don’t know each other,” she said. “We
wrestle our hearts out.”
Washington
Timberline senior quits cheerleading,
takes up wrestling
Gail Wood
2/14/08
The Olympian
LACEY - It was as though she somehow reinvented herself.
In one year, Erica Legaspi changed from a smiling, jumping
cheerleader to a gritty, shoving wrestler as a senior at Timberline
High School.
Sweat and grit replaced sweet and cute.
For two years, the 5-foot-2, 103-pound Legaspi had been a
varsity cheerleader and was a "flyer," the one tossed into the air and
caught. She traded her skirt and pompoms for a singlet and headgear.
"It was one of those things where 'I've done this. Let's try
something new,' " Legaspi said. "Also, a lot of the other cheerleaders
weren't returning. So, I decided I wanted to do something else."
And Legaspi, a 4.0 student with aspirations of being a doctor,
did what she's done with everything she tries. She excelled.
Legaspi, the only girl on the Timberline wrestling team,
placed fourth at the girls regional tournament and qualified for the
state tournament that begins Friday in the Tacoma Dome.
Her wrestling coach, Jeff Birbeck, wasn't worried about her
making the transition from cheers to takedowns.
"I know her from P.E. classes, and I knew she was a hard
worker," said Birbeck, a P.E. teacher. "She's successful in whatever
she does. She's good all around."
The reactions to Legaspi's decision to turn out for wrestling
were mixed.
"Most people were shocked," Legaspi said. "They were like,
'What? Why are you wrestling?' But my friends were mostly like, 'Girl
power. Feminist movement.' They were for it."
But first, Legaspi had to convince her mother, Roselia.
Getting that approval wasn't easy because Legaspi's older brother,
Ryan, broke his leg while wrestling in middle school. Ryan wasn't
permitted to wrestle in high school.
"I was kind of the hardheaded, stubborn one," said Erica,
whose brother is her only sibling. "I told my mom that Ryan got hurt
because of his mistake. I wasn't going to get hurt."
Begrudgingly, Roselia consented, but on one condition.
"I had to pay my own athletic fee," Erica said.
Even after Erica agreed to pay the $75 to turn out, her mom
still was reluctant.
I was kind of like, 'What is that?,' " Roselia said.
"Cheerleading is girls stuff. Wrestling is boyish stuff."
Erica's reason for turning out for wrestling helped convince
her mom.
"She said she just wanted to challenge herself and see if she
could do it," Roselia said. "I didn't really want her to do it."
Roselia gave approval for her daughter to wrestle, but she
hasn't watched any of her daughter's matches. The only wrestling match
she ever watched was the one when Ryan broke his leg.
"I just can't watch," Roselia said. "I do pray for her. I pray
that she won't get hurt."
After going 1-6 against boys in junior-varsity matches during
the season, Legaspi won the girls subregional, then placed fourth at
the girls regional, where she went 1-2. She lost her opening match to
the defending state champion, Sarah Rowen of Columbia River.
"I've always wanted to wrestle since sixth grade because my
brother did," said Legaspi. "My big brother did it, so I wanted to do
it, too. But I was always afraid I'd get hurt."
Legaspi overcame that fear by turning out for rugby. She also
turned out for volleyball, soccer and track. For part of the wrestling
season, she also turned out for the school's dance team.
"That became a little much and she decided to focus on
wrestling," Birbeck said. "She likes doing a lot of things."
As the only girl on the Timberline team, Legaspi didn't have
trouble with always having to wrestle against boys. But she wasn't sure
what her reception would be like at the first practice.
"I was afraid they might be, 'Go away. Boo. What are you doing
here?' " Legaspi said. "But I never got that. I'm happy."
Legaspi downplayed the physical contact she has with boys
while wrestling.
"It's a sport. It's a part of it," Legaspi said. "You try not
to think, 'Oh I'm touching him.' I look at it as wrestling. Of course,
there are times where you have to be careful about your hand places.
But that's true with any other sport."
Her mom saw it differently.
"I'm not really happy about her wrestling boys," Roselia said.
"She said she had to because she had no opponent."
Erica has one regret about wrestling.
"I wish I would have done it earlier," she said. "It was a
great experience."
Gail Wood can be reached at 360-754-5443 or
gwood@theolympian.com.
Wisconsin
Wausau Daily Herald 2/14/08
Tomahawk's
Patricia Hill became the second girl in state history to advance to the
boys high school state wrestling sectionals.
The
senior, who wrestles at 103 pounds, will be competing in the Division 2
sectional Saturday at Somerset.
Hill
will have her work cut out for her with four of the top 10 ranked
wrestlers in the state competing in the Somerset sectionals. She earned
the trip by placing second last Saturday at the Neillsville regionals,
losing in the finals to Jordan Poirier of Bloomer, ranked No. 1 in the
state.
Hill
also competes in the summer as a member of the Wisconsin National Team
and the USOEC JR Olympic Team.
Hill, a
two-time All-American, will be traveling to Detroit for four days the
end of March to compete in the USGWA National Championships. She has
signed with Northern Michigan University and will wrestle for the USOEC
team on a full wrestling scholarship in the fall.
Canada
Kevin Mitchell, The StarPhoenix
Published: Thursday, February 14, 2008
The University of Saskatchewan Huskies enter this weekend's
conference wrestling championship in Regina with a fresh reputation for
top-shelf performances.
The male Huskies garnered national notice last spring when
they placed third nationally, two points off the pace set by
front-runners York and Simon Fraser.
They also finished two points back of SFU in the conference
championship -- a deficit they hope to address this weekend.
"Those little minor victories, tough points scored here and
there, will make the difference," says Huskies' wrestling coach Todd
Hinds.
The Huskie men are led by Jeff Adamson and Ryley Walker, who
both won gold at last year's CIS championships.
Walker's 65-kilogram title defence may run through Simon
Fraser's Robert Gregson, who beat the Huskie wrestler for the first
time this season.
"We came so close and had such a good year that it makes us
hungry this year," Walker said. "Everybody's eager to get out there and
compete hard this weekend."
CIS nationals follow Feb. 29 and March 1 in Calgary. Five
teams are competing in the conference event, with three wrestlers
advancing to nationals out of every weight class. Walker cautions that
it's important not to look past Canada West, however.
"So often it's easy to say 'OK, I'm going to qualify no matter
what, all I have to do is win a couple of matches and I can focus on
nationals,' " Walker said. "But the important thing right now is we
focus on each match and each dual and compete as hard as possible this
weekend. It definitely sets a tone for the national championships.
"I'm excited to get out and wrestle," he added. "I've seen a
lot of good things in the room; people are excited about this weekend
and it has me ready to go."
The women, termed "steady all the way through" by Hinds, enter
the weekend in an underdog role behind Calgary and Simon Fraser.
Jill Gallays and Amy Dyck provide a strong back-to-back punch
at the 55- and 59-kg classes, respectively, but Hinds said several
other wrestlers are expected to put in strong showings.
The conference championship runs Friday and Saturday at the
University of Regina.
kmitchell@sp.canwest.com
California
Elizabeth Wiley USA Wrestling
02/14/2008
Sara
Fulp-Allen of the New York AC started wrestling at the age of nine, but
exposure to the sport began at a much earlier age.
“I was always around it so I don’t really have
anything to compare it to,” said Fulp-Allen. “It
was just always there.”
Her father Lee Allen, is the head coach at Menlo College in California
and is the only coach the women’s wrestling program there has
ever had. Beyond coaching, he also competed at the 1960 Olympics in
Rome in Greco-Roman.
Fulp-Allen’s sister, Katherine, is also a successful
collegiate wrestler who competes at Menlo for their father.
Needless to say wrestling is a family thing for Fulp-Allen. That
familiarity with wrestling has helped her to be successful at all
levels of the sport.
Mercyhurst
women rowers trained in wrestling to improve performance
Mercyhurst Athletics
02/14/2008
Erie, Pa. - When the
Mercyhurst women's rowing team started its winter training nine weeks
ago, the team had something new in mind. Winter training traditionally
consists of sore muscles, long hours, excruciating cross-training, and
more sore muscles. But until now, it had never consisted of wrestling.
Anne Dinshah, Mercyhurst's assistant rowing coach, led the team through
nine weeks of physical and mental training in wrestling, a sport in
which none of the athletes had ever participated. Every Monday morning
the rowers accomplished a physical wrestling skill then discussed the
mental goal and how to relate it to rowing. The rest of each week they
did typical winter training such as running, weightlifting, and core
conditioning, all of which are good for training as both rowers and
wrestlers. They also utilized their more sport-specific rowing
machines.
"Wrestling is excellent cross training for rowing," Dinshah said. "A
seven-minute match is similar in duration to 2,000 meters in the boat.
Both sports are great full-bodied challenges that demand intensity and
perseverance throughout the entire competition. Your body screams at
you the entire time and all your mind hears is to go even harder."
Dinshah taught the women the fundamentals of wrestling that she
perfected with Mercyhurst assistant wrestling coach Paul Bergman.
Things such as single and double-leg take downs, sprawling, escapes,
and even how to pull off a successful half-nelson are few of the many
concepts the rowers learned.
"Our winter training is about becoming strong as individuals," Dinshah
said. "When we come together in the spring it's about synergy in the
boat. Since we can wrestle, we know we'll be great on the water."
On Monday, Feb. 11, the rowers proved they were strong as individuals,
showcasing all they learned in an intersquad exhibition match on the
center mat in the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. The crowd gathered to
watch ten women put down their oars and pick up each other in five
intense matches.
The first two competitors to take the mat were senior captain Melanie
Peters, of the green team, and All-American coxswain Michele Handzel,
of the white team. Underdog Handzel proved coxswains have physical
explosiveness and mental fortitude by holding lightweight rower Peters
to only an 11-8 lead at the end of the second period. Peters found the
strength that will power her boat to the finish line this spring by
utilizing a mere 24 seconds to execute the only pin of the evening at
5:24. The fall gave the green team an early 6-0 lead.
Match two featured rowers Abbey Celarek of the green team and Briana
Burdick of the white team. They exchanged hard-fought takedowns and
escapes in the first period before ferocious Celarek threw in a
takedown and backpoints to jump ahead 8-3. Burdick's escape ended the
first period at 8-4. The second period began with Celarek earning
another takedown; tenacious Burdick escaped and attacked only to have
the buzzer beat her out of a takedown. Celarek proceeded to earn a 17-8
major decision bumping the green team's lead up to 10 points.
Junior Ali Bogart was the first to put points on the board for the
white team with a 7-0 decision over novice rower Cara Adamus of the
green team. Despite not scoring, Adamus showed enormous grit and
gumption in fighting off the potential Bogart pin for the full seven
minutes. "There are obvious differences between varsity and novice in
experience," Bogart said. "This is my third year of winter training at
Mercyhurst and I've been a rower for eight years. `Blue' (Adamus) has
been in a boat three times. However, mental training clearly helps
everyone. She was able to keep me from pinning her no matter how hard I
tried. I was controlling the match, but she exhibited great strength
mentally in never giving up. I believe this is the mentality necessary
for our strong crew to get to the NCAA Championships."
With the score at 10-3 in favor of the green team, close friends and
roommates Alicia Peterson and Annie Schiller took the mat for match
four. The match began with tremendous fervor: all the action,
excitement, and acceleration one would see at the start of a
championship rowing race. Peterson led 6-5 before Schiller took her
down, landing her on her shoulder. Schiller won by injury default and
earned six points for the white team.
Beth Brun and Courtney Clark would determine the winning team, as the
score going into the final match was 10-9 in green's favor. Clark
narrowly commanded the first period 3-2. Brun's lone takedown of the
second period and Clark's escape knotted them at 4-4 going into the
final two minutes. Brun then earned two points for a takedown and three
back points. A 9-4 decision by Brun awarded the 13-9 victory to the
green team.
"We have a great respect for the sport of wrestling and I'm proud of
what we've accomplished," Dinshah said. "Tonight was the culmination of
our winter wrestling efforts. The athletes definitely rose to the
challenge of the exhibition match and gave our all tonight, just like
we will every race this spring."
Editor's Note: Anne Dinshah competed at the 2007
U.S. Beach National Wrestling Championships in Rochester, N.Y.
“The big thing is that
she realizes that it’s a long journey,” National
Women’s Coach Terry Steiner said. “You
can’t expect to do well all the time. She knows
it’s a long commitment and doesn’t get frustrated
when she has a bad match or she is struggling.”
Having a father who knew wrestling inside and out was a positive
experience for Fulp-Allen and she didn’t struggle the way
many of the wrestlers she grew up with.
“He has never been a pusher,” Fulp-Allen said.
“I knew so many girls who had parents who pushed them and
then they would figure out that wrestling wasn’t their thing.
Someone else pushed them to keep wrestling.”
Not only did her father let her choose the sport for herself, but both
her parents have been incredibly supportive throughout her career.
“Her dad and her mom have been very involved in her
wrestling,” said Steiner. “They are supporting,
directing, and guiding her. They never make a big deal of a big win or
a big loss. I think that consistent support is why she still really
enjoys what she is doing.”
Since finishing her collegiate career at Menlo, Fulp-Allen has moved to
Colorado Springs, Colo., to live and train at the U.S. Olympic Training
Center (OTC). Fulp-Allen had spent time at the OTC before for training
camps and that experience has made this transition an easy one for her.
“As far as the actual transition, I have been coming to train
here every summer, spring break, Christmas break,” said
Fulp-Allen. “The only difference now is that I have all my
stuff.”
The move out to the OTC has brought growth to Fulp-Allen’s
abilities as a wrestler in all areas.
“It’s been all around that I have seen
improvement,” Fulp-Allen said. “In skill and
strength, and I feel like I am a lot more focused now.”
Steiner agrees that one area Fulp-Allen has made a lot of improvement
is strength and conditioning.
“Her strength, her consistency in the weight room, and, in
general, her conditioning have also gotten better,” said
Steiner.
The environment at the OTC has not only helped her improve as a
wrestler, but also provides her with a place that she can completely
focus on wrestling, and is much less distracted than she has ever been.
“Here, there is a lot less multi-tasking,” said
Fulp-Allen. “I study less, I work less, and I don’t
have class. My priority has really become wrestling.”
The focus on wrestling, along with the knowledge of the sport, has put
Fulp-Allen in a position to be very successful against other American
wrestlers and against international opponents. It has also increased
her confidence and belief in her own abilities.
“Her belief in herself, knowing that she is prepared and
doing the right thing has really helped her,” Steiner said.
She was the champion of the 2008 Dave Schultz Memorial International,
February 8-10, in the 48 kg/105.5 lbs. weight class that included the
six top-ranked wrestlers in the U.S. at that weight.
Fulp-Allen, currently ranked No. 4, pinned No. 3 Clarissa Chun of the
Sunkist Kids in a fast-paced finals match with a final score of 2-4,
4-2, 1:28. She also beat fifth-ranked Alyssa Lampe of the USOEC in the
quarterfinals, outscoring Lampe 3-1, 8-2.
That performance helped Fulp-Allen receive Outstanding Female Wrestler
for the tournament. Unfortunately, she didn’t get to be there
to receive the award, but it was still exciting to hear about.
“I actually wasn’t there when they announced
it,” Fulp-Allen said. “I had to go to doping. Sally
Roberts actually told me. I was kind of in shock.”
While Fulp-Allen was happy to get the win with so many of the top
wrestlers in her weight class competing, she also wants a chance to
take each one of them on.
“It was great to get a win in,” said Fulp-Allen.
“I didn’t wrestle everyone and everyone wrestles
differently. Every draw is different. I am going to wrestle my opponent
in a different way than someone else might.”
Even while Fulp-Allen was still in college, she put impressive
performance in national and international competitions. In 2005, she
was a World University Championships bronze medalist, a U.S. Nationals
champion, and the runner-up at the U.S. World Team Trials.
During her freshman year of college, Fulp-Allen was a U.S. College
Nationals champion, a gold medalist at the Pan American Championships,
and third at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
After so much success leading up to those Olympics, it’s no
wonder that Fulp-Allen wants another chance in June to make the U.S
Olympic Team. Fulp-Allen will use upcoming competitions to help prepare
for the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
At the same time, Fulp-Allen and the coaching staff realize that she is
young, and the future of her career is just as important as right now
is. This weight class is also one of the deepest in women’s
wrestling.
“There are definitely some veteran wrestlers in this weight
class and it will definitely be an uphill battle for her,”
said Steiner. “(Stephanie) Murata and (Patricia) Miranda have
done well at the weight before. Sara realizes that she is here for the
long haul, until at least 2012. She is doing everything she can whether
or not she makes it to the 2008 Games.”
First, she travels to Belarus in March, and then she is set to compete
in the University Nationals and the U.S. National Championship
tournaments.
After the U.S. Nationals, Fulp-Allen will shift her focus to the U.S.
Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling to be held in Las Vegas, Nev., June
12-15 at the Thomas Mack Center.
“After Nationals, before the Olympic trials,
there’s a good break to be able to peak for
trials,” Fulp-Allen said. “There’s really
the right amount of competition.”
No matter the outcome of the competition at the U.S. Olympic Team
Trials, Fulp-Allen is an important member of USA women’s
freestyle program. Part of the credit for her success belongs to her
family, and the support they have given her.
“I see her as a big part of our program now and in the
future,” Steiner said.
Pa.
Mercyhurst women rowers trained in
wrestling to improve performance
Mercyhurst Athletics
02/14/2008
Erie, Pa. - When the
Mercyhurst women's rowing team started its winter training nine weeks
ago, the team had something new in mind. Winter training traditionally
consists of sore muscles, long hours, excruciating cross-training, and
more sore muscles. But until now, it had never consisted of wrestling.
Anne Dinshah, Mercyhurst's assistant rowing coach, led the team through
nine weeks of physical and mental training in wrestling, a sport in
which none of the athletes had ever participated. Every Monday morning
the rowers accomplished a physical wrestling skill then discussed the
mental goal and how to relate it to rowing. The rest of each week they
did typical winter training such as running, weightlifting, and core
conditioning, all of which are good for training as both rowers and
wrestlers. They also utilized their more sport-specific rowing
machines.
"Wrestling is excellent cross training for rowing," Dinshah said. "A
seven-minute match is similar in duration to 2,000 meters in the boat.
Both sports are great full-bodied challenges that demand intensity and
perseverance throughout the entire competition. Your body screams at
you the entire time and all your mind hears is to go even harder."
Dinshah taught the women the fundamentals of wrestling that she
perfected with Mercyhurst assistant wrestling coach Paul Bergman.
Things such as single and double-leg take downs, sprawling, escapes,
and even how to pull off a successful half-nelson are few of the many
concepts the rowers learned.
"Our winter training is about becoming strong as individuals," Dinshah
said. "When we come together in the spring it's about synergy in the
boat. Since we can wrestle, we know we'll be great on the water."
On Monday, Feb. 11, the rowers proved they were strong as individuals,
showcasing all they learned in an intersquad exhibition match on the
center mat in the Mercyhurst Athletic Center. The crowd gathered to
watch ten women put down their oars and pick up each other in five
intense matches.
The first two competitors to take the mat were senior captain Melanie
Peters, of the green team, and All-American coxswain Michele Handzel,
of the white team. Underdog Handzel proved coxswains have physical
explosiveness and mental fortitude by holding lightweight rower Peters
to only an 11-8 lead at the end of the second period. Peters found the
strength that will power her boat to the finish line this spring by
utilizing a mere 24 seconds to execute the only pin of the evening at
5:24. The fall gave the green team an early 6-0 lead.
Match two featured rowers Abbey Celarek of the green team and Briana
Burdick of the white team. They exchanged hard-fought takedowns and
escapes in the first period before ferocious Celarek threw in a
takedown and backpoints to jump ahead 8-3. Burdick's escape ended the
first period at 8-4. The second period began with Celarek earning
another takedown; tenacious Burdick escaped and attacked only to have
the buzzer beat her out of a takedown. Celarek proceeded to earn a 17-8
major decision bumping the green team's lead up to 10 points.
Junior Ali Bogart was the first to put points on the board for the
white team with a 7-0 decision over novice rower Cara Adamus of the
green team. Despite not scoring, Adamus showed enormous grit and
gumption in fighting off the potential Bogart pin for the full seven
minutes. "There are obvious differences between varsity and novice in
experience," Bogart said. "This is my third year of winter training at
Mercyhurst and I've been a rower for eight years. `Blue' (Adamus) has
been in a boat three times. However, mental training clearly helps
everyone. She was able to keep me from pinning her no matter how hard I
tried. I was controlling the match, but she exhibited great strength
mentally in never giving up. I believe this is the mentality necessary
for our strong crew to get to the NCAA Championships."
With the score at 10-3 in favor of the green team, close friends and
roommates Alicia Peterson and Annie Schiller took the mat for match
four. The match began with tremendous fervor: all the action,
excitement, and acceleration one would see at the start of a
championship rowing race. Peterson led 6-5 before Schiller took her
down, landing her on her shoulder. Schiller won by injury default and
earned six points for the white team.
Beth Brun and Courtney Clark would determine the winning team, as the
score going into the final match was 10-9 in green's favor. Clark
narrowly commanded the first period 3-2. Brun's lone takedown of the
second period and Clark's escape knotted them at 4-4 going into the
final two minutes. Brun then earned two points for a takedown and three
back points. A 9-4 decision by Brun awarded the 13-9 victory to the
green team.
"We have a great respect for the sport of wrestling and I'm proud of
what we've accomplished," Dinshah said. "Tonight was the culmination of
our winter wrestling efforts. The athletes definitely rose to the
challenge of the exhibition match and gave our all tonight, just like
we will every race this spring."
Editor's Note: Anne Dinshah competed at the 2007
U.S. Beach National Wrestling Championships in Rochester, N.Y.
Oklahoma
 |
| Erica Torres |
COLORADO
SPRINGS, Colo. – Erica Torres advanced
to the championship final of her weight for Oklahoma City University at
the Dave Schultz Memorial International on Saturday.
Torres,
a freshman from Porterville, Calif., fell to Alexandra
Engelhardt of Germany in a 6-0, 6-0 technical fall at
51 kilograms.
Jennifer
Peabody also made the quarterfinals at 51. Peabody, a
freshman from Defiance, Ohio, lost 3-0, 7-0 in a decision to Cheryl
Wong of New York.
At
67, Sara Hilliard and Ashley
Sword each made the consolation semifinals. Hilliard, a
junior from Lawrence, Kan., fell to Amberlee Ebert of
Missouri Valley in a 1-0, 2-0 decision. Stephanie
Maierhofer of Austria beat Sword, a junior from West
Palm Beach, Fla., 1-2, 1-0, 4-0 in the other consolation semi.
OCU
faces the U.S. Olympic Educational Center at 3 p.m. and Missouri Valley
at 5 p.m. Saturday at Abe Lemons Arena.
For
full results, click here.
Wisconsin
Patricia Hill Gives Verbal
Commitment to the
USOEC Women's Wrestling Program
Patricia Hill of Tomahawk High School gave her verbal commitment to the
United States Olympic Education Center at Northen Michigan University
for the 2008-09 wrestling season. Hill is one of five
athletes who committed to the USOEC. Hill is projected to
compete at 48 kg in the future. Click here for the press release on
themat.com.
Wrestling
The Tomahawk Hatchet Varsity Wrestling Team finished
second at the WIAA Regional at Neillsville High School
on Saturday. Neillsville
won the regional title and advances to team sectionals on Tuesday night.
The Hatchets have eight individual advancing to the WIAA
Sectional Meet on Saturday at Somerset High School. Nick Hagar won his third
regional championship and remains undefeated on the year. Zach Zehner also is a
regional champ, improving to 41-1 on the year.
Second place finishers also advance, and they include: Patricia Hill at 103, Sam
Arnott at 112, Rudy Chagoya at 125, Chris George at 130, Jordan
McAllister at 152 and Eric Ravelo at heavyweight.
On Saturday, the Hatchet eight will compete in the WIAA
Sectional at Somerset,
and WJJQ will follow the Hatchet sectional qualifiers.
PODCAST:
WIAA
Regional Wrestling-Round One
PODCAST:
WIAA
Regional Wrestling-Round Two
PODCAST:
WIAA
Regional Wrestling-Championship Round
THS
Wrestling Schedule
Wisconsin
12/29/07- Patricia Hill of
Tomahawk tries to break free from Bryce Krecjarek of Mishicot during
the 103-pound match of the Oshkosh Lourdes On The Water Wrestling
Classic at the Kolf Sports Center Saturday in Oshkosh,Wis. AP/Oshkosh
Northwestern photo by Laura May
Wisconsin
12/29/07-
Patricia Hill of Tomahawk tries to break free from Bryce Krecjarek of
Mishicot during the 103-pound match of the Oshkosh Lourdes On The Water
Wrestling Classic at the Kolf Sports Center Saturday in Oshkosh,Wis.
AP/Oshkosh Northwestern photo by Laura May
Guam
By Dave
Ornauer, Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Saturday, February
16, 2008
Dave
Ornauer / S&S
Emily
Albonetti of Osan American, left, tries to lock in a cradle on
Champaigne Tatman of Robert D. Edgren during Thursday's 108-pound bout
in the individual freestyle portion of the 2008 DODDS-Pacific Far East
High School Wrestling Tournament at Foster Field House, Foster
Athletics Complex, Camp Foster, Okinawa. Albonetti won by pin in 2
minutes, 31 seconds. It was the first time two girls faced each other
in a Far East tournament, the first time a girl won a Far East
tournament bout, and Albonetti can do no worse than sixth place at 108
pounds, making her the first girl to earn team points in a Far East
tournament.
Dave
Ornauer / S&S
Alyssa
Rodriguez, right, of Robert D. Edgren can't quite complete a leg-lace
tilt on Geoffrey Furner of Seoul American during Thursday's 101-pound
bout in the individual freestyle portion of the 2008 DODDS-Pacific Far
East High School Wrestling Tournament at Foster Field House, Foster
Athletics Complex, Camp Foster, Okinawa. Furner outlasted Rodriguez 2-1
(2-1, 3-5, 2-1). |
Emily Albonetti wrapped up her opponent Champaigne Tatman in a
side cradle, angling her shoulders toward the mat.
Whap! The referee’s hand slapped the mat, ending the
bout in 2 minutes, 31 seconds — and turned Albonetti into a
history maker.
The Osan American senior 108-pounder on Thursday became the
first girl to win a bout in a DODDS-Pacific Far East High School
Wrestling Tournament. Girls have wrestled in Far East tournaments since
1999.
“I can’t believe this is
happening,” Albonetti said. “I’m so
excited.”
She and Tatman became the first girls ever to face off in a
Far East tournament bout. And in winning, Albonetti ensured she would
finish no worse than sixth place in her weight group, and become the
first female to earn points for her team at Far East.
Albonetti surged ahead 6-0 in the first period, tilting Tatman
twice for two points each. But Tatman rallied and finished just two
points behind Albonetti, 8-6, in the period.
The second period was all Albonetti, who tied up Tatman with
the cradle and finished her off in short order.
“Right now, I’m happy for helping the
team,” Albonetti said. “But in the long run,
I’m excited knowing my place in history.”
“I was nervous,” Tatman said.
“I’m not used to wrestling girls. I just wrestle
[teammate] Alyssa [Rodriguez] in practice, and that’s
it.”
Though disappointed with the outcome, Tatman said she was
“happy about my part of it.”
None of the other four girls wrestling at Far East this year
won any bouts. Rodriguez was eliminated in two bouts at 101 pounds, as
were Sofia Hemmer (141) and Jordan Phillipe (115) of Osan.
Kadena’s Shelby Gillas did not make weight at 101 pounds.
“Groups of death”:
Wrestlers and coaches voiced the opinion Thursday that the 122-pound
and 158-pound weight classes were the toughest in the tournament.
“Groups of death,” Yokota coach Brian
Kitts labeled them.
The records of wrestlers in each group spoke for themselves:
The 122-pound lineup featured a slew of league champions and
other competitive types, such as Craig Bell of E.J. King, Robert Rodell
of Yokota, Daegu American’s Nicko Kim, Edgren’s
Matt Eberhart, Guam High’s R.J. Lopez and
Kubasaki’s Josh Bales.
“They’re tough,” Kim said of
Bales, Lopez and Bell in particular. “In a group like this,
it’s anybody’s ballgame. If I wrestle right, I know
I can take any of them.”
The 158-pound group included such standouts as Kanto Plain
champion Tony Presnell of Yokota, Okinawa champion Cody Cash, unbeaten
Tim Hernandez of Guam High and Kenneth Radford of Edgren, with just one
regular-season loss in 20 bouts.
“Cash is the best wrestler I’ve seen in a
long time,” Presnell said after outlasting Cash 2-0.
“Hernandez, his throws and upper body strength, you
don’t see that in Kanto. Whoever comes out and wins 158
should be named Outstanding Wrestler.”
Russia
Specialized sports schools are a Russian
phenomena that have few parallels abroad. While sports schools were
widespread in Soviet times they suffered a decline in the 1990s, but
some of them are now reviving and even developing. One of them is
Sambo-70 - a large sports and educational center located in the
Southwest of Moscow and which provides training to about 4,800
children.
For those who are not well acquainted with sports realities,
sambo is a Russian wrestling style very similar to judo. Sambo-70 club
was founded by champion wrestler David Rudman in 1970 and quickly
became one of the leading wrestling clubs in the Soviet Union.
We talked to the chairman of the Sambo-70 governing council
Renat Laishev about the recent history of the club, its current
situation and future prospects.
MN: How did the school make it during the
transition period of the 1990s?
RL: It was quite difficult, especially after the club's
founder and director David Rudman emigrated to the United States in
1989. We definitely missed his great organizational skills as well as
his authority and connections with the authorities.
It became even more difficult after the specialized sports
school was merged with two ordinary comprehensive schools - we had
three collectives and three directors then and the condition of the
facilities started to deteriorate. I myself am a graduate of the very
first Sambo-70 specialized class and it was very hard for me to see all
this - I worked as a senior coach in the school. At some point other
teachers asked me to head the newly founded combined school, named
Sambo-70 Education Center. At first I was surprised, but I accepted
that offer and together with other teachers and coaches and with the
help of many other of the club's graduates we started to improve the
situation.
The first major challenge we faced was the international judo
tournament which we organized in 1993-1994. Thanks to support from the
Moscow city authorities, it worked very well and the tournament is
still being held- now it is a stage for the Judo World Cup and a
qualifying round for the Olympics. This was the unifying event for our
collective and after this great success we started to move forward.
Another major event in our history was the First World Youth
Games of 1998.
MN: What is the system of education in the
school? How do your pupils combine studies with training?
RL: As a school we are an ordinary comprehensive school and we
make no concessions to our pupils even if they take part in tournaments
- they still have to do their schoolwork.
But we do offer a serious training schedule. Classes start at
8:30 a.m., like in any other school. Physical training is always two
combined lessons of 45 minutes and with a break it makes just enough
time for a good morning training - just under two hours. After that,
children attend their ordinary classes, have breakfast and lunch and do
their homework. By the way, school breakfast and lunches are free, as
is education in our school - we are sponsored by the Moscow city
government and some other organizations, like Gazprom and the Vnukovo
airport. Then, the children have evening training session, it lasts for
1.5 hours and the last training is finished by 9 p.m. Then, everyone
goes home to return next morning.
MN: Do you have a boarding school or something
like that?
RL: No, we think that a child needs parental attention. We
have pupils who come to study from Moscow suburbs, but they still have
to travel to school every day which, in my opinion, is not necessarily
a bad thing - children are taught to value their time.
We accept all children who want to train with us - ordinary
boys from nearby districts. Many sports clubs pay a lot of attention
looking for talent - they can find just two prodigies and they will
have their share of champions, but I find it much more interesting to
accept everyone and make them champions and we succeed in this.
MN: Do you have training sessions on weekends?
RL: Yes, we do. We do not have days off. Usually children have
three sessions of wrestling and three general physical training
sessions, like football or cross country running. We have a park nearby
and it is very convenient. Sometimes, we take children to some sports
events - like recently we visited a huge alpine skiing contest on
Vorobyovy Gory. Our children also take part in sport parades on city
festivals.
MN: You have 4,800 pupils in your school. What
are their career expectations upon graduation? What professions do they
usually choose?
RL: We have 1,200 pupils studying in our education center, but
together with children who study in other schools but attend our
training sessions we have 4,800 students. Their interests vary greatly
- upon graduation they enter very different institutes - from the
Moscow State University to anything else. But of course some choose to
remain in sports - on average 10 of 100 graduates we have every year
enter the State Institute of Physical Culture.
Many boys choose to join the military or law enforcement,
especially the Special Forces. Interior Ministry and the FSB even have
separate units manned by Sambo-70 graduates and they are doing very
well. Many of the boys become officers and commanders. Interior
Ministry, Federal Security Service and Federal Bodyguard Service often
hold their internal championships in hand-to-hand combat on our
grounds. We maintain very good relations with them.
It must be noted, that all graduates of Sambo-70 maintain good
relations. We are one big family. We have an association of graduates
with 18,000 members, and in many places Sambo-70 works as a password -
you will be treated well in many places.
So, apart from good skills we give our graduates the
invaluable capital of joining a family. It helps them live and work in
whatever profession they choose.
MN: What about the girls? There are some girls
in the school, do they do wrestling, like the boys?
RL: Yes, we have many girls. The original Sambo-70 school
accepted only boys, but after we merged with two other schools we had
many girls and we have to offer them general physical training. Many of
them take on wrestling and this is good, because in modern sport it is
very good when you have a strong women's section, regardless of the
type of sport. We also have sections of judo, Kyokushinkai karate,
sumo. We have also a dance section, girls are interested in that.
MN: Do you maintain any Soviet-time traditions
in your school?
RL: Of course we do. All pupils give an oath to honor the
legacy and traditions of the school, we have a flag and an anthem. I
must tell you though, when we were launching the judo section we had
some experts from Japan who said that according to their tradition a
student must kneel and bow to the portrait of the club's founder Jigoro
Kano. But I refused this. I said that this is not in the Russian custom
to kneel before anyone.
Washington
Mat
Classic XX starts up Friday
By Rob Burns -
Daily World writer
Thursday, February 14, 2008
10:53 AM PST
The two days on the
floor of the Tacoma Dome during the Mat Classic can be chaotic at best
and completely disorienting to even wrestlers who’ve been
there before.
But for the several months, and in some cases years, leading up to the
state championship tournament, the journey for these wrestlers tell
many stories on the road to Tacoma.
For these Twin Harbors wrestlers, their stories are just part of the
mosaic that weaves through all 43 Harbor wrestlers who will begin
competition on Friday.
Erich Schmidtke
The end of his college recruitment in November was just the start of
Erich Schmidtke’s senior season.
Holding a 33-1 record in the 189-pound division, the Aberdeen High
standout is expected to add a third straight state championship title
to his resume before leaving for the University of Oklahoma.
But the reserved Bobcat would also like to add a few other goals to his
list this weekend, most specifically seeing his teammates atop the
podium in their weights as state champs.
“I’m pretty excited, because I see three state
champions from (Aberdeen) and seeing Aberdeen as a team do
well,” Schmidtke said. “It is more about the team
now, getting the other guys to get a title. I’ve had mine and
it would be nice to get another one, but I’d like to see the
other guys get theirs as well.”
Schmidtke has plenty of
experience at the Dome, even with a rough start as a freshman
— an 0-2 record. Since then, his losses have come outside the
state, including a 5-1 decision to Hunter Collins, of Gilroy, Calif.,
in the Reno Meet of Champions in December.
“It is a good learning experience; there’s always
someone out there who is just as good as you are, so you have to keep
training and be prepared for anything,” Schmidtke said.
“I got a taste of competition that I’ll be facing
(at Oklahoma) and faced guys who I’ve never faced before. I
got to see how the rest of the world and other states
wrestles.”
Megan Martin
You could say girls wrestling at the state tournament level in
Washington started in 2005.
Two girls placed for the first time in the boys’ main draw
— Willapa Valley’s Megan Martin, eighth at 103 in
the 1A/B tournament and Puyallup’s Whitney Condor, sixth at
103 in the 4A tournament — to go along with the girls
invitational tournament.
On Friday, Martin will begin her final Mat Classic, for the first time
in the girls tournament in the 119-pound classification.
“One match at a time, that’s it; I’m not
going to get ahead of myself,” Martin said.
The decision to move over to the second-year girls tournament was one
of simple physics. In the lowest two weights, girls like Martin can
compete evenly with the boys, but face difficulties the higher the
weight class.
“It is a lot different, because, for once, I’m not
getting overpowered by strength and I can actually use wrestling
moves,” said Martin of wrestling girls at last
week’s regional tournament. “I wouldn’t
have the strength to wrestle (the boys). At 103 and at 112,
you’re even with them strength-wise, so you can wrestle with
them. But once you go up to 119 and above, it was ridiculous. I just
couldn’t wrestle them.”
Wrestling with the boys for the vast majority of her mat career gave
Martin her technique and style, along with some advantages over girls
who’ve only wrestled against other girls.
“Girls are more flexible, so I still have to be careful and
not put myself into danger,” Martin said. “You just
have to wrestle with patience and keep working until you get
ahead.”
Heavyweights
Twin Harbors wrestling fans figure on staying late on Saturday night,
because there’s a good bet that a few of the area’s
upper-weight wrestlers will qualify for the finals.
This year, the last finals matches of the night may be a Harbor affair.
Ocosta junior Kyle Strode has been there before, finishing second last
year in the heavyweight B tournament finals, while friendly rivals Ben
Seath, of Aberdeen, and Jeremy Foulds, of Hoquiam, may meet each other
again for the final time in the 2A finals.
These three, along with North Beach’s Nick Poplin and
Montesano’s Matt Combs, are continuing the Harbor’s
long run of state-worthy heavyweights.
“The heavyweights in this area have been tough for several
years now,” Foulds noted. “Since I’ve
been a freshman, there’s been Elma’s Luke Romero,
Hoquiam’s Kevin Kramzer, and Aberdeen’s Travis
DeLong, those state-caliber wrestlers around here. You learn more when
you wrestle the good guys.”
Last year, Foulds’ state debut was short, which he attributed
to failing to adjust to the event’s atmosphere, while
Seath’s run was cut short due to injuries.
The senior Bobcat also ran into injuries this year, most notably a
dislocated shoulder at the Hoquiam Invitational, but is close to 100
percent for the weekend.
“I’ve done a lot of rehab work at (Harbor Physical
Therapy) and I didn’t expect it to be as good as it was when
I was at districts,” said Seath, whose brothers Matt and Jeff
each placed in the top-three in state for AHS.
“It is my senior year and I’ve taken this one to
heart. I’ve been pretty unlucky (in injuries). With the
dislocation, I was thinking, ‘What’s
next?’ This is my last shot.”
Both seniors are confident they’ll meet each other in the
finals, even talking about it after each match they’ve faced
one another this season.
“We’ve joked about it that we’d meet at
the end of the season in the state finals,” Foulds said.
“I think there’s a really good chance of that
happening. We’re both positioned well for a run at the
finals.”
Strode has gone through this before, streaking to the finals by pins
before losing to Rearden’s Derek Toney at 5:15 in the finals.
In fact, the loss has motivated him this season to a 30-2 record, with
all of his wins coming by pin.
“Last year, I came into the final way too overconfident and
he handled me pretty good,” Strode said. “It is
another year and another story now. I’m pretty confident I
can get back to the finals. I’m a much better wrestler now
than I was last year. I’m not going to let that happen to me
this year.”
Patricia
Hill
