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USA
U.S. wins three medals at Klippan Ladies Open in
Sweden
Gary Abbott USA
Wrestling
03/08/2008
KLIPPAN, SWEDEN -
The United States won three medals at the Klippan Ladies Open on
Sunday.
Capturing silver medals were Sara Fulp-Allen (Colorado Springs,
Colo./New York AC) at 48 kg/105.5 lbs. and Elena Pirozkhov (Colorado Springs,
Colo./Gator WC) at 63 kg/138.75 lbs. Winning a bronze medal was Stefanie Shaw
(Waterford, Conn./New York AC) at 67 kg/147.5 lbs.
After winning four
bouts on Saturday, Fulp-Allen lost the gold-medal match to Sofia Mattson of
Sweden by pin.
“She could not find her edge,” said USA Wrestling Women’s
Developmental Coach Izzy Izboinikov. “Even though she beat the Russian European
champion, it was not her best tournament. She used her opportunities and
experience well.”
Elena Pirozhkov won two matches on Saturday to reach
Sunday’s finals, where she was edged by past World medalist Monika Rogien of
Poland, 0-1, 1-4.
“She wrestled well in her new weight class,” said
Izboinikvo. “In the match with Russia, scored three points at the end of the
period, coming back to win.”
After Shaw lost her first match on Saturday,
she came back Sunday to win the bronze medal with a 1-0, 2-0 win over Ase
Karlsson of Sweden.
“She wrestled up to her potential. She made some
steps forward toward improvement,” said Izboinikov.
Losing in the bronze
medal round to place fifth was Cherea Pascua (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC)
at 55 kg/121 lbs. She was defeated by Sylwia Bilenska of Poland, 0-3, 1-1.
“She made some mistakes, but overall, it was a very good effort. She
fought hard in every match and was closing the gap on the competition. She made
major improvement from match to match,” said Izboinikov.
KLIPPAN LADIES
OPEN
At Klippan, Sweden, March 8
48 kg/105.5 lbs.
Gold – Sofia
Mattson (Sweden)
Silver – Sara Fulp-Allen (USA)
Bronze – Alexandra
Englehart (Germany)
Bronze – Zamira Rakhmanova (Russia)
51 kg/112.25
lbs.
Gold – Anna Trusova (Russia)
Silver – Sabina Magnuson
(Sweden)
Bronze – Ayano Suzuki (Japan)
Bronze – Renata Omilsuk
(Poland)
55 kg/121 lbs.
Gold – Anna Zwirydowska (Poland)
Silver –
Johanna Mattson (Sweden)’
Bronze – Sylwia Bilenska (Poland)
Bronze –
Christiane Knittel (Germany)
59 kg/130 lbs.
Gold – Ida Therese Nerell
(Sweden)
Silver – Gudrun Hoie (Norway)
Bronze – Aldona Hanisxevska
(Poland)
Bronze – Kaya Tsuda (Japan)
63 kg/138.75 lbs.
Gold –
Monica Rogien (Poland)
Silver – Elena Pirozkhov (USA)
Bronze – Liubov
Volosova (Russia)
Bronze – Helena Allandi (Sweden)
67 kg/147.5
lbs.
Gold – Natalia Kuksina (Russia)
Silver – Paulina Grabowska
(Poland)
Bronze – Magda Pietrzyk (Poland)
Bronze – Stefenie Shaw
(USA)
72 kg/158.5 lbs.
Gold – Stanka Zlateva (Russia)
Silver –
Maida Under (Spain)
Bronze – Anna Wawrzicka (Poland)
Bronze – Agnieszka
Wieszczek (Poland)
Outstanding Wrestler – Sofia Mattson
(Sweden)
Team Standings
1. Poland, 88
2. Sweden, 57
3. Russia,
43
4. United States, 34
5. Japan, 29
6. Hungary, 22
7. Germany,
20
8. France, 19
9. Spain, 19
10. Finland, 12
10. Czary Bor Club of
Poland, 12
(of 20 teams)
U.S. women’s performances
48 kg/105.5
lbs. - Sara Fulp-Allen (Colorado Springs, Colo./New York AC), 2nd
WIN Rachel
Bernardes (USA), tech fall, 6-0, 6-0
WIN Anna Lukasiak (Poland), 5-1,
7-0
WIN Zamira Rakhmanova (Russia) pin
WIN Sarianne Savola (Finland),
pin
LOSS Sofia Mattson (Sweden), pin
48 kg/105.5 lbs. – Rachel
Bernardes (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Air Force), dnp
LOSS Sara Fulp-Allen
(USA), tech. fall, 0-6, 0-6
LOSS Anna Lukasiak (Poland), 0-2, 0-2
55
kg/121 lbs. – Cherea Pascua (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC), 5th
WIN
Pietrzyk Agata (Poland), 4-3, 3-2
WIN Takahashi Haruka (Japan), 3-0,
1-0
LOSS Anna Zwirydowska (Poland), 0-2, 0-4
LOSS Sylwia Bilenska
(Poland), 0-3, 1-1
55 kg/121 lbs. – Chelynne Pringle (Colorado Springs,
Colo./Minnesota Storm), dnp
LOSS Emese Barka (Hungary), 5-0, 3-3, 0-2
138.75 lbs. - Elena Pirozhkov (Colorado Springs, Colo./Gator WC),
2nd
WIN Evelina Gryvik (Sweden), 3-0, 2-0
WIN Liubov Volosova (Russia),
1-1, 3-2
LOSS Monika Rogien (Poland), 0-1, 1-4
67 kg/147.5 lbs. -
Stefanie Shaw (Waterford, Conn./New York AC), 3rd
LOSS Natalia Kuksina
(Russia), 0-2, 0-4
WIN Ase Karlsson (Sweden), 1-0, 2-0
72 kg/158.5
lbs. – Jenna Pavlik (Marquette, Mich./New York AC), 9th
LOSS Maida Unda
(Spain), pin
LOSS Anna Wawrzycka (Poland), 0-1, 1-1
California
Chris Dollete, Kresta Tabaranza-Gold, Alyssa Wong, Mariah Noonan and Heidi Solar captured gold medals at the Central Valley championship. Zerick Silas, Delaney Wong, Annabelle Molina, Desire Espena, Alyssa Wong and Tabaranza-Gold took home gold at the North Coast championship.
The Springstowne Lady Wildcats produced strong efforts at the USGWA Nevada and USGWA Northern California championships.
Alyssa Wong captured gold at both events, and Alyssa Balenca won gold at the North California championship. Hermie Solar, Heidi Solar, Alana Brasher, Kelly Hoang, Frankie Liang, Katrina Abueg, Molina, Leones, Espena, Wong and Noonan each took home medals from both events
Canada
For wrestling coach Tom Mastantuono, the end result on the mat is always a byproduct of effort, a reflection of what an athlete puts into the sport, whether that be enough or too little.
"He taught us the importance of taking responsibility," recalled Marc Lemieux, who wrestled for Regiopolis-Notre Dame during Mastantuono's rookie coaching year, 1983.
"If you won, it was because you worked hard. If you lost, you didn't work hard enough. He wasn't big on excuses.
"What I remember most was his complete dedication, which seemed to be so much more than a normal coach," added Lemieux, proprietor of the local Black Dog Pottery shop.
A quarter-century of such devotion to wrestling and to the hundreds of athletes who have come under his tutelage earned Mastantuono the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations 2008 Leadership in School Sport Award. He received the award, presented annually to a teacher-coach who has made a significant contribution to the educational athletic program, at the recent OFSAA wrestling tournament in Caledonia.
"I was surprised," Mastantuono said.
He shouldn't have been.
It is no stretch to say the squat, bull-strong chap with the billiard-ball pate is the face of wrestling in Kingston.
Not only has he guided Panther grappling teams for 25 years, he's also coached at Queen's University and Royal Military College, assisted provincial squads at Canada Games and was an assistant with the 1986 junior national team.
In 1987, he started the Kingston and Area Olympic Wrestling Club and has run that operation with nothing less than unbridled enthusiasm.
His success with Regi at year-end regional tournaments is unmatched. Mastantuono-coached teams have copped 19 EOSSA championships in 25 years, including a string of nine straight.
He has coached eight provincial gold medalists and a host of other medalists. Many of his charges, such as Cleo Ncube, Terri McNutt and Paul Ragusa, later garnered Canadian Interuniversity Sport crowns, the latter on four separate occasions.
Mastantuono, whose Italian family immigrated to Canada when he was nine years old, said his passion was inspired, ironically, by his Toronto high school coaches' lack of same.
"I kept telling myself that if I ever coached, I'd do a better job, I'd be keener. I never wanted to let anyone down."
Mastantuono feels there's no substitute for diligent training.
"Wrestling is a just sport. It shows what you put into it. I've had kids who should've won but didn't because they lacked the effort. On the other hand, a guy like Paul Ragusa had no business winning, but he worked so darn hard."
Mastantuono, who retires as a wrestling coach after this year, has left the Panthers in capable hands, handing the reins over to protege Marcus Niemann.
"He's been a mentor for other coaches like myself," noted Niemann, who's been with Mastantuono, off and on, since 1984, as an athlete, fellow coach and teaching colleague.
"During high school, he got me into coaching youth wrestling at Collins Bay Public School and Victoria Public School and the YMCA.
"He is the definition of selfless, a coach who always puts the kids first, and the kids are quick to pick up on that," he said.
"Wrestling is inclusive, it's for the blind, the disabled. There was a kid at OFSAA this year with no legs," Niemann added. He recalled a mentally-challenged youth who was once on the Panthers team.
"The result was that you had a kid who basically couldn't tie his shoes sitting next to a future CIS champ. It makes for amazing camaraderie and Tom treats everyone the same."
Niemann called his friend a wrestling purist and above all a disciple of fair play.
"One time I'm coaching McNutt and she's losing her match. So I tell her to get a little rough, beat up her opponent a bit, get in her kitchen. The girl fell apart and Terri easily won the match."
Weeks later at OFSAA, McNutt squared off against the same girl and employed the same strategy.
"Tom just lit into her. He yelled, 'That isn't wrestling!' I asked him later why he did that and he said, 'What does Terri learn from that? It doesn't help her wrestling ability or her sense of fair play.'
"Wrestling always comes first with Tom. He always sees the big picture."
Regi principal Wayne Hill called Mastantuono a "leader" in the school community.
"He's an incredibly devoted, committed coach who has worked with a lot of kids who don't have many other kinds of outlets.
"Over the years, he's kept a lot of kids in school, kids who were more taken, initially at least, with wrestling than they were with school. Tom taught them about life and about being good people and about working hard and achieving a goal.
"We're going to miss him, but he's leaving behind good people to take up the cause of his wrestling program."
The 51-year-old and his wife, Donna, are taking a sabbatical next year, starting with a month in Australia. Perhaps they will still be abroad when Tom celebrates his two birthdays - April 19 and April 28.
Pardon?
Evidently, the ol' rassler was born on April 19, the oldest of four Mastantuono boys in the tiny Italian town of Tufo between Rome and Naples.
Tufo was so small his parents had to register his birth in the neighbouring town of Minturno. By the time they arrived with the bambino - "by donkey cart," Tom quipped - it was April 28, the date that appears on his birth certificate.
Camarillo's Deyvonne Mondragon and Pacifica's Michi Stoke finished as champions in the United States Girls' Wrestling Association Northern California Championships on March 2.
After a slow start, Mondragon had three straight pins to finish a co-champion. Mondrgaon, 4-1, pinned Li Nguyen of the Lowell Wrestling Club in the championship match.
Stoke (at 170 pounds) was 4-0 and won by a technical fall over Jodie Banner of Newark in the final. Stoke had three pins.
Mondragon and Stoke are wrestling in championship tournaments in Oregon and Washington this weekend.