News Page

OCA All-State wrestling teams named

Woodward's Joey Miller became the first female All-State wrestler in Oklahoma history. Miller was named to the Small West team at 119 pounds. She placed fourth at last month's state tournament and compiled a 23-6 regular-season record as a senior. Miller placed fourth in 2005.

Midwest City's Willie Gunter (119), Norman's Joe Springfield (135) and Carl Albert's David McNeil (112) were among metro-area selections.

Oklahoma Coaches Association

2008 All-State Wrestling Team

Large East

112: Garrett Miller, Owasso; 119: Stephen Kendrick, Skiatook; 125: Drew Partain, Broken Arrow; 130: Dusty Topping, Shawnee; 135: Ky Corley, Stillwater; 140: Matt Bryan, Broken Arrow; 145: Brock Mason, Catoosa; 152: Justin Suskey, Catoosa; 160: Ryan Freeman, Sand Springs; 171: Kyle Blevins, Sapulpa; 189: Mike Keating, Ponca City; 215: Reno Redleaf, Ponca City; HWT: Stacy McGee, Muskogee.

Large West

112: David McNeil, Carl Albert; 119: Willie Gunter, Midwest City; 125: Landon Comes, Carl Albert; 130: Tyson Bernardi, Choctaw; 135: Joe Springfield, Norman; 140: Auston Slater, Mustang; 145: Mike Brady, Del City; 152: Mark Meyer, Midwest City; 160: Daniel Ogle, Chickasha; 171: Danny Forucci, Altus; 189: Chad Wright, Norman North; 215: Zack James, Del City; HWT: Derrick Jackson, Del City.

Small East

Small West

112: Adam Then, Tuttle; 119: Joey Miller, Woodward; 125: Jimmy Stout, Little Axe; 130: Dakota Wigginton, Watonga; 135: Mike Thomas, Clinton; 140: Jacob Peck, Marlow; 145: Hugo Gomez, Weatherford; 152: Dustin Lasell, Pauls Valley; 160: Drew Weske, Marlow; 171: Zach Sell, Kingfisher; 189: Elliott Hellwege, Kingfisher; 215: Raymond Lane, Star Spencer; HWT: Cameron Gladd, Clinton.

Holbrook Girls Place In State Wrestling

In terms of gender equality, the Olympic movement has made massive strides since 1896, albeit incrementally.

Women were first allowed in track and field at the 1928 Summer Games in Amsterdam, but it wasn’t until 1984 that they were able to compete in the marathon. It would take another 20 years until women’s wrestling was added to the Olympic menu.

This summer in Beijing, there will be more women competing than ever before.

But there are still a few hurdles to overcome.

Women do not compete in all sports (canoeing, boxing) and have limited categories in others. Many countries still have disproportionate ratios of male to female competitors and female representation on the International Olympic Committee is scarce.

Do you believe women have achieved equality at the Olympic Games? If not, what can the IOC and its member countries do to increase the profile of women in sport?

African Wrestling Championships qualify Tunisians, Algerians for Olympics

10/03/2008

Tunisia's Naziha Hamza, Maroua Ameri and Sabrine Mathlouthi qualified for the 2008 Olympics after winning their respective categories in the women's events at the African Wrestling Championships. Wrestlers from 19 countries took part in the event which concluded in Tunis on Sunday (March 9th), TAP reported. On Saturday, Tunisians Haykel Achouri (84 kg) and Maher Bouthouri (55kg) also qualified for the Beijing 2008 games by winning in the Greco-Roman wrestling events.

On Friday, Algerian wrestlers qualified for the Olympics for the first time by snatching three out of five gold medals at the Tunis competition. Samir Bouguerra won the 96 kg event, Mohamed Serrir aced the 66kg and Zeghdane Messaoud swept the 74 kg.

Natasha Kramble of Walter Murray (right) struggles with Stevie Van Wyk of Regina FW Johnson in their match Saturday Photograph by : SP Photo by Greg Pender   More pictures:

While one dynasty fell, another became entrenched at Walter Murray Collegiate on Saturday afternoon.

Walter Murray's Natasha Kramble won her third straight provincial high school wrestling championship in the 48-kilogram category. Kramble beat Regina FW Johnson's Stevie Van Wyk.

"It feels really good," said Kramble. "It's our coach's last year (Murray coach Gil Wist), so I really wanted to win it for that reason. I want to thank my parents and my coaches and my best friend Kathleen Kent (from Holy Cross, a gold medallist in the 60-kg category) who I trained with this year. I pinned all my girls, so it's nice to go out this way in my Grade 12 year."

Kent beat Regina Balfour's Katrina Russel for her second consecutive provincial title.

"This is a really big accomplishment," said Kent, who finished fourth in both Grade 9 and 10. "It just feels really good to go out there and do what I love."

As well Saturday, Donovan Dale got some golden revenge.

Competing in the boys' 110-plus kilogram category, Dale came out on top against two-time defending provincial champion Tyler Gelowitz of Mount Royal.

It's the first provincial title for Dale, a Grade 11 student at St. Joseph High School, who lost to Gelowitz in the city final.

"I knew it was going to be a tough match," said Dale. "And I knew that if I had any chance of beating him, I'd have to be the one who wasn't making mistakes and going to my back. I did that as well as I could and came out on top."

Gelowitz advanced to the final by going undefeated through the two-day preliminary event. Dale took the long, hard road, losing in the round robin Friday and coming in from the B draw.

"This feels awesome. I can't even believe it's happened," said Dale. "I'm still waiting for them to tell me I got silver. I started off a little rocky, but I had the opportunity to fight my way back to the top. It was definitely the hard way, but this is so great."

Gelowitz, who dropped a weight class this year, felt he wasn't in top form in his final high school match.

"He was definitely more focused than I was," said Gelowitz. "We had a good match, but I just felt like he had more control of what he was doing and what he wanted to do. It hurts a little bit."

Bethlehem Collegiate's David Katabarwa triumphed over Regina Balfour's Zack Nenson in the 40-kilogram category. It's the first provincial gold for both Katabarwa and Bethlehem.

"The last time I wrestled him, he beat me," said Katabarwa. "I just tried my best this time and listened to what my coach said and I did it."

The Grade 9 student is in his first year of wrestling and found success against some previously pesky foes during the weekend.

"I was very proud of myself because two of the wrestlers I beat had been beating me this year," said Katabarwa. "This is the first provincial medal for Bethlehem in wrestling as well, so this feels pretty good. It's been fun and I had a great weekend."

In 110-plus kg category, Bedford Road's Tristan Hoath bested Prince Albert Carlton's Brian Faulds to earn his first provincial gold medal.

Canada

"This is so awesome, because I lost last year in the provincial finals, but I got the gold and it's great," said Hoath. "I started off strong, but then he kind of came back on me. I tried to pin him a couple times, but I managed to finally do it."

Another Walter Murray wrestler had a triumphant end to his high school career.

"This is really a wonderful way for me to cap my Grade 12 year," said Landon Squires, who won the 90-kg category for the second straight year. "I couldn't think of a better way to end it, with winning the city championships for our team and then individual provincial is pretty good."

Two St. Joseph girls won gold: Brina Kurtenbach (42 kg) and Amy Buettner (100 kg). Kurtenbach beat Regina O'Neill's Brittany Murray, while Buettner defeated Bwayla Mulilo of Regina Miller.

On the boys' side, Marion Graham's Cody Fredrickson beat Austin Smith of Walter Murray in the 43-kg class, while Ryan Myrfield of Bedford Road bested St. Joseph's Tanner Danylczuk to capture gold in the 70-kg category.

Two Boonville wrestlers compete at USGWA State

Two Boonville Wrestlers participated in the USGWA (United States Girls Wrestling Association) State Wrestling Tournament Saturday, March 1, 2008 at Center Middle School in Kansas City, MO. 

Even though it was a state tournament, it was not limited to Missouri Girl Wrestlers.  There were three divisions: Elementary, Middle school, and High School.  Michaela Rumbaoa and Kristen Stevens participated in the Middle School division.  Within this division there was the lighter weights (89-100 pounds) and the heavier weights (100-118 pounds).  Both girls captured 1st place in their respective categories.

 Michaela Rumbaoa, representing Eierman Elite Wrestling, participated in the Middle School 89-100# bracket.  In her first round, she pinned Hannah Pratt of Silex, MO in 23 seconds.  She had a bye second round.  Third round, Michaela captured another pin against Alicia Reyes of Blue Springs, MO capturing the title of 2008 USGWA Missouri State Champion.

View Larger Image Daphne Anne-Hodgson (rear) of Miller Comprehensive High School ties up Hannah Franson of Holy Cross in their gold-medal match at the provincial high school wrestling championships. Greg Pender, Saskatoon Starphoenix

Regina won three of the four team titles Saturday at the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association wrestling championships in Saskatoon.

The victorious Regina High Schools Athletic Association representatives were from Balfour (5A boys), O'Neill (4A girls) and Miller (3A girls).

In the 5A boys category, Balfour won its first provincial title since 1994, finishing with 51 points -- eight more than second-place O'Neill.

"It's a huge thing for our school,'' Balfour wrestling coach Ryan Bellamy said. "It was a tremendous performance by a lot of athletes.

"A lot of senior athletes stepped up to the plate to win in their last provincial championships, accomplishing something they had been working toward for four years.''

Two Regina wrestlers -- Balfour's Kirk Ackerman and O'Neill's Calvin Daum -- accomplished the rare feat of winning a fourth provincial title.

Regina was also dominant in the 3A girls category. Miller had 44 points, followed by Usher (21) and Johnson (19).

Miller actually had more points than O'Neill (31), which won in the 4A girls category, which is for the larger schools. Winston Knoll was one point behind O'Neill in 4A girls.

"It was a good tournament and the top teams were from Regina,'' O'Neill wrestling coach Ron Gonzales said.

"You couldn't ask anything more. Regina wrestling is really strong and it showed on the weekend.''

The individual provincial champions from Regina are as follows: Daphne-Anne Hodgson of Miller (45-kilogram girls), Jasmine Slinn of Balfour (52kg girls), Danielle Anderson of Usher (56kg girls), Shelby Moran of Winston Knoll (65kg girls), Jackie Boudreau of Winston Knoll (71kg girls), Adrianna Morrison of Miller (77kg girls), Samantha Rubisch of Johnson (85kg), Tony Melgar of O'Neill (46kg boys), Justin Rumpel of Miller (49kg boys), Ricky Kirton of Miller (52kg boys), Thomas Ostapowich of O'Neill (55kg boys), Gilbert Musonza of Balfour (58kg boys), Ackerman (62kg boys), Connor Malloy of LeBoldus (75kg) and Daum (82kg boys).

Two other southern Saskatchewan wrestlers won gold medals -- A.J. Semen of Weyburn (66kg boys) and Clayton Kruda of Yorkton (98kg boys).

Complete SHSAA wrestling results appear in Local ScoreBoard.

Maryland

Lady's day - Smithsburg's Hovermale breaks through at states

ANDREW MASON  3/8/08 Andrewm@herald-mail.com

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Ladies first.

Smithsburg's Monica Hovermale, right, battles Owings Mills' Avi Friedman in their 103-pound bout in the state quarterfinals. (Credit: By Ric Dugan / Staff Photographer)

That's how it goes for Monica Hovermale, who continues to blaze trails in the male-dominated sport of wrestling.

The Smithsburg sophomore defeated Evan Peck of Marriotts Ridge 18-10 in a preliminary 103-pound bout Friday afternoon, becoming the first girl in the history of the Maryland Class 2A-1A state tournament to win a bout.

"It's exciting," said Hovermale, who last year became the first girl to win a Washington County title, and who last week became the first girl to advance out of the perennially powerful 2A-1A West region by placing third. "It's awesome to be here and everything, but I want to place."

Places go to the top six at each weight.

The best Hovermale (25-4) can do today is place third after getting pinned by Owings Mills' Avi Friedman (32-0) in the quarterfinals Friday night.

"Last week when I lost (in the first round at regionals), I came back the next day and had three straight pins," she said. "I'm hoping to do that again.

But it will be tough. Everyone here is good. I'll just be happy if I place."

Helen Maroulis of Magruder became the first girl to place at the Maryland state tournament when she took fifth at 112 in Class 4A-3A in 2006. Nicole Woody of Arundel placed second at 103 in 4A-3A last year.

Hovermale is just the second girl to compete in 2A-1A. The first, Jade Hendricks of Western Tech, went 0-2 in 2005.

Of the 13 Washington Country wrestlers who qualified for the 2A-1A championships, 12 are still alive, including five in the championship round.

Maryland

STATE TOURNAMENT PREVIEW: THE DEEP & TALENTED 112-LB CLASS; MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK

Worth the price of admission, these little guys -- and one girl -- really can wrestle.

Published: 03/05/2008
by Lem Satterfield

In boxing, the heavyweights usually get top billing, not necessarily because they're more skillful fighters, but because they're big.

Period.

In wrestling, the heavyweights might be good wrestlers, but the better ones -- and those most often overlooked -- are the lightweights.

That may be the case this year, particularly with a 112-pound class that is deeper and more talented than I've ever seen in the more than 20 years I've been covering wrestling in high school.

I've always been intrigued by lower-weight wrestlers, who, most often boast the most diverse skills, the more wide-ranging in range in styles and abilities, and who, more often than not,  are equipped with boundless amounts of energy.

Among the premiere 112-pounders who come to mind are Marty and Mike Kusick of Northeast; Matt and Jeff Eveleth of Chesapeake-AA; Brandon Lauer of River Hill; Gary Baker of Old Mill; Nick Alley of Southern-Anne Arundel; Greg Knox of Calvert Hall; Sean Miller of Broadneck; Craig Middledorf of Paint Branch;  David Land of Laurel; Andy Brown of Wilde Lake.

Lately, there have been Old Mill's Greg Saumenig and Hammond's Devon Gillett.

Some, such as Land, Alley, Brown, Middledorf and Miller were a blend of calculated power and strength.

Others, such as Lauer, the Kusicks and Saumenig were blurred, attacking dominance.

And still others, such as Knox and Gillett, were more likely to methodically break down or wear down their rivals, out-scoring them or otherwise finishing them with signature moves.

This year's 112-pounders are a mixture of all of the above. And the nice thing is, there are a lot of them.

On the Class 4A-3A side, there are returning third-place state finishers Danny Lethbridge of Paint Branch and Adam Krop of Urbana.

On the Class 2A-1A side, you have state champ Scott Mantua of River Hill as well as stellar freshman Lex Ozias of Southern Garrett and Ben Baker of Pikesville, with Ozias and Baker being the lone unbeaten wrestlers in the entire class, respectively, at 36-0, and, 21-0.

What makes the category even more intriguing are the many battles that have taken place among the wrestlers, and the cross-references that can be made to validate certain individuals' rights to be considered among the favorites and contenders of the weight class.

Take for example, Hammond sophomore Dylan Gillett, who, just last week, was beaten, 9-6, by Mantua in the Class 2A-1A South Region final.

Gillett has a win over Blake's 103-pound Montgomery County and Class 4A-3A champion, Rasheim Smith, who has beaten Lethbridge.

Lethbridge has split bouts with Magruder's Class 4A-3A Helen Maroulis, who has lost to Class 4A-3A Alex Hakspiel of Sherwood, who has lost to Class 4A-3A Broadneck's Houston Zemanski, who has lost to Old Mill's upstart freshman, Ron Vaughters.

Or how about Seneca Valley's Brian Hines, a fourth-place finisher in last weekend's Class 4A-3A West Region, respectively, behind Lethbridge, Maroulis and Haskpiel -- all of whom he has beaten this year.

The point is that these little guys -- and, one girl, in Maroulis -- have, for the most part, mixed it up.

Among the most battle-tested of the group are Lethbridge and Hakspiel.

Lethbridge has lost to Hakspiel, Maroulis, Hines, Smith and Mantua. Over the past two weeks, however, Lethbridge has twice beaten Maroulis and Hakspiel, and once defeated Hines -- all on the way to defending his Montgomery County and Class 4A-3A West Region crowns.

Hakspiel has split with Lethbridge and Hines, beaten Maroulis and Middledown's Class 2A-1A state runner-up Chad Strube, and lost nailbiters to Zemanski and Krop.

On the first day of Friday's Class 4A-3A states, Hakspiel will rematch Zemanski, who was unbeaten at 32-0 before running into Vaughters.

Vaughters defeated Zemanski over the past two weeks for the Anne Arundel County and Class 4A-3A East Region titles.

Mantua has lost to Krop, and beaten Lethbridge.

So deep is the 112-pound weight class, for example, that at least one quality wrestler -- Centennial's Jack Western -- failed to emerge from his Class 4A-3A East Region.

This after Western, last year, was a regional runner-up, having handed Mantua his lone defeat of last season.

At last year's states, Western pinned Northwest's Michael Henning, beat Northern Calvert's Quinten Leadbetter, and finished fourth at states in the 103-pound class -- ahead of fifth-place C.J. Savage of Frederick County's Tuscarora and sixth-place Leadbetter.

This year, Leadbetter is at states as a repeat Class 4A-3A South Region champ, as are Savage and Henning as runners-up in the 4A-3A North and 4A-3A South regionals, respectively, at 112- and 119-pounds.

Western didn't make the cut.

But that's just how tough 112 pounds is this year.

Let's hear it for the girls: For the fourth straight year, two girls have qualifed for states. This year, they are Class 4A-3A Magruder junior Helen Maroulis (112), who, in 2006, became the first female state placewinner by finishing sixth in Class 4A-3A; and Class 2A-1A Smithsburg's sophomore Monica Hovermale (103), who is only the second female to qualify in Class 2A-1A.

In 2005, Arundel's Nicole Woody and Western Tech's Jade Hendricks became the state's first female qualifiers, going 0-2 at 103 pounds in Class 4A-3A and Class 2A-1A, respectively. In 2006, Maroulis placed sixth at 112 pounds, and Woody did not place, although she became the first girl to pin a boy at states.

Last year, Woody and Maroulis qualified, yet again, with Woody becoming a state runner-up -- the first female to reach state finals. Maroulis (33-4), this year, became the first female finalist in Montgomery County's Tournament, as well as the first girl to reach the Class 4A-3A West Region final.

Hovermale (24-3), whose two-year record includes 44 wins and 35 pins, won her second straight Washington County crown, and pinned her way to a third place finish in Class 2A-1A West

Maryland

FEMALES MONICA HOVERMALE, HELEN MAROULIS REBOUND, TAKE SHOT AT HISTORY

After early losses, they're still alive in the consolation rounds with a chance to have two girls place at states in same season for the first time ever.

Published: 03/08/2008

by Lem Satterfield



(See Monica Hovermale vs. Evan Peck videos below)


It was exactly seven days ago on Friday night that Smithsburg's top seeded 103-pound sophomore wrestler Monica Hovermale led her first-round Class 2A-1A West Regional bout only to allow herself to get decked by her eighth-seeded rival.

Hovermale rebounded to pin three straight opponents on the way to a third-place finish, one that helped her to become only the second female to qualify for the Class 2A-1A state tournament with a goal of being the first girl to win at match on the Class 2A-1A side.

But in Friday night's first round of the Class 2A-1A states at the University of Maryland's Cole Field House, Hovermale found herself in the same place she had a week earlier: Nearly flat on her back and in danger of being pinned.

For after having built a lead of 18-5, and after having nearly pinned Marriotts Ridge senior, Evan Peck, on three different occasions, Hovermale was reversed to her back with about a minute and 40 seconds to go.

This time, however, the two-time Washington County titlist showed her resiliency, fighting off the pin for the remainder of the match to salvage a great deal of pride as well as a history-making, 18-10 major decision.

"I was thinking that it was just like the last time, when I was up by some points on the kid, and I wound up getting pinned," said Hovermale, whose record, following a quarterfinal loss in her next bout against Owings Mills' Avi Friedman, slipped to 25-4. "I didn't want that to happen again."

After having been pinned by the unbeaten Friedman, who defeated her for the second time this season, Hovermale dropped into the consolation rounds, where she will face South Carroll's Class 4A-3A West Regional champion Chris Wampler on Saturday.

Hovermale, the first female to win a Washington County title, has 45 wins in two high school seasons, as well as 35 career falls during that time.

Hovermale needs a win over Wampler and one more after that to secure herself a place in the top six of the Class 2A-1A states and the right to be called the first girl to accomplish the feat.

With Hovermale and Magruder of Montgomery County's 112-pound junior, Helen Maroulis, on the Class 4A-3A side, two girls have qualified for states for the fourth straight year.

Maroulis (112), who, in 2006, became the first female state placewinner by finishing sixth in Class 4A-3A, lost her first round bout, 10-8, to Reservoir of Howard County's Ben O'Keefe.

Maroulis won her second match, however, 8-5, over Trevor Lee of C.H. Flowers, and now, like Hovermale, needs to win twice more to place in the top six of her weight class.

No two girls have placed at states during the same year.

In 2005, Arundel's Nicole Woody and Western Tech's Jade Hendricks became the state's first female qualifiers, going 0-2 at 103 pounds in Class 4A-3A and Class 2A-1A, respectively.

In 2006, Maroulis placed sixth at 112 pounds, and Woody did not place, although she became the first girl to pin a boy at states.

Last year, Woody and Maroulis qualified, yet again, with Woody becoming a state runner-up -- the first female to reach state finals. Maroulis (33-4), this year, became the first female finalist in Montgomery County's Tournament, as well as the first girl to reach the Class 4A-3A West Region final.

Maine

Jenna_Lavallee@TimesRecord.Com 03/07/2008

TOPSHAM — As a wrestler, there are several things you need to worry about: dieting, training, making weight ... then maintaining weight. And long arduous practices. If all that hard work pays off, then maybe, just maybe, you may make it to postseason competition.

As a female wrestler, the only thing Kelly Golek needs to worry about is making the boys jealous ... on the mat.

With a cumulative record of 82 wins, 40 losses and 32 pins (her fastest pin was 10 seconds), Kelly has proven herself to be a petite powerhouse (103 pounds) on the Mt. Ararat High School wrestling team.

On Saturday, the junior is scheduled to compete in the Massachusetts United States Girls Wrestling Association State Wrestling Championships.

The heavily male-dominated sport sparked her interest years ago when she attended one of brother Michael's Mt. Ararat practices.

Her career has spanned nine years and she was the only female on her team until sixth grade.

Although Kelly is active in other sports, wrestling is her passion. She is a field hockey goalie. She enjoys that fall sport, but nothing gives her the rush of pinning an opponent.

"She just decided that (wrestling) was what she wanted to do." said her mother, Cheryl Golek, adding that Kelly always wrestled with her brother when they were younger. "She has played all other sports, but wrestling was where she wanted to be."

With a slew of impressive statistics, Kelly has made quite a name for herself and was the only female in Class A to make it to the state championship this year. She placed fourth.

Kelly has competed on the varsity level all three years at Mt. Ararat and has qualified for regionals every year at the 103-pound weight class. She also has three appearances in the state tournament under her belt.

One career highlight saw Kelly nearly pin D.J. Brackett, a state champ from Morse High School, last year. "I had him down for a while, but he got the win and I got the points," she said.

"I also placed first in the high school division at the Maine Games last summer and second in the Open Division ... this qualifies me to attend the State Games of America in 2009 in Colorado Springs," added Kelly. "My brother and I both qualified to go in 2007 but we couldn't make it."

Both Kelly and Michael, who placed fourth at 171 pounds in the State Class A Championships, have qualified for the upcoming tournament in 2009 and hope to attend this time around.

Kelly also made her mark at the inaugural Maine High School Girls Wrestling Invitational at Mt. Blue H.S. in Farmington.

"This was the first year that they had a Maine State Girls tournament," said Kelly. More than 55 girls wrestled in eight different weight classes and 31 teams participated. Kelly placed first at 110 pounds.

"She was shoulders above all the other girls since she wrestles with boys," said longtime Mt. Ararat wrestling assistant coach Mark Nowak.

"The girls have to stay in the lower weight classes when they are wrestling coed (because) once you get in the 119 and the higher classes, the boys are just too powerful," added Nowak.

No distinct style
When it comes down to sparring on the mats, Kelly offered, "I don't have a distinct style. My freshman year, pretty much the move I always did was the Peterson Roll." She said that the popular move she uses against her opponents usually depends on whom she is facing.

Even with her slender stature, Kelly admitts that she rarely gets nervous and has no trouble keeping her focus before a match.

"A lot of the time, I won't even go over and look at the brackets that are posted because I don't always like to know who I'm wrestling. Then I'll end up focusing on that too much," she said.

"I will be competing in the Massachusetts United States Girls Wrestling Association State Wrestling Championships on March 8. I placed second there in 2006 and third in 2007," Kelly added. "I will also be going to the New England USGWA Girls Wrestling Championships on March 15, also in Massachusetts. I took second there in 2007. Then I'm off to Livonia, Michigan, for the (10th anniversary) USGWA National Championships on March 29-30, with hopes to place in the top seven."

"Women from all 50 states will be represented there. Last year there were over 700 women competing. " said Nowak.

Admittedly, Kelly has never really had to be concerned with making weight until this year. Which, to many wrestlers, can make or break your season.

To stay within 103 pounds, she usually only had to lose two or three pounds to make weight throughout the season. "I cut back on junk food and ate a lot of protein. I ate a lot of tuna cans."

"Kelly works really hard," said Nowak.

Kelly wrestles as often as she can to stay competitive. In the off-season, she enters several tournaments and trains regularly by running and lifting weights.

She also devotes a lot of her time by helping out the middle school wrestling team. "Right now they're learning basics. A lot of them are still working on moves. I help teach them by showing examples," she said.

Looking ahead, Kelly is searching for colleges that will allow her to continue her wrestling career at a competitive level and satisfy her academic needs.

She is interested in studying computer engineering and is currently looking at Western New England and Springfield University, both of which have coed wrestling teams.

After college Kelly said, "I have considered being a coach some day. I was hoping that maybe after I graduate college, if I was able to get time, I would come back to Mt. Ararat to help coach."

"Kelly will be one of the first girls to wrestle all four years at Mt. Ararat since my daughter Lisa (Nowak)," said Nowak. "Not many girls in the state go all four years."

Lisa Nowak wrestled at Mt. Ararat high school in 1996. She was the only female at the time who wrestled side-by-side with the boys. When Lisa was denied to wrestle at Oxford Hills High School back on Jan. 15, 1996, she decided to take action. "Ironically on Martin Luther King Jr. Day," said Mark Nowak.

According to her father, after Lisa's rejection at Oxford, she decided that she was going to pursue gaining rights that allowed females to wrestle competively with boys.

Lisa and Mark filed a complaint with the Maine Human Rights Commission and the Maine Association of Principals that would allow females to compete in contact sports.

At the time there were only two sports which female participation was not permitted: boxing and wrestling.

Mark Nowak was Kelly's first coach nine years ago and still coaches her now. And Lisa? She still serves as a source of inspiration for one Kelly Golek, wrestling extraordinaire.

WRESTLING NOTES

3/8/08

C.C. WEBER AND Sammy Jenerou, the only two girls at this year's state finals, both saw their tournament run end on Friday morning. Weber, a junior from Goodrich, and Jenerou, a senior from Newberry, lost their first two matches; Weber in Division 3 and Jenerou in Division 4. Weber's season ends with a 51-15 record, while Jenerou finished at 14-11.