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Oklahoma City March 17, 2008
U.S. Olympic Education
 Center freestyle 
resident athlete, Sadie Kaneda, was crowned champion
 while four of her 
team mates also made the gold medal round at the fifth
 annual Women’s 
College Wrestling Association Freestyle National
 Championships,  held 
at Abe Lemons Arena on the campus of Oklahoma City
 University on 
Saturday.  
 
Northern Michigan University junior Kaneda, for the
 second time this 
year, stopped 2006 Jr. World Champion Nicole Woody of
 Oklahoma City 
University, 1-0, 6-0.
 
Champions at the seven World Championship weight
 classes, (48 kg, 51 
kg, 55 kg, 59 kg, 63 kg, 67 kg and 72 kg) qualified
 for the U.S. 
Olympic Team Trials for Wrestling on June 13-15 at the
 Thomas and Mack 
Center in Las Vegas so Kaneda has punched her ticket
 for the final 
Olympic team qualifier.
 
In a battle of Jr. World Bronze medalists, NMU
 sophomore Alyssa Lampe, 
a USOEC freestyle resident athlete, fell short in her
 bid for a first 
WCWA title to Jessica Medina from the University of
 the Cumberlands 
0-1, 7-2, 1-0.  
 
Lampe decided minutes before the weigh to wrestle up
 one weight class 
to allow her team mate, Kaneda, the opportunity to
 qualify for the U.S. 
Olympic Team Trials.
 
Fourth seeded NMU freshman Linsdey Brooks, a USOEC
 freestyle resident 
athlete, surpassed her seed and won a silver medal at
 her first WCWA 
tournament.  Brooks beat number 1 seed Lacey Novinska
 from Missouri 
Valley College in the semi finals on her way to the
 gold medal finals.  
Former USOEC freestyle resident athlete Melissa
 Simmons outlasted 
Brooks in a 3 period thriller 1-1, 1-1, 1-0.
 
The U.S. Olympic Education Center freestyle resident
 athlete on the 
campus of Northern Michigan University pushed 5 of 6
 athletes in to the 
final round and placed 4th as a team to University of
 the Cumberlands, 
Oklahoma City University, and Missouri Valley College
 who all brought 
athletes in the non contested Olympic or world
 championship weights of 
44kg, 80kg, and 95 kg.  
 
USOEC silver medalists included NMU senior Amy
 Borgnini and NMU junior 
Nikki Darrow.
 
At 59 kg Amber Miracle, an NMU freshman, also debuted
 in the WCWA and 
looked impressive. 
 
Marquette Senior High School USOEC freestyle resident
 athletes, who are 
ineligible for the Women’s College Wrestling
 Association Freestyle 
National Championships, Schuyler Brown 63kg and Erin
 Clodgo 67kg own 
victories over the reigning or current WCWA 2008
 champions in their 
respective weight classes.
 
The USOEC freestyle resident athlete program now will
 prepare for the 
world championship qualifiers or the Jr. World
 Championships, the World 
University Championships, and the Olympic Games to be
 held in April, 
May, and June.
 
USOEC results
48 kg 1st - Sadie Kaneda
51 kg 2nd Place - Alyssa Lampe
55 kg 2nd Place - Amy Borgnini
59 kg 2nd Place - Nikki Darrow
59 kg DNP - Amber Miracle
72 kg 2nd Place - Lindsey Brooks

Michigan

CC Weber, Goodrich
Weber, a sophomore on the wrestling team, became just the second area girl to win a district title when she won the 103-lb. crown at the Goodrich-hosted Division 3 individual district last Saturday.

http://viewnewspapers.net/moxie2/sports/standouts/gb-standouts-22207.shtmlhttp://viewnewspapers.net/moxie2/sports/standouts/gb-standouts-22207.shtml

Mark Weber, Goodrich
Weber, a junior on the wrestling team, won his third district title, this time at 125 lbs., at the Goodrich-hosted Divison 3 individual district last Saturday. Weber needed just one win on the day to win the crown.

Michigan

By Michael Selecky 3/19/08
VIEW Sports Writer

Weber and Garr to appear on ESPN
CC Weber and Kristi Garr, two of Goodrich’s top female wrestlers will be in the national spotlight March 9 on ESPN’s Sunday morning program, Outside the Lines, that will profile female high school wrestlers.
Weber, a three-year varsity wrestler, has a 104-29 career record and is 51-13 this season. She placed second at the Genesee Area Conference meet and earned a Div. 3 individual district title on Feb. 16.
Weber also has the most single-season wins for an area girl, topping the mark of 50-12 posted by Davison wrestler Keristen LaBelle in 2000, and is the first area girl to qualify for the individual state tournament twice.

RICHMOND — The Goodrich wrestling program is currently engulfed in a season of glory with accomplishments simmering over from every nook and cranny, both on a team level as well as individually.
After defeating LakeVille and Powers by a combined score of 138-12 to win district No. 190-3 on Feb. 14, the Martians traveled to Richmond last Wednesday for the regional No. 123-3 portion of the state’s postseason tournament, twice earning decisive victories to become the regional champion.
Goodrich first defeated host Richmond, 46-18, before besting Capac, 61-9, for the title. Capac also beat Birch Run, 45-29.
Going 2-0 on the day for the Martians were CC Weber (103), David Garr (119), Kirk Britton (125), Grant Overcashier (130), Mark Weber (135), Kyle March (171), Kyler Elsworth (189/215) and Nick Lovell (215/285).
Coming in at 1-1 were Kristi Garr (112), Joe Hopkins (140), Nick Gatchell (152/145) and Jarrad LaBelle (145/152), while Drew Weil (160) was 1-0 and Brad Armstrong (160), Ryan LaBarge (189) and Carlin Rettberg (285) were 0-1.
Also present at last Wednesday’s team regional was a camera crew from ESPN, on site for a story on Martian female grapplers CC Weber and Kristi Garr. Weber, a three-year varsity performer, has a 104-29 record for her career and is 51-13 this season. She also took second place at the Genesee Area Conference meet before notching a Division 3 individual district championship on Feb. 16.
CC Weber also has the most single-season wins for an area girl, topping the mark of 50-12 posted by Davison wrestler Keristen LaBelle in 2000, and is the first area girl to qualify for the individual state tournament twice. The footage will air March 9 on the ESPN Sunday morning show Outside the Lines.
The Martians advance to the quarterfinals against Gladstone (10-3) tomorrow at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek at 3:15 p.m.
Last Saturday, Goodrich hosted the 12-3 Individual wrestling regional, entering 11 total wrestlers, including CC Weber, who came in fourth. The top four wrestlers in each class move on to the next level of competition.
At 119 lbs., David Garr came in third, Joe Hopkins (140) was also third, Kristi Garr (103) went 0-2, including a loss by forfeit to CC Weber, and Nick Lovell (215) went
1-2.
Those placing first for the Martians include Kirk Britton (125), who topped Pete Rendina of Dundee 4-2 to take the title, and Mark Weber (135) defeated Scott Cousino of Erie Mason to take the top spot while seeking his third straight state championship.
Coming in second was Grant Overcashier (130), whose first loss of the year came by forfeit to Andrew Schutt of Yale in the championship match, and Nick Gatchell (145) lost to Jordan Dusseau 11-4 in the title bout to also finish second.
With a 7-4 win over Josh Crawford of Birch Run, Kyle March took the 171 lb.-weight class, and Kyler Elsworth (189) beat Mike Lasinski of Richmond 3-1 to take a hard fought victory, as well as a regional title.
The remaining nine Martians will compete March 6 at the Palace of Auburn Hills in the Individual wrestling finals in Div. 3.
GRAND BLANC
Last Saturday, the Bobcats sent three wrestlers to compete in the Div. 1-1 Individual wrestling regional at Hartland, with Terrance Frank (112) placing first, Ryan Hargraves (152) taking second and Ric Hogerheide coming in fourth. The top four wrestlers in each class move on to the next level of competition.
Frank (112) started out by pinning John Schehl of Midland in the second period, before moving on to defeat Spencer Hellner of Hartland, 21-11. In his final match of the day, Frank bested Devin Boria of Milford, 20-9, to take the title.
Hargraves (152) started out by beating Reyes Saldana of Davison, 10-2, and then edged out Zach Lang of Bay City Western, 5-2. In the title bout, Hargraves was pinned in the second period by CJ Barton of Bay City Western.
After losing his first match to Josh Goodman of Carman-Ainsworth, Hogerheide (130) topped Angel Rodriguez of Saginaw Arthur Hill, 8-4, and then dropped Sean Hultberg of Hartland, 8-5. Ryan McKenna of Davison then defeated Hogerheide 9-3 in the battle for third place.
Top four finishers now move on to compete March 6 at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Div. 1 of the Individual wrestling finals.

Illinois

Youth wrestling

3/19/08
GLADSTONE — MacKenzie Parish of Gladstone placed second at Illinois USGWA State Championship in Skokie, IL. She represents the Gladstone Youth Wrestling Club.

By Ivan Palacios 3/1908
Pacific Daily News
impalacios@guampdn.com

Dunn is a 2004 graduate of Simon Sanchez High School, and resided in Yigo.

'Nervous'

Seven wrestlers were chosen from the Oceania Championships to participate in the Olympics. Dunn was listed as having qualified for the Olympics on the Web site for FILA, wrestling's world governing body.

"They don't just pick anybody. They monitor us and they look at competitions that we have entered and decide from there," Dunn said. "They looked at my background and saw what tournaments I've entered and how well I did. I am just so thankful right now," she said.

Dunn, who was on an athletic scholarship at Missouri Valley College in Missouri, placed second in the nation when she competed in the National College Championships in 2006. Since then, Dunn transferred out of Missouri Valley and is now wrestling in Hawaii. She also won gold at the 2006 U.S. National Girls' Wrestling Tournament in Michigan.

'Represent'

Dunn also thanked Roman Dela Cruz of Fokai Industries for all the support.

"Thanks, Rome, and, of course, to all the boys of Purebred/Spike 22 Academy, Melchor Manibusan, Steve Roberto and to all of you who helped me out, you know who you are."

Canada

Women's Wrestling Earns 2nd Place Nationals Finish

3/19/08

Summary:

The Boxers are little phased by the change in wrestling style, taking second place honors at the first NCWA Women's Nationals as eight Boxers earn All-American honors

LAKELAND, Fla. - The shift from freestyle wrestling to collegiate-style wrestling did little to slow Pacific down in terms of their presence on the national scene as the Boxers wrestle to a second place in the first National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) Women's National Championships, which finished Sunday at the George Jenkins Arena.

Pacific finished with 50 teams points to earn their third runner-up finish in a national meet since the creation of the program in the 2001-02 season. Simon Fraser won the first championship, scoring 64 points. Overall, Pacific saw six wrestlers finish as national runners-up in their weight classes and eight earn All-American honors.

"This was a great tournament and the NCWA is a great fit for the program," said Pacific Head Coach Scott Miller, who was named the NCWA's Women's Division Coach of the Year. "We are already in discussions for future scheduling with a number of the programs competing. This should significantly increase our home match opportunities."

The Boxers saw second place finishes from Candace Sakamoto (So., Kaneohe, Hawaii) at 48 kilograms, Valerie Prise (Sr., Diamond Bar, Calif., pictured) at 51 kilograms, Alenna Nilsen (Jr., Petersburg, Alaska) at 59 kilograms, Samantha Stych (Fr., Oxnard, Calif.) at 63 kilograms, Jade Anderson (Fr., Simi Valley, Calif.) at 67 kilograms and Ashley Truchan (Sr., Hilo, Hawaii) at 80 kilograms. Summer Scott (Jr., Castro Valley, Calif.) was third at 55 kilograms and Summer Steenberg (Fr., Sequim, Wash.) placed third at 59 kilograms.

Sakamoto remained undefeated right up until the final, losing in the championship final to Simon Fraser's Marianne Siglios in a third round pin. Prise also went undefeated in her bracket until the final, dropping a 14-7 decision to Douglas' Sevenh Palani. Prise advanced to the championship thanks to a pair of two falls in the round-robin bracket.

Nilsen went 3-0 and posted a pair of pins under 30 seconds to make her way into the championship final where she too took a loss to a wrestler from the champion Clan, losing in a first round pin to Miranda Dick. Anderson, meanwhile, went 2-2 in the 67-kilogram bracket, tying with two other wrestlers. She was named the second place finisher based on criteria.

Stych and Truchan both placed second in smaller brackets. Stych advanced to the 63-kilogram championship with a fall over Florida's Kayte Susse before taking a 16-6 loss to Simon Fraser's Raisa Dickenson. Truchan needed just 28 seconds to Pin Southern Virginia's Ann Fowler to advanced to the 80-kilogram final, where she was pinned by Simon Fraser's Erin Church.

Scott nearly pulled off the upset of the tournament to open the 55-kilogram bracket. In her first round match, Scott roared back from a 10-2 deficit to Simon Fraser's Rita Pare to tie the match at 14-14 and appeared to have Pare pinned in the third round. Pare turned things around to score a quick pin in the late seconds of the match and went on to win the bracket and the tournament's outstanding wrestler award.

Steenberg went 2-2 in the 59-kilogram class, scoring a pair of first round pins over Leila Schultz and Bridget Gonzalez, both from Southern Virginia.

NCWA WOMEN'S NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS
At George Jenkins Arena, Lakeland, Fla.
All Matches Wrestled Collegiate Style

TEAM SCORES: Simon Fraser, 64, Pacific 50, Douglas (B.C.) 10, Florida 8, Lock Haven 7, UC Santa Barbara 4, Southern Virginia 4, San Jose State 0, Stony Brook 0, Texas-Arlington 0.

CANDACE SAKAMOTO (105.5, 3-1, 2nd Place, All-American)
1st Round: win by dec. over Anai Nova (UC Santa Barbara), 4-0
2nd Round: win by fall over Diana Feng (Florida), 1:00
3rd Round: win by dec. over over Olqui Mar Suarez (Florida), 5-0
Championship: lost by fall to Marianne Siglos (Simon Fraser), 3rd Round

VALERIE PRISE (112.25, 2-1, 2nd Place, All-American)
1st Round: win by fall over Jenny Benoist (Lock Haven), 1:48
2nd Round: win by fall over Lexi Douglas (Florida), 1st Round
Championship: lost by dec. to Seveenh Palani (Douglas), 14-7

SUMMER SCOTT (121, 1-2, 3rd Place, All-American)
1st Round: lost by fall to Rita Pare (Simon Fraser), 5:53
2nd Round: lost by dec. to Rachael Groft (Lock Haven), 6-5
Consolation Final: win by fall over Teresa Ayala (Pacific), 3rd Round

TERESA AYALA (121, 0-3, DNP)
1st Round: lost by fall to Rachael Groft (Lock Haven), 6:53
2nd Round: lost by fall to Rita Pare (Simon Fraser), 1st Round
Consolation Final: lost by fall to Summer Scott (Pacific), 3rd Round

ALENNA NILSEN (130, 3-1, 2nd Place, All-American)
1st Round: win by fall over Leila Schultz (Southern Virginia), 0:22
2nd Round: win by fall over Bridget Gonzalez (Southern Virginia), 0:09
3rd Round: win by dec. over Summer Steenberg (Pacific), 2-1
Championship: lost by fall to Miranda Dick (Simon Fraser), 1st Round

SUMMER STEENBERG (130, 2-2, 3rd Place, All-American)
1st Round: lost by fall to Miranda Dick (Simon Fraser), 6:49
2nd Round: win by fall over Leila Schultz (Southern Virginia), 0:45
3rd Round: lost by dec. to Alenna Nilsen (Pacific), 2-1
Consolation Final: win by fall over Bridget Gonzalez (Southern Virginia), 1st Round

SAMANTHA STYCH (138.75, 1-1, 2nd Place, All-American)
Semifinals: win by fall over Kayte Susse (Florida), 1st Round
Championship: lost by maj. dec. to Raisa Dickenson (Simon Fraser), 16-6

JADE ANDERSON (147.5, 2-2, 2nd Place, All-American)
1st Round: win by dec. over Katharina Spotzl (Simon Fraser), 6-0
2nd Round: lost by fall to Stacie Anaka (Simon Fraser), 0:34
3rd Round: win by fall over Alexa Reynolds (Lock Haven), 1st Round
4th Round: lost by dec. to Deni Torgenson (Simon Fraser), 13-9

ASHLEY TRUCHAN (175, 1-1, 2nd Place, All-American)
Semifinals: win by fall over Ann Fowler (Southern Virginia), 0:28
Championship: lost by fall to Erin Church (Simon Fraser), 0:44

MOST OUTSTANDING WRESTLER: Rita Pare, Simon Fraser
NCWA WOMEN'S DIVISION COACH OF THE YEAR: Scott Miller, Pacific

Posted by Blake Timm (timmbr@pacificu.edu) on Mar 19, 2008 at 7:58 AM

Australia

Wrestler Kyla hurts and heals

By Amy Dale

March 20, 2008 12:00am

Mild-mannered ... Kyla Bremner in her day job as a medical intern at Bankstown Hospital and (inset) as an Olympic wrestler. Main photograph: Adam Ward

WHAT if you had the knowledge to hold a human life in your hands?

What if you had the physical strength to subdue someone with such force that you could make an Olympic wrestling team?

And what if you had both?

Welcome to the life of Kyla Bremner - the Sydney doctor who often heals and hurts on the same day.

Bremner, who was born in Canada but has lived in Australia for over 10 years, is about to become the first woman to represent Australia in wrestling at the Olympics.

She juggles her training program for the Beijing Olympics with her work as a medical intern at Bankstown Hospital.

Currently Australia's top-ranked wrestler, Bremner, 31, completed her medical degree at Sydney University before spending the last two years working in hospitals in rural NSW, only this week returning from a three-week stint at Wagga.

It is a hard balancing act.

Her doctor's role requires long, hard hours and combined with training for sport's ultimate goal, Bremner isn't left with much relaxation time.

"I keep my private life away from work, so none of my patients would know about Beijing," she said. "But I do talk about it a lot with colleagues and they have been fantastic.

"They have been OK swapping shifts with me at late notice when I have had to train or travel ... they are usually very happy to help me out.

"I have had to become very disciplined with balancing work and training, even though it means I don't get a lot of time to see my friends or family."

But this matters little now that she's Beijing-bound.

"I am just so, so excited," Bremner said. "To be the first woman to wrestle for Australia is something I'm proud of . . . now I just can't wait to get over there."

Bremner pre-qualified for selection at the Oceania trials in Canberra last month, but only after some confusion over whether the sport's governing body FILA would grant seven places on the Australian team, was she given her chance.

Bremner had an accidental start to her wrestling career.

"I was going to university in Canada when an international wrestling tour visited and I went to watch a friend who was participating," she said.

"They were looking to start up a women's team and watching it just fascinated me, so I decided to have a go myself.

"It progressed from there."

While Bremner will be travelling with six male wrestlers chosen to compete, she says she has at least one friend on the Beijing team.

"I went to uni with one of the canoeists, Lachlan Milne, but I don't know a lot of the other wrestlers particularly well," she said. "I would be so thrilled to win a medal, but I think a top-10 finish would be amazing."

USA

Women’s College Wrestling Association formed to manage women’s college freestyle wrestling

Gary Abbott USA Wrestling
03/20/2008

During the fifth annual Women’s College Freestyle National Championships, held this past weekend in Oklahoma City, Okla., coaches from the women’s college wrestling teams formed a new organization to oversee their sport.

The Women’s College Wrestling Association (WCWA) was created by a vote of the coaches in attendance.

The coaches voted to name their annual national tournament the WCWA Women’s College Freestyle National Championships.

Elected as Commissioner of the WCWA was Kevin Black of River Falls, Wis. Elected as Communications Director for the WCWA was Cisco Cole of Jamestown, N.D.

The WCWA coaches voted unanimously to host their competitions and national championships in freestyle wrestling.

The WCWA coaches voted to change the women’s college season, holding the WCWA National Championships at the end of January starting next season. At the conclusion of the regular college season, the teams will participate in the USA Wrestling national women’s season beginning each February.

Also approved was the concept of hosting the WCWA Women’s College Nationals in the same site for two straight years. The approved rotation for the event, pending scheduling confirmation, is to host the event again next year at Oklahoma City University, followed in the rotation with two years at Missouri Valley College.

The coaches agreed upon eligibility rules for athletes, the scoring system for the national championships, weigh-in procedures and organizational dues, among other topics.

The WCWA plans another meeting this spring at the USA Wrestling University National Championships in Akron, Ohio in April.