Culver Academies Kayla Miracle, who made
history when she became the first female to qualify for the state
wrestling meet, dropped a 4-0 decision to Garrett’s Hayden Lee in
Friday’s opening round at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Miracle, who finished the season 42-6, got
taken down by the seventh-ranked Lee 54 seconds into the match and then
gave up two near-fall points with 37 seconds left in the third period.
Purchase ImageZoom
Kayla Miracle, from Culver Academies, waits for the second period to
start as she battles Hayden Lee from Garrett in the opening round of
the IHSAA State Wrestling Tourney at Bankers LIfe Fieldhouse Friday.
Miracle is the first female to reach the individual state finals for
wrestling in Indiana. She lost in three rounds 4-0. / MIke Fender / The
Star
“I just wrestled to wrestle and tried to leave it all out the
match,” said Miracle, who had a large contingent of fans cheering
for her. “I was nervous before, but once I walked (onto the
floor) it was just another match.”
Miracle already has an appreciation for her historical
accomplishment. “It feels great,” she said. “And it
felt great having all those supporters out there.”
=======================================================================================================
Iowa
Posted: 7:00 PM Feb 17, 2012
Megan Black holds a place in the state record books as the first girl
to win a contested match at the Iowa High School Wrestling Tournament.
She won Thursday, but lost her second-round match on Friday.
Reporter: The Associated Press
Email Address: sixonline@wowt.com
Megan Black holds a place in the state record books as the first girl
to win a contested match at the Iowa High School Wrestling Tournament.
She won Thursday, but lost her second-round match on Friday.
The junior from Eddyville-Blakesburg defeated Jacob Schmit of Don Bosco
10-0 at 106 pounds Thursday, then lost Friday to Taylor Curtis from
Underwood. She'll continue to wrestle in the consolation bracket. She
said her goal was to earn a spot on the medal stand at the tournament.
Black is actually the second girl to win a match at the tournament.
Last year, Cassy Herkelman garnered national headlines when she won
because her opponent refused to wrestle her.
Posted: Feb 17, 2012 7:37 PM CST Updated: Feb 17, 2012 7:38 PM CST
By Emily Longnecker -
INDIANAPOLIS -
Kayla Miracle became the first female to wrestle in the state finals
Friday night
A Bloomington girl made state wrestling history Friday night.
Under the bright lights of Bankers Life Fieldhouse, 15-year-old Kayla
Miracle, a sophomore from the Culver Academies, became the first female
ever to reach the state finals in wrestling in Indiana.
"I just wrestled and left everything out on the mat," Miracle said of
her performance Friday night.
She ended up finishing eighth in her weight class, but was thankful to
have made it to where she did.
"It's not what I wanted, of course. Everyone wants to win on Friday
night, but at least I made it here and I can say I made it here,"
Miracle said.
The young woman has run into her share of naysayers, people who felt a
girl shouldn't be wrestling against boys.
"I don't want to be treated like a girl. I want to be treated like any
other wrestler," she said.
When she hits the mat, Miracle says she's not thinking about the gender
of her opponent. She's just thinking about winning.
"What my coach says to me is 'I want to go out and ruin kids' dreams',"
Miracle said.
When it comes to dreams, Miracle has a few more of her own. She hopes
to return to the state finals next year, but beyond that, she's gunning
to make the Women's Olympic Wrestling Team in 2016.
===========================================================================================================
USA
Video
In Indiana and Alabama, a girl reached the finals of the boys’
high school wrestling tournament for the first time in either
states’ histories. In Iowa, a girl won a contested finals match
for the first time in the state’s history (a girl won last year
when her male opponent famously bowed out because his religious faith
made him uncomfortable with the idea of wrestling a female.) In
Colorado, two girls made the boys’ state wrestling final,
including one girl who was there for her third straight year. In
Washington state, where the girls have a separate tournament, there
soon could be the first high school title-winning brother-sister combo
in the state’s, and perhaps the United States’, history.
Six years after the first girl won a boys’ state wrestling
tournament (Michaela Hutchison, in Alaska), the sight of girls
competing against boys at the highest scholastic level is growing more
common, if not still noteworthy.
For wrestling, the increasing success of girls could be is a very good
thing — good enough, perhaps, to save the sport.
As the National Wrestling Coaches Association has frequently pointed
out, wrestling has been hit hard by Title IX, the 1972 law that
mandated, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of
sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or
be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity
receiving Federal financial assistance… .” Wrestling and
its advocates (such as author John Irving) have often and loudly
proclaimed that Title IX, whatever its good intentions, has been
devastating for the sport.
Actually, high school participation in wrestling by boys has grown
steadily, up to 273,732 at 10,407 high schools in 2010-11, according to
the latest National Federation of State High School Associations
participation data survey. That makes wrestling the sixth-most popular
sport among high school boys. But as the National Wrestling Coaches
Association (which has sued over Title IX enforcement) notes, 475
collegiate wrestling teams have been eliminated since 1972, leaving
only 328 left. So scholarship opportunities are extremely limited, and
dwindling, for those 273,732 boys.
How does girls’ participation enter in this? Because here is what
the National Wrestling Coaches Association lists first as the reason
wrestling has been targeted to even out male-female participation
numbers, especially as athletic budgets tightened: “Current
interpretation of Title IX resulted in wrestling being an early target
for elimination because it did not have a female counterpart.”
As it turns out, the wrestling coaches might have an easier time saving
their sport by embracing girls’ participation and using Title IX
to their advantage.
In 1985-86, my senior year in high school, there was one girl
wrestling, according to the NFHS participation survey, which is filled
out by member high school athletic associations. That’s one girl
in all of the United States.
But growth came steadily, and by 2005-06, Michaela Hutchison’s
state finals-winning year, there were 4,975 girls wrestling at 1,081
schools. In 2010-11, the latest information available, NFHS reported a
record 7,351 girls wrestling, representing 1,215 schools.
The growth of girls wrestling isn’t just at the high school
level. The U.S. Girls Wrestling Association has a whole circuit of
independent tournaments for school-age kids, and there are worldwide
tournaments as well. That the Olympics has offered women’s
freestyle wrestling since 2004 is an inducement for girls, as are the
small but growing number of collegiate women’s wrestling programs.
In recent years, the fastest growth in participation has come from
states, such as Hawaii, Texas, California and Washington, that have set
up state tournaments for both girls and boys wrestling. The number of
schools noted in NFHS survey data doesn’t mean that many schools
have set up girls’ programs. They represent the number of schools
who said they have girls in wrestling. Some states without girls’
wrestling programs reported the number of participants, but put down
“0″ for the number of schools, figuring that was correct
answer if no school offered a dedicated girls program. Even in states
with girls’ programs, often those wrestlers will compete against
boys as well to fill out their schedule.
“If you would have asked me 12 or 13 years ago if women belonged
in the sport, I would have laughed in your face,” Terry Steiner,
a former champion at Iowa, told The Indianapolis Star. “No
way.”
Steiner isn’t laughing anymore. In fact, he’s coach of the
U.S. women’s national wrestling team. ”Wrestling truly is a
sport for everyone,” Steiner told the Star. “That’s
what our attitude needs to be as coaches.”
The perfect-for-an-inspirational-sports-movie-named Kayla Miracle, a
15-year-old wrestling in the Indiana state boys tournament for Culver
Academies, told the Star she doesn’t care about what the boys
think of her wrestling — and beating them. ”You have to
have the mind-set that you are going out to crush dreams,” she
said.
Looks like somebody already made that inspirational sports movie
featuring, and playing off the name of, Kayla Miracle.
The irony is, the more wrestlers like Miracle can crush the dreams of
boys in the state tournament, the more the sport itself can thrive, and
perhaps make real the dream of reversing the losses of wrestling
opportunities for boys at the college level.
Is more female participation a guarantee that will happen? Of course
not. (Ask those affiliated with men’s gymnastics, suffering even
though there are longstanding women’s programs.) But
wrestling’s best hope is that with more girls in the sport, it
won’t serve as the easy Title IX target it’s complained of
being.
by USA Today Feed on Feb. 17, 2012, under USA Today News
A 106-pound Iowa junior made history Thursday night as the first female
in 90 years to win a contested match at the Iowa state wrestling
tournament,, The Des Moines Register reports.
The two-time state qualifier advances to today’s Class 1-A
quarterfinals.
“I’m happy,” Megan Black, of Eddyville-Blakesburg,
said, according to the newspaper. “I guess I got a win, but I
wish I would have finished stronger.”
Black, along with Cassy Herkelman of Cedar Falls, became the first
females to qualify last year, but Black lost her two matches.
Herkelman made national headlines by winning her match, but only
because her male opponent refused to compete with her.
By MARK PAWLAK - T-R Assistant Sports Editor
(mpawlak@timesrepublican.com) , Times-Republican
Save | Post a comment |
DES MOINES - Chalk one up for the girls, with a shade of black.
Megan Black of Eddyville-Blakesburg became the first girl to win a
contested match at the Iowa High School State Wrestling Championships
with her 10-0 major decision on Thursday.
"I'm not really thinking about the history part of it yet because I'm
still not done here," Black said.
The junior 106-pounder was far and away the better wrestler on the mat
in her Class 1A matchup with Jacob Schmit of Don Bosco. Black
participated in the state championships last year as well while she was
at Ottumwa High School, but went 0-2.
Cassy Herkelman of Cedar Falls became the first girl to win in the
state tournament as she took a match by default last winter. She went
on to lose her next two contested matches.
Black (11-1) faces Taylor Curtis of Underwood (54-3 and ranked fourth
in the state) in today's quarterfinal round. Black must win one out of
a possible two matches in the first Class 1A session to be a
placewinner.
"Last year's two losses were definitely motivation to go out and get
two wins this year," Black said. "I want to be on the medal stand and
the higher up the better."
Black was a little disappointed when talking to the press afterward as
she was unable to escape from Schmit late in the third period, but she
did not allow any points.
"I think this is just a beginning. I hope to go out and win my one
tomorrow and just keep it going," Black said.
Central
Valley High School's girls wrestling program had a respectable showing
at the CIF Regional Tournament earlier this month in Stockton.
The Hawks placed 10th at the 77-team even with a score of 51.
"I had anticipated finishing in the top five," Central Valley head
coach Rob Beckhart said. "I know that could have happened. We just came
out a little sluggish, which cost us some team points."
The top four individuals in each weight class qualified for state.
Hawk senior Rose Moore managed to earn a berth despite dropping her
first match.
Central Valley teammates Malynda Lomeli, Zaira Reynoso, Lexy Cordova,
Andrea Rodriguez, Gabby Hernandez and Andrea Vera failed to advance.
"It's difficult after you lose in the first round and have to wrestle
back to place," Beckhart said. "All but one of our girls were in that
position."
Moore, the No. 1 seed in the 114-pound division, finished fourth.
She won four of her six matches and improved to 23-4 on the year.
Rose wrestled sick and injured.
She was edged out for third place in quadruple overtime.
"I was happy but so tired after my final match," Moore said.
Said Beckhart: "She didn't look like herself but she's a tough
competitor. She had to win four matches in a row to make it to state.
She's got three weeks to get well. Once you get to state, everybody is
good.
Lomeli, Central Valley's 126-pound grappler, compiled a 3-3 record en
route to a sixth-place finish despite being unseeded. She won her first
match.
"I really felt she should have placed in the top four," Beckhart said.
"But she was dealing with a shoulder injury that kept her from
wrestling at 100 percent. She wasn't able to get up off the bottom
because of that."
Lomeli, a junior, compiled a 20-8 record this season.
"She's a tough girl," Beckhart said. "She has a fiery personality. She
videotapes all of her matches and watches them back. She wants to get
better. That's a great trait to have."
Reynoso, Cordova, Rodriguez, Hernandez and Vera were all defeated in
the opening round, along with Moore.
Zaira, a sophomore, placed in the top 12 in the 165-pound class. She
won two of four matches and finished 6-14 on the year.
"I did not expect that at all," Beckhart said. "She's turning into a
better wrestler. I wish she had more tournaments to go to this year."
Cordova (122 pounds, 1-2 record), Rodriguez (103s, 1-2), Hernandez
(138s, 0-2) and Vera (132s, 0-2) did not place.
Rodriguez wrestled with two cracked ribs.
The Regional Tournament was held, Feb. 3-4, at McNair High School.
The second annual CIF Girls State Wrestling Invitational will be
staged, Feb. 24-25, in Lemoore.
"It's important for the sport to recognize girls wrestling and to
support it," Beckhart said. "It's a different style compared to boys.
Girls are a lot more limber and athletic in certain circumstances. I've
had to learn how to coach it. It's been fun."
==========================================================================================================
Washington
Charboneau is undefeated and ranked No. 1 in her weight class. Her
girls wrestling team enters the tournament ranked No. 5 in the state
with a chance to take home the team title. Savannah Phillips (106
pounds), Casey Mather (112 pounds and cousin of Stanwood boys coach Ray
Mather) and Ruthie Karlburg (137 pounds) are ranked in the top eight of
their weight classes. Charboneau could be the best of the bunch. After
placing fifth in 2010, she finished second in 2011.
BRANDON JOHNSON 285 pounds | Jr., Lake Stevens
Johnson enters this year's tournament as the second-ranked wrestler in
his weight class. He's one of just four heavyweights in the tournament
who have wrestled in Tacoma before. Johnson is one of four regional
champions for Lake Stevens, along with Ryan Olliges (senior, 182
pounds), Kinsey Johnson (senior, 138 pounds) and Eric Soler (junior,
126 pounds). All four are ranked in the top three in their respective
weight classes, and if all four make it to the finals, it would give
Lake Stevens a chance to knock off the Mat Classic favorite (Mead) and
defend its Class 4A state team title.
-
LOCAL WRESTLERS COMPETING
CLASS 4A — 106: David Garcia (K), Noah Cuzzetto (EW), Alex
Rodrigo (LS); 113: Joshua Heitzman (K), Gino Obregon (Sno); 120: Steven
Speer (Sno), Josh Langstaff (Stan); 126: Eric Soler (LS), Connor
Gonzales (A), Killian Page (MP); 132: Greg Eagle (Sno), Christian
Mendoza (MP), Scotty Bardell (A); 138: Kinsey Johnson (LS), Zac Duncan
(Cas); 145: Matthew Cuzzetto (EW), Austin Gershmel (LS), Max Welsh (M);
152: Zach Schut (St); 160: Ammon Morrill (Sno), Shawn Berg (A); 170:
Zach Perez (EW), Kyle Bennett (St); 182: Peter St. Marie (Sno), Ryan
Olliges (LS), Chris Herbert (MP); 195: Blake McPherson (A), Nathan
Proffitt (Sno); 220: Luke Reinhard (Sno), Shaquille Reed (LS); 285:
Brandon Johnson (LS), George Johanson (EW).
CLASS 3A — 106: Luis Cardona (MG), Jeremy Vester (OH);
113: Jesus Escalona (SC), Christian Bagdadi (E); 120: Alex Basabe (L),
Jahleel Vester (OH), Mathew Floresca (SW); 126: Zack Calkins (L), John
Kim (GP), Cody Fakkema (OH); 132: Mark Johnston (OH), Jessie Lopez (E);
138: Timmy Douglass (GP); 145: Jacob Elledge (GP), Morgan Smith (Mead),
Nate Tibbott (Mead); 152: Joshua Crebbin (OH), Hunter Lord (L); 170:
Connor Boyce (E); 182: Sean Elledge (GP), Ric Stewart (E); 195: Chris
Aiwiro (E), Ciaran Ball (Mead); 220: Ahmed Ahmed (L); 285: Ian Bolstad
(SC), Alfredo Diaz (MG).
CLASS 2A — 106: Bailey McBride (C), Chris Jenkins (GF);
113: Ryan Nash (GF); 120: Tyler Groff (GF), Curtis Chittenden (C); 126:
Ely Malametz (C); 145: Carlos Toledano (C), Austin Koons (C); 152: Eli
Gremmert (C); 160: Cody Paxman (C); 170: Jake Naslund (Sult), Martin
Vakamoce (C), Brandon Todd (AM); 182: Conner Kruse (AM); 195: Foster
Wade (AM); 220: Taylor Comfort (Sult), Dakota Creed (AM); 285: Robby
McNair (C).
Beaumont High wrestling coaches Jason Lundblad and David Espinosa
will be prohibited from coaching at the CIF-State girls wrestling
championships Feb. 24-25 in Lemoore, confirmed Cougars athletic
director Martin DuSold by text.
Lundblad and Espinosa were ejected from the Southern California
Regional. It's a typical penalty for a coach ejected from a CIF event.
The CIF-State, CIF-Southern Section and Beaumont High worked together
to come up with the ruling.
Another assistant will coach the Cougar girls. DuSold did not
specify whom.
Updated: Friday, 17 Feb 2012, 11:25 PM EST
Published : Friday, 17 Feb 2012, 10:45 PM EST
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Friday, Culver Academies student Kayla Miracle
made history. She became the first high school girl to wrestle in the
Indiana state finals tournament.
Wrestling success runs in the sophomore’s family. Her dad runs
his own wrestling academy in Bloomington. And that heritage has paid
off.
"Her father has coached her well," Matt Behling, wrestling coach at
Culver Academies told 24-Hour News 8 news partner WSBT before she
wrestled in semi-state last weekend. "She's wrestled on the national
circuit, she's been all over the country wrestling, so she's prepared
for these big matches. This isn't new for her, since she's competed at
a high level for a long time."
Her father said too many people focus less on her skill and more on
the fact that she’s a girl.
"I've seen her beat a kid, and then I've see the coach or the parent
of the other kid come down real hard on that kid, and say, 'You just
got beat by a girl,' and things like that, really negative in nature,"
Lee Miracle told WSBT. "And they were seeing her as a girl, they
weren't seeing her as a wrestler."
But she said it was her technique and speed – and her
dedication and ambition – that has brought her this far.
"Everyone has to make a name for themselves, and prove that they can
do what they want to do. But I think it's probably harder for girls,"
she said. "A lot of people are doubting me and what I want to
accomplish."
She aims to win a title before she graduates, and to make onto the
Olympics team after that.
She lost her match in the first round of state finals Friday to
Hayden Lee. But her dad said there should be no more questions.
“I told her, … ‘There is absolutely no doubt in
the state of Indiana that you belong now,’” he told 24-Hour
News 8 on Friday.
And other girls are watching.
“There are a lot of female wrestlers,” her coach said
Friday. “I've seen a lot of wrestlers come out the last few
years, and they really look to her as an inspiration, so she's leading
the way with these girls to set their goals even higher.”
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - An Iowa teen has
become the first girl to medal at the state wrestling tournament.
Megan Black became the first girl to medal
Friday, thanks to a 4-0 decision over Brad Kerkhoff in a consolation
match of the Class 1-A tournament.
Black became the first girl to win a contested
match at the tournament a day earlier, when she beat Jacob Schmit 10-0.
That was followed by a loss to Taylor Curtis in the quarterfinals.
Curtis says that Black is "good, she's strong,
and she knows what she's doing."
Black is actually the second girl to win a
match at the Iowa tournament. Last year, Cassy Herkelman garnered
national headlines when she won because her opponent refused to wrestle
her.
Ryan Hall is first to admit he has no business reaching the state
semifinals.
The Jesup senior’s wrestling career ended last Saturday –
or so he thought – after a pair of losses at the district meet.
Then his phone rang Wednesday afternoon. A friend sitting in the stands
at Wells Fargo Arena told him to check his weight.
Nashua-Plainfield’s Cody Marks, who beat Hall for a ticket to the
state meet in a district wrestle-back match, suffered a broken hand
Wednesday in the state duals.
Suddenly, Hall’s wrestling career had a pulse.
The last addition to the Class 1-A state individual meet continued
his wrestling reincarnation Friday afternoon by pinning Iowa
Valley’s Logan Loftus in the 138-pound quarterfinals.
“I’m not supposed to be here right now,” said Hall,
who clinched state medalist status for the third time.
“It’s just by chance. Right now I’m going with
everything I’ve got and nothing’s holding me back.”
Underwood’s Taylor Curtis put Megan Black’s bid to reach
the medal stand on hold with a 6-3 victory at 106. Black, a junior at
Eddyville-Blakesburg, on Thursday became the first girl in tournament
history to win a contested match and it appeared momentarily if her run
in the championship bracket might continue.
Trailing 4-1 in the final minute, Black cranked Curtis to his back, but
she could only secure a two-point near-fall on the hold and surrendered
a late reversal.
“I want to clarify this now that out on the mat, she’s not
just a girl, she’s a wrestler and you’ve got to treat her
like that,” Curtis said. “She’s good, she’s
strong and she knows what she’s doing.”
So does Don Bosco of Gilbertville.
The Dons, winners of nine state championships, surged to the top of the
1-A standings with 39.5 points to hold a six-point lead over
second-place Underwood entering Friday night’s semifinals.
Posted: Feb 11, 2012 10:50 PM by Jason Notoras -
jnotoras@kristv.com Updated: Feb 17, 2012 3:40 PM
SAN ANTONIO -- The Region IV Wrestling Tournament results are
available. On the boys side, 195-pounder Josh Garza (King) fell 4-3 in
overtime of his championship match against Adam Hill (Cedar Park).
Garza settles for silver, and he advances to the State Meet. Freshman
Mike Tracy continues to impress. The King 106-pounder placed third at
the Region Meet. Carroll's Matt Hernandez (138 pounds) will also
wrestle at state following his bronze performance.
Looking at the girls results, three local athletes won a silver
medal and will advance to the State Meet; Kiley Gelabert (119 lbs -
King), Angela Salazar (128 lbs - Beeville), and Naomi Stewart (138 lbs
- King).
Wrestlers who placed 5th at region meets are alternates (Alt.) for
the State Tournament. They would get the opportunity to compete should
one of the Top 4 Qualifiers drop out. The Top 4 Wrestlers from each
Region Meet are now slotted into the State bracket.
The State Tournament is scheduled for February 24-25
(Friday-Saturday) at Austin ISD's Delco Center.
LOCAL WRESTLERS TO QUALIFY FOR STATE (Placement at Regional)
Simon Fraser University's Justina
DiStasio reflects on her recent upset victory at the Women's College
Wrestling Association national championships, which earned the
Coquitlam native All-American honours.
Photograph by: Paul vanPeenen , NOW
It wasn't so much a payback as a sense of accomplishment for
Coquitlam's Justina DiStasio last month.
The Simon Fraser University wrestler was familiar with her opponent
in the Women's College Wrestling Association (WCWA) Nationals final in
Bristol, TN.
Facing Lindenwood's Kendra Lewis, whom she had faced two weeks
earlier at the national duals meet and lost, DiStasio understood the
challenge ahead. But despite being forced to go up a weight category
this time and locking limbs with a series of tough competitors, the
former B.C. high school champion proved better for it when all the pins
were down.
"When she beat me at the national dual meet it was my first loss to
her, and she was significantly stronger than me," recalled DiStasio,
19. "I knew I had to do something so I worked on the weights for two
weeks just to build a little more muscle, to prepare for the 77
(kilogram) division."
Entering as the underdog, the fivefoot-six grappler said she felt
comfortable heading into the final.
In the span of about two weeks, the gains in the weight room didn't
amount to much bulk and didn't bump her out of her regular 72 kg
comfort zone. It was in the extra lifts and firmed weight she could
pump that provided a confidence boost, more than anything.
"I had to work a lot harder in the weight room, because that one
division up means they are bigger and stronger," she said. "Kendra's
like crazy strong, so I knew I needed an edge.
Mentally, if you can get an extra fiveto-10 on the bar, that really
helps and I did it."
In the first round of the final, DiStasio scored points with a late
takedown. She finished it quickly in the second period by blocking a
low hold and turning Lewis onto her back.
That victory also cinched up DiStasio's first All-American honour,
and helped the SFU women's team finish third overall.
Lewis has been a top-three grappler at the senior U.S. level.
To get to the final, the Coquitlam wrestler defeated No. 1-ranked
Julia Salata of King College.
That matchup helped alleviate the pressure of heading into the WCWA
spotlight.
"I was nervous (to start the semifinal) because she had improved so
much from when I saw (Salata) last. It was a great match and I won by a
point," she said.
When everything was done, DiStasio said she could have been better.
"I didn't wrestle my best, but I wrestled well enough to win."
In the world of wrestling, results can unfold like a yo-yo. From a
high point of upsetting Lewis, DiStasio experienced the lows when she
was ushered out after two swift matches a week later.
Fresh off her All-American weekend, she ran up against some tough
competition at the Dave Schultz Memorial International meet in Denver.
"It wasn't a great week, when we landed in Colorado there was so
much snow. I had two matches and that was it. I drew (two-time U.S.
World team member) Stephany Lee to start. I didn't have anything to
lose but she was tough," noted DiStasio.
Lee handed her a tough loss, and went on to beat Canadian Olympic
trials champion Leah Callahan in the final.
DiStasio also came up short in her next match, an eight-minute bout
with India's Gursharan Preet Kaur.
"I learn a lot more when I lose than when I win. It's a hard lesson,
but it's all good," she said. "I saw the parts that need to be adjusted
and I know I can work on my clutches."
Majoring in health sciences, DiStasio says when things are working
well, a well-executed double leg move can end most matches in her
favour. That opportunity didn't appear last week, however.
"It brings you back down and shows you that there's room for
improvement," SFU head coach Mike Jones said. "She's a good athlete and
she knows she can do better."
As a second-year university student, DiStasio has learned on the fly
how to combine athletic and academic demands.
The defending junior national 72 kg wrestling champion will now
prepare to defend her title next month in Ontario.
Success there will put her on Canada's junior team for the FILA
Junior World championships in Thailand in September.
"I want to win, of course, but I really want to go to Thailand -
that will be an incredible experience."
Eddyville-Blakesburg's Megan Black became the first girl to ever
win a contested match at the state tournament, winning by a major
decision over Gilbertville's Jacob Schmit.
DES MOINES — On a night when 224 small-school wrestlers took
the mat, a girl from Eddyville-Blakesburg stole the show.
Junior Megan Black became the first female in Iowa history to win a
contested state-tournament match when she beat Don Bosco senior Jacob
Schmit by major decision, 10-0, Thursday in a Class 1-A first-rounder
before a large crowd at Wells Fargo Arena.
Black also last week became the first Iowa girl to win a district
championship. After losing both of her state matches while competing
for Ottumwa last year, she transferred and improved to 10-1 this season
with the victory.
Black said she doesn't wonder if she's a pioneer. She only cares
about winning her next match.
“I'm not really thinking about the history part of it yet
because I'm not done,'' she said. “I want to be on the medal
stand, and the higher up the better.''
Western Iowa wrestlers in 1-A on Thursday went 16-22 in the first
round. Underwood led WI with four quarterfinalists: Taylor Curtis
(106), Andrew Foutch (120), Mike Novotony (145) and Drake Fanslau (160).
Fourth-rated Curtis (53-3) will wrestle Black in Friday's
quarterfinals.
Three area schools had two winners apiece: Logan-Magnolia (Ethan
Reynek at 113 and Logan Melby at 220), Audubon (Jesse Svoboda at 182
and Nick Fett at 285) and Council Bluffs St. Albert (Jake Lewis at 170
and Marco Naughton at 285).
Six other wrestlers will represent their school as its lone
quarterfinalist: Loren Williams of Tri-Center (152), Gavvon Shafer of
Woodbine (160), Trey Sander of Exira-EHK (170), Kory Schmelzer of
Corning (170), MacKenzie Houseman of Riverside (182) and David Howell
of East Mills (285).
Underwood ended the first day in fourth place with 17 points.
Eddyville-Blakesburg led with 19 and was followed by Alburnett (18) and
Don Bosco (17.5). Audubon was tied for seventh with 12.
Riverside's Houseman and Woodbine's Shafer pulled out hotly
contested matches.
Ninth-rated Houseman (51-6), a senior who had never gotten out of
sectionals in his career, trailed No. 5 Austin McCarten of Emmetsburg
4-3 after McCarten's takedown with 1:12 left in the match.
But Houseman regained the lead with a reversal with just under a
minute to go. He then rode out a desperate McCarten during a physical
final 55 seconds.
“Conditioning's always in my favor,'' Houseman said.
“It's what I train for. I have Mitch Anderson as a coach. That's
all he wants to train for. That's his job, and he does a great job.''
Houseman can't explain why he's taken his skills to a new level.
“I don't like losing,'' he said. “I'm out here to have
fun, so winning's my fun.''
Shafer (14-3) tore an ACL and the meniscus in his knee during
football season. He chose to delay the surgery until after wrestling
and is now into the quarterfinals after pinning Panorama's Tyler Hein
in 2:41.
“I thought I was done,'' Shafer said. “My mom thought I
was done. Coach didn't give up on me. I kept going, and now I'm here.''
The opening round wasn't kind to Tri-Center. No. 2 Trevor Paulson
suffered a dislocated elbow during his 145-pound bout with No. 5 Tyler
Foubert of Tri-County/Montezuma. Paulson was forced to injury default.
And that was after No. 9 Darrian Irlbeck, at 138 pounds, lost 10-4 to
Ryan Hall of Jesup. Hall had been the third-place finisher at his
district but made state when the district winner was injured in
Wednesday's dual meet.
Defending champion and top-rated Loren Williams was the only of the
Trojans' four qualifiers to win when he majored Iowa City Regina's
Casey Beaver 12-1. Unrated Austin Kline dropped two matches at 182.
“I thought we wrestled well,” Tri-Center coach Andy
Hensley said. “Trevor would have wrestled well in this
tournament. It wasn't to be, I guess.”
St. Albert kept its pair of state qualifiers on the right side of
the bracket. Top-rated heavyweight Naughton cruised with a 56-second
pin, while junior 170-pounder Lewis prevailed in his first state match.
With his father — assistant coach Al Lewis — and coach Jake
Driver cheering him on, Jake Lewis narrowly avoided back points with 60
seconds left and churned out a 7-5 decision.
“This is big,” Lewis said. “First of all, Marco
won't kill me now because we won't have to stay late (for the
consolation round). Here at state, it's like AAU, but here everyone is
good.”
David Howell made his own history on prep wrestling's biggest stage.
The heavyweight became the first state representative for East Mills,
which is in its fourth year as a recognized program.
The sophomore wasn't done there. He broke a 1-1 tie with a lunging
takedown with 58 seconds to spare, then rode out a 3-1 victory.
“It just feels good knowing I was the first one,” Howell
said. “I wanted to stay up in Des Moines and enjoy my weekend
more. I'll do that if I win some more matches.”
However, most of the spotlight shined on Eddyville's Black, who
spoke to a throng of reporters after the match.
She was one of two girls who qualified last year. The other
qualifier, Cassy Herkelman, drew national attention when she won by
forfeit after her opponent, Joel Northrup of Linn-Mar, refused to
wrestle her.
This year Herkelman didn't reach Des Moines, placing third at
districts. That put all of the focus on Black, and she didn't
disappoint. She nearly pinned Schmit late in the first period before
cruising to the win.
“I just wanted to go out and be dominant,'' Black said.
“Just keep that snowball going into the next match and the next
one after that.''
It wasn't so much as payback as a sense of accomplishment for
wrestler Justina DiStasio last month.
The Simon Fraser University wrestler was familiar with her opponent
in the Women's College Wrestling Association (WCWA) national final in
Bristol, Tennessee.
Facing Lindenwood's Kendra Lewis, whom she had faced two weeks
earlier at the national duals meet and lost, DiStasio understood the
challenge ahead. But despite forced to go up a weight category this
time and locking limbs with a series of tough competitors, the former
B.C. high school champion proved better for it when all the pins were
down.
"When she beat me at the national dual meet it was my first loss to
her, and she was significantly stronger than me," recalled DiStasio,
19. "I knew I had to do something so I worked on the weights for two
weeks just to build a little more muscle, to prepare for the 77
(kilogram) division."
Entering as the underdog, the five-foot-six grappler said she felt
comfortable heading into the final.
In the span of about two weeks, the gains in the weight room didn't
amount to much bulk and didn't bump her out of her regular 72kg comfort
zone. It was in the extra lifts and firmed weight she could pump that
provided a confidence boost, more than anything.
"I had to work a lot harder in the weight room, because that one
division up means they are bigger and stronger," she said. "Kendra's
like crazy strong, so I knew I needed an edge. Mentally, if you can get
an extra five-to-10 on the bar, that really helps and I did it."
In the first round of the final, DiStasio scored points with a late
takedown. She finished it quickly in the second period by blocking a
low hold and turning Lewis onto her back.
That victory also cinched DiStasio's first All-American honour, and
helped the SFU women's team finish third overall.
Lewis has been a top-three grappler on the senior U.S. level.
To get to the final, the Coquitlam wrestler defeated No. 1-ranked
Julia Salata of King College.
That match-up helped alleviate the pressure of heading into the WCWA
spotlight.
"I was nervous (to start the semi-final) because she had improved so
much from when I saw (Salata) last. It was a great match and I won by a
point," she said.
When everything was done, DiStasio said she could have been better.
"I didn't wrestle my best, but I wrestled well enough to win."
In the world of wrestling, results can unfold like a yo-yo. From a
high point of upsetting Lewis, DiStasio experienced the lows when she
was ushered out after two swift matches a week later.
Fresh off her All-American weekend, she ran up against some tough
competition at the Dave Schultz Memorial International meet in Denver.
"It wasn't a great week, when we landed in Colorado there was so
much snow... I had two matches and that was it. I drew (two-time U.S.
World team member) Stephany Lee to start. I didn't have anything to
lose but she was tough," noted DiStasio.
Lee handed her a tough loss, and went on to beat Canadian Olympic
trials champion Leah Callahan in the final.
DiStasio also came up short in her next match, an eight-minute bout
with India's Gursharan Preet Kaur.
"I learn a lot more when I lose than when I win. It's a hard lesson
but it's all good," she said. "I saw the parts that need to be adjusted
and I know I can work on my clutches."
Majoring in health sciences, DiStasio says when things are working
well, a well-executed double leg move can end most matches in her
favour. That opportunity didn't appear last week, however.
"I was pretty down for a day and then I watched my matches. I was
happier, not happy, after getting to see them from that perspective."
As a second-year university student, DiStasio has learned on the fly
how to combine athletic and academic demands.
The defending junior national 72kg wrestling champion will now
prepare to defend her title next month in Ontario.
Success there will put her on Canada's junior world team that will
compete at the 2012 FILA Junior World championships in Thailand in
September.
"I really want to win because, well I want to win but I really want
to go to Thailand - that will be an incredible experience."
