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Silverio and Jambora, both top finishers in their separate weight classes in the Manila SEAG two years ago, will try to earn Olympic spots in the world competition organized by Federation Internationale de Luttes Associees and Wrestling Canada Lutte.
Vincent Piccio III, president of Wrestling Association of the Philippines, said the two wrestlers have the best potentials of qualifying for the quadricentennial meet which is set August in Beijing.
So far, the Philippines does not yet have a qualifier from wrestling.
"Medyo mabigat itong kalaban nila kasi this is a world competition," Piccio said yesterday. "We are just also looking at this competition as a good venue for the wrestlers to gain international exposure."
Piccio sees Japan, Korea and India as the countries that could post obstacles and derail the Filipina duo’s bid in the competition that will be held at Edmonton Arena in Sherwood Park, County of Strathcora.
Women’s head coach Enrique Tuya Jr. said Silverio and Jambora, who play for the 59-kilogram and 48-kilogram classes, respectively, have great chances of making it since he said that most of the world champions from the European countries have already qualified in last year.
China
Team China enters final
stretch at full speed
By Xiao Huo (China
Daily/The Olympian)
Updated: 2008-04-18 14:10
Team China is shifting up a gear and training three times a day as the
100-day countdown to the Beijing Games approaches, officials told
reporters last weekend.
"We are busy training with three sessions a day," Fu Guoyi, head coach of the Chinese women's judo team, said during a visit to the training camps of China's judo, wrestling, tennis, handball and field hockey teams.
"One hour in the early morning, two and a half hours before noon, then another long session in the afternoon," said Fu, whose women judoka are hoping this summer to surpass the five medals they hauled out of Athens in 2004, including one gold. With stiff competition from Japan and Europe, they know the task is going to be anything but easy.
China has already qualified 538 athletes for 27 events at this summer's Olympics, said Cui Dalin, deputy director of the State General Administration of Sport. Its female tennis stars are also set to show up in Beijing, making this the first Games in which China is competing in all (28) events.
With another 50 athletes expected to bolster Team China's squad, the home side is expecting to 580 to represent it in August - the largest team in the country's Olympic history.
The deputy sports chief also downplayed China's medal prospects, saying that its lack of stars in the medal-laden swimming and athletics events give Russia and the US a major advantage.
"The US and Russia recently predicted what medals they could win in Beijing," said Cui. "I would say their predictions are very conservative."
Olympic broadcaster NBC is predicting that US athletes will win 42 gold medals and 108 medals in total. The largest Russian sports journal is hoping its side can bag 122 medals.
"The competition in Beijing will be extremely heated," Cui said.
When asked whether disruptions of the torch relay in London and Paris have lowered morale, Chinese athletes said they were not adversely affected.
Liu Yun, captain of the women's handball team, said everyone has responded by training harder.
Canada
REGINA -- There was only one banner missing from Balfour Collegiate's wall-of-fame.
Now they have it. The Balfour Redmen wrestling team was awarded the Saskatchewan High Schools Athletic Association's Sportsmanship Award at a school assembly on Thursday. This is the first Balfour team in any sport to receive the award since it was first handed out by the Dairy Producers of Saskatchewan in 1996.
Not only did the Redmen grapplers win the team title at the SHSAA provincial wrestling championships -- they did it with class.
The boys and girls teams were chosen for the award by SHSAA coaches and officials for the wrestlers' exemplary behaviour at the provincials in Saskatoon from March 7 to 8. Redmen wrestlers left the tournament with three gold medals, four silver and three bronze.
Head coach Ryan Bellamy was proud of his team's actions on and off the mat.
"It was a great year for the high school wrestling team -- to win the city championships, the league, the provincials and the sportsmanship award," said Bellamy, who is in his fifth-year coaching at Balfour. "The kids performed not only at a high level, but performed with class and showed respect."
Balfour has another record to boast of and if a banner was made for it, it would hang on the gym wall too. No other high school in the country can claim that they have three national juvenile champions, Bellamy said.
Kirk Ackerman, Gilbert Musonza and Jasmine Slinn, all members of the Cattown Wrestling Club, won gold medals at the national freestyle championships in Saskatoon last weekend.
Ackerman, a three-time freestyle and two-time Greco-Roman national champion, won the 58-kilogram weight class.
"I was just extremely happy to be a national champion again," the Grade 12 student said. "Once you get the feeling you don't want to give it up."
After placing third at the 2006 nationals and fourth at last year's meet, Gilbert Musonza finally claimed the gold medal in the 50-kg weight class.
"It was out of this world," said Musonza, also in Grade 12. "It was a pretty good feeling."
After arriving to Canada from Zimbabwe four years ago, Musonza was inspired to step on the mat by a book he was reading. It was about a kid who was being bullied so he joined the wrestling team.
Ackerman and Musonza will be heading to the University of Regina to wrestle for the Cougars this fall.
Slinn won the 49-kg weight class without giving up a point in all five of her matches. She was also a gold medalist at the 2007 Pan American Cadet Championships in Panama City, Panama.
mkruchak@leaderpost.canwest.com
Canada
Friday April 18, 2008
By Patrick Brennan
Times-Journal Staff
 Alicia Rowlands, left, shows off the gold medal she won at the at the Canadian Cadet Championships in Saskatoon. With her is Kevin Ens, who also competed and placed fifth in his weight class. Both are Central Elgin Collegiate Institute students. (T-J photo) |
Two Central Elgin Collegiate Institute wrestlers recently
proved they are among the best in the country.
Alicia Rowlands and Kevin Ens, both members of the Oxel Wrestling Club,
competed at the Canadian Cadet Championships in Saskatoon last weekend
and returned home winners.
Rowlands, a 14-year-old Grade 9 student who wrestles in the 52-
kilogram class, came back with a gold medal after going undefeated in
five matches.
Ens, a 15-year-old Grade 10 student, wrestled seven matches in his 69-
kilogram class and won five matches, good enough for a fifth place
finish.
The Canadian Cadet Championships is for wrestlers 14 and 15 years old.
In addition to wrestling with the Oxel club, Ens is a member of the
Titans wrestling team which captured both the WOSSA and Thames Valley
championship titles.
USA
Registration for each of the 12 events in the Grappling Qualifying
Series is now open on Track Wrestling. These events will determine the
field for the 2008 USA Wrestling Grappling World Team Trials.
Canada
 Jason Liebregts / Metroland BROOKLIN -- Russell and Kelly Cates are twins who both won gold at Ontario Winter Games and also competed at Nationals. Apr. 14, 2008 |
The Brooklin residents both suffer from hypoglycemia, a condition which occurs when blood sugar levels drop too low to provide sufficient energy for the bodies' normal activities.
"It puts them at a disadvantage," said their Team Impact coach, Stan Tzogas. "The added challenge is that you can't drink a lot of water before a match or you will never make weight."
Despite the added hardship, the twins who attend Oshawa's O'Neill Collegiate recently accomplished a rare feat when they both won gold medals in the cadet (U-17) division at the Ontario Winter Games.
"It's cool that twins both placed first at a tournament," said Kelly, the older of the two, by a whole three minutes. "I think that's what the team wanted out of us and it makes us proud to be able to do that for them."
Kelly and Russell, not yet 16, were both surprised at how well they were able to do.
"I had an idea that I was going to do pretty well but it was surprising that I finished first," said Russell, bruised and battered after returning home from the nationals in Saskatchewan.
Kelly, who had been struggling at recent tournaments, was shocked that she won, but felt very proud.
"She was losing close matches and it was always in the final seconds," said Tzogas. "When that happens it's mental, kind of like second guessing your abilities. It was good to see her overcome that."
She did that and more at nationals, earning bronze in the 52kg weight class, while Russell finished fourth at the 58kg weight limit.
"Russell twisted his ankle in an attempt to stay in bounds," said Tzogas. "He was winning the match before that but because he dislocated a bone he was unable to continue."
While most competitors would have been happy to win a medal, Kelly was disappointed with herself.
"The girl that placed first was the same one that I beat at the winter games," Kelly said.
Sportsmanship is the main thing for Russell, who has been wrestling for five years now after getting his start at Team Impact. His future plans include hopes of winning gold at nationals and obtaining a scholarship.
"He's a great wrestler and could easily be the national champion one day," Tzogas said.
Kelly started wrestling after watching how much fun her brother was having and is now in her third season. Like Russell, her goals are to win nationals for the juveniles, which is the next age group. After that she wants to go to the Pan-Americans, with eyes geared towards a scholarship, depending on the wrestling program.
"She is a hard worker and leads by example," said Tzogas. "There is no limit with her because she is so aggressive which is a huge plus. You can't teach that. You either have it or you don't."
Through it all, the most important thing for the twins is the purity of the sport and how all the wrestlers relate.
"I feel really comfortable when I am around wrestlers because they have a lot of character," Kelly said. "Unlike other sports where people despise their opponents, wrestlers respect each other and treat one another like a best friend, even after a match."
North Dakota
He didn’t understand where women’s wrestling fit it. He thought it was a gimmick.
However, everything changed when Cole attended a 2004 coaching clinic with United States women’s national team coach Terry Steiner.
“I just started to take a different approach as far as my thought process,” said Cole, who recently wrapped up his first year as the Jimmies’ coach. “I made a more concerted effort to study it and follow it a little more. Then it just made sense to me.”
So, when Jamestown was looking to add a women’s sport, it was a no-brainer for Cole to bring up wrestling. The Jimmies already have the facilities, and the costs would be low to start up a program, Cole told Jamestown president Robert Badal.
Down deep, Cole had a more important reason.“This is about just plainly giving the opportunity for women to attend college and play the sport they love,” Cole said. “I have a daughter. She wrestles. She has been met with some resistance at some tournaments as well. But 20 years ago women who played basketball were met with resistance.”
Jamestown’s first women’s wrestling season will begin in October.
Only nine schools in the United States offer women’s wrestling as a varsity sport.
Cole said the total could reach 11 by next year.
There are 15 colleges in Canada that offer the sport, which will help allow Jamestown wrestlers to compete in 20-30 matches per season.
Cole’s newly found enthusiasm for the sport has helped the Jimmies secure 14 commitments from some of the top female wrestlers in the country.
“It’s more about giving people an opportunity than it is about changing hearts and minds,” Cole said. “But that’s going to come.”
Cuba
Occidentales wins in freestyle wrestling
Camagüey, Apr 17.-
The team that represents the Western portion of the country, Occidentales, won the freestyle wrestling tournament that, as part of Cuba's 4th Sports Olympiad, was held in Camaguey.
The western team achieved the victory yesterday, thanks to the brillaint performance by Yusnier Leal, in the 84 kg division and Alexis Rodríguez, in that of 120. Both wrestlers snared the gold medal.
The wining squad captured three gold, two silvers, and four bronze medals, while Centrales ended up in second place (2-3-5), Orientales was relegated to the third position (2-2-5).
In a combat decided basically in the end, Leal beated Yordanis Abreu, by a score of 7-6, in a combat that deserved a standing ovation by those present at the Rafael Fortún Hall. The bronze medals went to Julio Godínez, from Orientales, and Humberto Arencibia, from Occidentales.
The best Cuban gladiator in this devision, Roerlandy Zúñiga, did not participate in this tournament because today he and Yandro Quintana (60 kg) will depart to Switzerland to find the qualification for the summer Olympic Games in Beijing.
In the 120 kg division, Rodríguez who has won in several international championships was better than all the adversaries and in the final combat defeated Disney Rodríguez, from Centrales. Elier Romero, from Orientales, and Alexander Monteagudo, from Occidentales got the bronze medals.
Likewise, Michel Batista on behalf of Centrales, snared the title in the 96 kg division, after winning over Javier Cortina, from Orientales. The third position was shared by Yan Rusell, from Occidentales and Rasiel Almora, from Centrales.
In the women tournament, Venezuela was the winner after conquering three gold, and same number of silver medals, followed by Orientales (2-0-4), Occidentales (1-3-3) and Colombia (1-1-0).
Colombian wrestler Sandra Roc was the winner in the 63kg division, whereas Gloria Zavala, from Venezuela won in the 67 kg division. On the other hand, th gold medal in the 72 kg went to Liset Echavarría, from Orientales.
The 4th Cuban Olympiad will resume competitions on Saturday, when the top Greco-Roman wrestlers in the island nation will face each other in Camaguey. (AIN/Translation: Gualveris Rosales Sánchez).
Abbotsford is once again making its presence known on the national wrestling stage as local athletes representing four area schools climbed the podium last weekend at the High School Wrestling Championships in Saskatoon, Sask.
W.J. Mouat, Abbotsford Traditional, Yale and Rick Hansen all had athletes winning medals.
Mouats' Sunny Dhinsa [100 kg] won two national championship titles, taking gold in the freestyle and FILA Cadet divisions.
Dhinsa will be joined by Mandeep Sandhu [63 kg] of Abby Traditional and Harry Purewal [76 kg] of Yale as they represent Canada at the 2008 Pan American Games this summer in El Salvador.
Sandhu won gold in FILA Cadet and bronze in juvenile while Purewal captured gold in the juvenile division.
Mouat's Scott McGrandle [69 kg] won eight matches, including gold in the juvenile Greco Roman championship and a silver medal in freestyle.
The Mouat girl's team wrestled well with Nikkie Brar and Ashley Topnik both placing fourth in cadets.
Yale's Serena Kind also wrestled well to finish fourth in the cadet division.
Rick Hansen's Gurjot Kooner won gold in freestyle and silver in Greco Roman in the 96 kg class, and teammates Chanmit Phulka claimed silver in FILA cadet and Harvie Sahota took fourth in juvenile.
Abby Traditional's Lovedeep Sandhu placed fourth in the cadet division.
Dhinsa, McGrandle and Navneet Dulat, who won gold in his 130 kg class, also wrestle with the Guru Gobind Singh wrestling club.
In other news, Abbotsford wrestler, SFU student and Yale grad Bo Gregson will be representing Canada at the FISU World University Wrestling Championships in Thessoloniki, Greece July 9 to13.
2008-04-18 19:46:51
MANILA, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines will send two Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) gold medalists to compete for Olympic women's wrestling berths in the qualifying tournament in Canada next month, national newspaper Manila Bulletin reported Friday.
Silverio and Jambora, top finishers in the 59-kg and 48-kg weight classes in the Manila SEAG two years ago, will wrestle for Philippines' pride in the world competition organized by Federation Internationale de Luttes Associees and Wrestling Canada Lutte scheduled on this May 16 and 17.
So far the Philippines does not yet have a qualifier for wrestling in Beijing Games. Athletes from Japan, Korea and India are seen as strong opponents who might knock the Filipina duo out of Beijing Games, the report said.
Wisconsin
 |
She said she has edged out boys who might have underestimated her skills. She pointed out a photo of a boy that she bested.
"Yes, because he got beaten by a girl," she said. However, Kylie soon found out that being the lone girl can be tough, like when she was trying to sign up for the camp. Christena Jones said that she was upset that her daughter couldn't attend the camp. "So when I called them up, I was talking to the receptionist, and I had mentioned 'she' a few times. And she's like, 'Is your wrestler a girl?' And I said, 'Yes.' And she said, 'I'm sorry, ma'am, we don't accept females.'" "I was a little upset because girls can be just as strong as boys, and maybe tougher," Kylie Jones said. Kylie Jones said that she plans to practice at home. Her mother said that she hopes her child learns a valuable lesson from the experience. "I hope she takes away from this to never back down. No matter what anybody says. To fight for what you believe in, and to fight for what you want, no matter what the consequences," she said. Kylie Jones said that she's hasn't been dissuaded. "I'm going to wrestle as long as I want," Kylie Jones said. After contacting school officials about Kylie's story, Vince Sweeney, the UW's senior associate athletic director, issued a statement that they are considering a response to Jones' request. "We have talked with the parent who contacted WISC-TV and have assured her that we will follow up promptly on the information she provided to us and to the station," he said. As for the girl's training, her mother has purchased a wrestling drill book for her, but is still looking for a co-ed camp for the summer, WISC-TV reported.
USA
 Sara McMann |
Hi, my name is Sara McMann. I am a female wrestler who has been competing at the world level since 2000. To date I have 2 Bronze Medals from World Championships and one Silver Medal. I also earned a Silver Medal in the Olympics in 2004.
I am currently striving for my second Olympic team for the Olympics in Beijing. I began wrestling in my ninth grade year at McDowell High School in Marion, N.C. I had no idea at the time that I would fall in love with the sport and pursue it for the next 14 years.
Wrestling has taken me all over the United States and the world. I've lived in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, Iowa, and Colorado to train with the best partners. I've competed in Russia, Colombia, The Dominican Republic, Brazil, Sweden, Japan, China, and many other countries.
I am also currently pursuing a Masters degree in Mental Health Counseling. When I retire, I would like to focus my efforts on helping children and adolesents in managing crisis situations.
At home, I'm a very average person. I have two cats, Tiny and Sadie, who are both sweet little cuddlebugs :-D I like to read books and watch movies. I have a motorcycle and I like to ride in the beautiful weather that the South is famous for. I hope to hike and kayak this summer.
I'd like to thank all of my supporters and friends. They have made this pursuit possible and I can not express my appreciation enough.
Sara
