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COMMITMENT TO WRESTLING: Maternal instincts
Woman wrestler's amazing pregnancy saga a testament to her mental, physical toughness

Monday, April 16, 2001
Las Vegas Review-Journal

By MARC DAVID
REVIEW-JOURNAL

At the 1998 Pan Am Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Kristie Marano was a heartbroken young woman ready to quit wrestling.

Making weight had never been a problem before, but on this day she had failed that seemingly simple task. And for her, even worse than contemplating quitting wrestling was the fact that she had to face her father, Conrad Stengelin, back home in Albany, N.Y.

Unbeknownst to Marano, she was pregnant at the time -- almost eight months pregnant.

Marano, the reigning world champion at 149.75 pounds, competed in the United States National Wrestling Championships over the weekend at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. She finished second at that weight.

During her struggles three years ago, Marano suspected there was something different with her body. She had put on almost 10 pounds and was carrying what she called "a little paunch."

Even then, however, Marano suspected that she was only about three months pregnant.

"I wasn't really working hard," Marano said. "I questioned myself why I was being lazy."

"I was thinking to myself, I couldn't believe she missed weight," said Afsoon Johnston, a fellow competitor at the time and now a coach.

But Marano, 22, went back to the gym and started training for the University Games. She won her weight class five days before the birth of her daughter, Kayla.

By the time Marano got home from Chicago after the University Games, she was experiencing back pains. She got up early one morning to take a bath. Her water broke, and her baby was born in the bathtub with nobody around to help with the delivery.

"As soon as my water broke, I had a huge belly," Marano said. "I took (the bath) to deliver the baby. I didn't know what else to do."

Her unsuspecting parents were asleep in another room in the house. She wrapped the baby in a blanket and went to a store to buy groceries. She hoped the baby would cry and awaken her parents, which is what happened.

"I often think back and wonder what I was thinking," said Marano, shaking her head at the memory. "I love my daughter, but I would have done things differently."

Ten days after Kayla's birth, Marano won her second national title.

"She's a great mother," said Tricia Saunders, a four-time world and 10-time national lightweight champion. "She's just one dang tough person, and I love her."

Her fellow women wrestlers all know the story because they travel together and are like a big sorority. Saunders, who has two young children, and Marano are the only mothers among them.

Marano takes her wrestling seriously, as she does the responsibility of raising her daughter with her husband, Chad Marano. Over the weekend at the MGM Grand, Kayla was on hand. Adding to the family flavor was the presence of Kristie Marano's parents and her brothers, Matthew and Joshua, both high school wrestlers.

That Marano started wrestling in the first place was because of her father, who insisted she quit basketball in high school when she grew to only 5 feet 5 inches. He suggested that she wrestle with her younger brothers, and she did.

Marano wrestled on the junior varsity squad at Colony High School in 11th grade and was 12-12 on the varsity the next year. Marano, who also benefited from taking judo classes, found it to be a relatively easy transition into freestyle wrestling.

She was successful immediately, winning the first of her four consecutive national titles in 1996 when the event was held at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The culmination of her success, however, wouldn't come until she captured the 2000 world title.

"That was great, but I want to keep wrestling at a high level," Marano said. "Women's wrestling has come a long way. Five years ago, there were six girls in my class. Now there are 14, 15. I coach Pee-Wees from 5 to 10 years old, and that has grown. It's a great sport that keeps you in shape."

Marano proved just how much in shape she was during her trying time three years ago. She also proved her toughness.

"That goes beyond tough," said Johnston, a good friend. "She's mental."

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OLYMPIC GOLD medalist Rulon Gardner, left, puts away his pen after signing a shirt Thursday for fellow wrestler Kristie Marano at the MGM Grand. Gardner, of Afton, Wyo., and Marano, of Albany, N.Y., are participating in the 2001 MGM Grand United States National Wrestling Championships. Gardner holds three national championships along with his gold medal, while Marano is the 2000 world champion and four-time national champion

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Adams third at national championships

Amarillo Globe 4/4 2001

EVANSTON, Ill.- Former Caprock All-American wrestler Tori Adams, now a freshman at Missouri Valley, recently finished third at the University National Championships at Northwestern University.

Adams, now 11-3 for the season, defeated Alexandria Augustin of University of Minnesota-Morris by pinning her in 4:23. The next match she lost Toya Evinger of Missouri 10-7.

Then Adams pinned Joy Warren of Kentucky in 1:07. In the third place match she pinned Kate Zaielter of Cumberland College in 3:41.

Adams also received the Gorriaran Award, for most pin falls in the least amount of time.

Adams' next competition will be the United States Women's Nationals April 12-14 in Las Vegas.

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garyabbott Posted - 17 April 2001

USA Wrestling has held three Women's Development Open Forums this spring, to
hear from our members and others interested in women's wrestling on the best
ways to promote and expand women's wrestling. We have noted your comments
and appreciate all of the input. At this time, using the information that we
have collected, as well as the research we are now conducting, we will begin
to put together a strategy for the building the sport. It is my goal is to
have something more concrete to present at our next Open Forum, which is
scheduled for the Women's Cadet/Junior Nationals in Dayton, Ohio, June 1-3.

In the meantime, we would like to continue to ask for ideas and input. Among
the projects that USA Wrestling is now working on include
1) Seeking emerging sport status for women's wrestling from the NCAA
2) Developing the new TheMat.com/ASICS High School All-American Team
3) Assisting our international federation in lobbying for women's wrestling
at the Olympics
4) Pursuing more state federations to create an "Official" state wrestling
championships for girls
5) Creating a women's wrestling web page as part of the organization's
internet strategy

There is one issue to discuss, right now. Almost all of those involved in
our meetings have agreed that freestyle should be the style used for women's
college wrestling as we institute the program. This will clearly be part of
our strategy. However, anyone who wishes to dispute this should let me know
right away, by posting here on TheMat.com bulletin board, or by sending me
an email at gabbott@usawrestling.org

Thanks again to everyone who has been a part of one of our forums. Something
that came out of our Las Vegas meeting was that we all need to use this
bulletin board more as a way to share ideas and information. Let's get more
active online and share more information here!!!

WrestlingTerp Posted - 17 April 2001 14:1

Gary,

I think your proposal to schools is to start with freestyle and then move
towards collegiate style. This makes sense because the majority of the
competition for women is currently in the international style.

I think it would be confusing in the long run to casual fans of college
wrestling to end up with two different styles of wrestling at the collegiate
level.

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