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Past World Wrestling Champion Sandra Bacher places ninth in Judo World Championships

7/27/2001
John Miller/USA Judo

Sandra Bacher (San Jose, Calif./Dave Schultz WC), a 1999 Women’s World Wrestling Champion, placed ninth at 70 kg in the 2001 World Judo Championships, being held in Munich, Germany.

Bacher is a three-time Olympian in judo, and is a world-class star in both judo and wrestling.

Bacher received a bye in the first round in her weight division, which featured 28 competitors. In the second round, Bacher lost to Ulla Werbrouck of Belgium by ippon, the judo version of an instant pin. When Werbrouck advanced to the semifinals, she pulled Bacher back into the repechage, a consolation bracket that provides and opportunity to challenge for the bronze medal.

In her first repechage round, Bacher scored an instant Ippon victory over Yulia Semenova of Russia. In the next repechage match, Bacher was defeated by Regla Leyen of Cuba by Ippon, eliminating her from the tournament and placing her ninth in the weight division.

Bacher continues to be one of the top U.S. women’s wrestlers in the nation. She placed second at 75 kg (165.25 pounds) at the World Team Trials in Cincinnati, Ohio in June, losing to Iris Smith (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) in the championship finals series. She has won three medals for the United States in women’s wrestling, a gold in 1999, a silver in 1997 and a bronze in 1998.

Another former wrestler also competed in the World Judo Championships today, Grace Jividen-Chapman, Littleton, Colo. at 63 kg. Jividen-Chapman won her first match by Ippon over Chin-Fang Wang of Chinese Taipei. In the second round, Jividen-Chapman lost by Yuko to Urska Zolnir of Slovenia. When Zolnir lost her next match, Jividen-Chapman was eliminated from the tournament. Jividen-Chapman won U.S. Women’s National Wrestling titles in 1991 and 1992.

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Mary Kelly: Wrestler, Daddy's Girl

7/26/2001
Jason Bryant/USA Wrestling

Mary Kelly turns a few heads.
Whether it’s her perky smile or the fact she’s one of the best women’s level wrestlers in the world, she still draws attention. Maybe other wrestlers might wonder where she got a Japan freestyle singlet.

Kelly, a rising senior at Mahomet-Seymour High School in Mahomet, IL, was the sole female competitor in the Asics Tiger Junior Freestyle National Championships in Fargo, ND this week.

Compiling a 27-13 record while wrestling at 103 pounds this past season, she went 1-1 at her sectional tournament, unable to advance with follow the leader bracketing.

Kelly is competing in her fourth tournament in Fargo, but this year, Kelly didn’t come home with a win.

“The first two years out here (in Fargo) I went 2-2. I wanted to win a couple this year, but it didn’t happen,” said Kelly.

She wasn’t saddled with the best draw one could hope for. Her tournament ended at the hands of New York’s Mathew Sganga and then Oregon’s Eric Stevenson, a multiple time All-American.

“I’m not even tired!,” said Kelly of her time on the mat.
But “the girl wrestler” knows what the sport is and what its about.

“I enjoy wrestling a lot. People ask me if its odd wrestling against the guys compared to when I wrestle other girls, and it is different, I just really don’t know how to explain it,” said Kelly.

Kelly got her start when the Kelly family lived in Ames, IA, a town any wrestling fan will immediately identify with.

“When I was little, my uncle Bill (Kelly) was a national champion in 1987 for Iowa State, and at the time and my dad was helping out and the team would always come by to the house and I’d say ‘well I want to wrestle,’ and most of them would be like ‘ok Mary’ like I was joking,” said Kelly.

She wasn’t joking, winning silver in England in 1999 and taking the gold medal in 2000 in Poland at the now-defunct Cadet Women’s World Championships.

“I was always a daddy’s girl, I wanted to be like my dad,” said Kelly.

Kelly got the opportunity to wrestle when her younger brother Chris, a rising sophomore, asked to compete. Chris wrestled in the cadet tournament in Fargo as well.
“He said he wanted to wrestle and that was really how I got my start back in third grade,” said Kelly.

Mary was the starter at 103, her little brother was JV…you make the connection.
Many kids that have a family with such a wrestling background are right there matside everywhere their sons, or in this case, daughter will go. Jerry Kelly doesn’t get to see all of his daughter’s matches, at least not all of them live. He’s the head coach at Class A Monticello High School about 15 miles south of Mahomet.

“My dad watches the tapes and gives me pointers, Steve Combs is an assistant, and he’s really helpful too,” said Kelly.

Steve Combs helpful? Go figure. He was an Olympian in Greco-Roman and was the executive director of USA Wrestling back when the organization was called the USWF.
Kelly credits her brawling with the boys and her solid coaching back home to her rise to prominence on the women’s level and qualifying for nationals in Fargo.
“I’m fortunate to have good coaches, a lot of people don’t have that,” said Kelly.

A few weeks back, Kelly was wrestling with one of the icons of American women’s wrestling, Stephanie Murata, at the world team trials.

Not bad for a 17 year old.

Kelly doesn’t see her being female as an obstacle. “I just go out there and do my best, I’ve been wrestling with the guys so long, it doesn’t effect how I wrestle, it hasn’t for a while,” said Kelly.

While flustered in her two short outings in Fargo, she remained upbeat.
“Whew, I get a break,” she commented.

Kelly’s next match will be along side her Bulldogs’ teammates in Illinois.
It’s cliché to say she’s anything but your typical high school teen, but she’s quick to admit she does the “normal” things that a rising senior would do.

With the exception of wrestling in England, Austria, Poland and France.
“I don’t do a whole lot but wrestle!” said Kelly. “But when I do have time, I hang out with friends and go out,” she continued.

When late August rolls around and the lockers begin slamming and cafeteria food slithers onto lunch trays in high schools around the country, Mary Kelly will be in the same dilemma every other senior faces.

What do you want to do?

“My grades are fine, but I don’t like school that much, but I’m looking to wrestle in college somewhere with the programs popping up,” said Kelly.
Is she thinking career right now? No, what senior does.

“I have some short term goals and some long term goals, and most of them revolve around wrestling. I’d like to qualify for states and place this year, but I’d probably have to go 103 (pounds) again to do it. I should have gone 105.5 here,” said Kelly who competed at 114.5 pounds.

“Eventually I’d like to get a shot at the Olympic team, now that women’s wrestling is an Olympic sport,” added Kelly.

Now that her season has finally ended, after trips to the women’s world team trials, junior nationals, club practice and high school tournaments, preparing for her senior year is next on the agenda.

“Maybe there’s a future in coaching women’s wrestling teams in college, I’d like to do that when I get older,” said Kelly.

Being called “the girl wrestler” doesn’t fit her anymore, it never did. She’s Mary Kelly: Wrestler. 27 guys last year found out.

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TheMat.com/Asics Tiger Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team set; Michigan leads nation with three First Team selections

7/28/2001
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling

The nation’s best girls high school wrestlers are being honored with the announcement of the First Annual TheMat.com/Asics Tiger Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team.

TheMat.com/Asics Tiger Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team is selected by a nationwide panel of wrestling experts. It is the only national all-star team for which female high school wrestlers competing on all four grade levels are eligible. Athletes from across the nation were considered for their achievements in high school wrestling, as well as the major post-season freestyle and folkstyle competitions.

TheMat.com is the official web page of the Amateur Wrestling Alliance, and is one of the leading sports web pages on the internet. Asics Tiger is a national sponsor of USA Wrestling and a major supporter of wrestling at all levels. Asics Tiger has sponsored the nationally respected Asics Tiger High School All-American Team for boys wrestlers for 16 years.

“The ASICS Tiger Corporation is proud to be a sponsor of the first All-American wrestling team for girls,” said Neil Duncan, Vice President of TW Promotions which represents ASICS. “We see this sport having a huge potential for growth, and look forward to the day when many high schools and colleges across the country offer wrestling programs for the female athlete.”

Michigan led the First Team selections with three athletes: Katrina Betts of Milan High, Keristen LaBelle of Lapeer West High and Brandi Rosenbrock of East Detroit High.

Ohio and Pennsylvania each had two First Team selections. Ohio featured Toccara Montgomery of Cleveland East Technical High and Jessi Shirley of Northmor High. Pennsylanians honored on the First Team were Lisa Bisers of Hampton High and Erin Tomeo of Grove City High.

The First Team featured a number of wrestlers who are nationally ranked on the Senior level in freestyle wrestling, competing against the best women wrestlers of all ages. Montgomery was a 2001 U.S. Senior Nationals Champion and earned a spot on the U.S. Senior World Team that will compete at Madison Square Garden in New York City in September. Montgomery beat two past World Champions to qualify for the U.S. team.

Tomeo placed second in the 2001 U.S. Senior Nationals, and has held national rankings on the Senior level for the past two years, while Bisers was third at this year’s U.S. Senior Nationals.

Other wrestlers on the First Team who earned All-American status by placing at the U.S. Senior Nationals were Mary Kelly of Mahomet-Seymour High in Illinois, Erica Dye of Wirt County High School in West Virginia, Melina Hutchison, a homeschooled student from Skyview High in Alaska, Cathilee Albert of Fairview High in Colorado and Alicia Mena of Humboldt High in Minnesota.

The First Team featured four wrestlers who won national scholastic-style titles this year, by claiming gold medals at the 2001 USGWA National Championships in Michigan. The USGWA National champions on the First Team were Montgomery, LaBelle, Betts, and Rosenbrock.

Seven First Team members won USA Wrestling age-group national freestyle titles this year: Montgomery, Tomeo, Hutchison, LaBelle, Rosenbrock, Dye and Brooke Bogren of Santa Fe Trail High in Kansas. Rosenbrock and Dye won two USA Wrestling age-group titles this year, the FILA Cadet Nationals (ages 15-17) and the FILA Junior Nationals (ages 17-20). Also qualifying for the First Team was former Cadet World medalist Jenna Pavlik of Cape Henelopen High in Delaware.

The First Team featured eight seniors, five juniors and one sophomore (Rosenbrock).

Each year, a TheMat.com/Asics Tiger High School Wrestler of the Year will be selected and honored, recognizing the best individual wrestler in the nation. This award winner will be announced at a later date, and the award will be presented at a major national wrestling tournament. Each of the First Team members will also receive their award at an appropriate major wrestling event next season.

The Second Team was also star-studded, led by two-time USGWA National Champion Jennifer Wormwood of Oxford Hills Comprehensive High in Maine. Other Second Team members claiming 2001 USGWA National titles were Alaina Berube of Escanaba High in Michigan, Melyssa Fuqua of Westfield High in Massachusetts, Erica Hartman of Amador Valley High in California, Gina Heinzelman of Heritage High in Michigan, Samantha Lang of Tualatin High in Oregon and Shoni Plagman of Lebanon High in Oregon. Also on the second team was Tanya Miyasaki of Castle High in Hawaii, a Hawaii state high school champion who also placed sixth at the U.S. Senior Nationals in freestyle.

The Third Team featured three USGWA National champions, Laura Felix of Calabasas High in California, Wendy Casey of Binghamton High in New York and Shawn Swarzlender of Burns High in Oregon. The Third Team also included a pair of sisters, Rebekka and Rosaria DeCola of Ann Arbor Community High School in Michigan.

As the National Federation of State High Schools has yet to determine specific weight classes for girls wrestling, the athletes were selected based solely on achievement and ability. The top 14 athletes were named to the First Team, the second 14 athletes were named to the Second Team and the third 14 athletes were selected to the Third Team. Thirty athletes were named as Honorable Mention. An effort was made to make a reasonable spread of weights on each team. If the National Federation sets specific girls weight classes in the future, the selection committee will consider using those weight classes for the selection criteria at that time.

For the TheMat.com/Asics Tiger Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team, athletes were identified in three weight ranges: Light (100-121 pounds); Middle (122-140 pounds); Upper (141 pounds and above).

In total, 72 wrestlers were selected to TheMat.com/Asics Tiger Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team. California led all states with 13 selections, followed by Michigan with 12. Pennsylvania had seven members, Hawaii had six members, and Ohio had five team members. A total of 23 states were represented on the All-American Team. The team included 33 seniors, 24 juniors, nine sophomores and six freshmen.

Women’s wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports among youth sports for women. There are an estimated 5,000 girls competing on the high school level in the United States today, and the number has grown each year for the last dozen years. A number of colleges have begun to add women’s wrestling on the varsity and club level across the nation. Women’s wrestling is expected to be added to the program of the Olympic Games in the near future.

TheMat.com/Asics Tiger Girls High School All-American Wrestling Team will be prominently featured on TheMat.com web page, as well as in USA Wrestler, the official publication of USA Wrestling.

2001 THEMAT.COM/ASICS TIGER GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL ALL-AMERICAN WRESTLING TEAM

Name (listed alphabetically), year in school, city, high school, weight class range

FIRST TEAM
Cathilee Albert, senior, Boulder, Colo, Fairview High School, middle
Katrina Betts, senior, Milan, Mich., Milan High School, light
Lisa Bisers, senior, Allison Park, Pa., Hampton High School, middle
Brooke Bogren, junior, Carbondale, Kan., Santa Fe Trail High School, light
Erica Dye, junior, Elizabeth, W.Va., Wirt County High School, light
Melina Hutchison, senior, Soldotna, Alaska, Skyview High School (homeschool), light
Mary Kelly, junior, Mahomet, Ill., Mahomet-Seymour High School, light
Keristen LaBelle, junior, Davison, Mich., Lapeer West High School, light
Alicia Mena, junior, St. Paul, Minn., Humboldt High School, upper
Toccara Montgomery, senior, Cleveland, Ohio, East Technical High School, upper
Jenna Pavlik, senior, Lewes, Del., Cape Henelopen High School, upper
Brandi Rosenbrock, sophomore, Warren, Mich, East Detroit High School, middle
Jessi Shirley, senior, Galion, Ohio, Northmor High School, middle
Erin Tomeo, senior, Volant, Pa., Grove City High School, middle

SECOND TEAM
Sara Fulp Allen, sophomore, El Granada, Calif., Half Moon Bay High School, light
Ali Bernard, freshman, New Ulm, Minn., New Ulm High School, upper
Alaina Berube, junior, Escanaba, Mich., Escanaba High School, middle
Laura DiCesare, sophomore, Monroe, Mich., Monroe High School, upper
Melyssa Fuqua, junior, Westfield, Mass., Westfield High School, upper
Erica Hartman, senior, Pleasanton, Calif., Amador Valley High School, upper
Gina Heinzelman, junior, Saginaw, Mich., Heritage High School, light
Tanya Miyasaki, junior, Kaneohe, Hawaii, Castle High School, light
Samantha Lang, freshman, Tualatin, Ore., Tualatin High School, upper
Heather Martin, sophomore, Wellington, Ohio, Keystone High School, upper
Tela O’Donnell, senior, Homer, Alaska, Homer High School, middle
Shoni Plagman, senior, Lebanon, Ore., Lebanon High School, middle
Malinda Ripley, junior, Antioch, Calif., Deer Valley High School, light
Jennifer Wormwood, senior, South Paris, Maine, Oxford Hills Comp. High School, middle

THIRD TEAM
Wendy Casey, sophomore, Binghamton, N.Y., Binghampton High School, middle
Patrice Crenshaw, senior, East Point, Ga., Tri-Cities High School, light
Rebekka DeCola, senior, Ann Arbor, Mich., Community High School, upper
Rosaria DeCola, senior, Ann Arbor, Mich., Community High School, middle
Laura Felix, junior, Calibassas, Calif., Calabasas High School, light
Jessica Hseih, freshman, Vallejo, Calif., Vintage High School, light
Dyana McIntire, senior, Amarillo, Texas, Palo Duro High School, upper
Cathy Migita, senior, Honolulu, Hawaii, Castle High School, middle
Molly Seleska, senior, Dexter, Mich., Dexter High School, upper
Liz Short, senior, Lombard, Ill., Glenbard East High School, light
Shawn Swarzlender, freshman, Burns, Ore., Burns High School, light
Ashley Sword, senior, Lake Worth, Fla., Lake Worth High School, upper
Dani Presley, senior, Napa, Calif., Vintage High School, middle
Christine Rivera, junior, Berkeley, Calif., Berekely High School, middle

HONORABLE MENTION
Siobhan Bower, junior, Sinclairville, N.Y., Cassadega Valley Central High School, upper
Kelly Branham, junior, Apache Junction, Ariz., Apache Junction High School, upper
Casey Brittan, senior, Amarillo, Texas, Palo Duro High School, upper
Jen Chu, sophomore, Philadelphia, Pa., Germantown Friends School, light
Samantha Collett, sophomore, Millersburg, Ohio, West Holmes High School, middle
Teresa Dal Ben, junior, Sacramento, Calif., Elk Grove High School, middle
Ashley Dow, freshman, Waterbury Center, Vt., Harwood Union High School, middle
Kristy Ferguson, senior, Great Bend, Kan., Great Bend High School, middle
Kiristen Fujioka, senior, Kaneohe, Hawaii, Castle High School, light
Brandy Golt, senior, Chesapeake, Va., Oscar Smith High School, upper
Rachel Groft, freshman, Abbotsford, Pa., New Oxford High School, light
Carmen Hunter, junior, Gladys, Va., Rustburg High School, middle
Wendy Hunter, senior, Cleveland, Ohio, East Technical High School, upper
Devin Kelly, sophomore, Mercer, Pa., Mercer High School, upper
DeAnna Lau, senior, Kaneohe, Hawaii, Punahou School, middle
Amanda Lee, senior, Hastings, Mich., Hastings High School, middle
Kathryn Jones, junior, Modesto, Calif., Grace Davis High School, upper
Sheila Lerit, junior, Vallejo, Calif., Vallejo High School, light
Rocky Magdeleno, junior, Little Lake, Mich., Gwinn High School, middle
Linse Meadows, junior, Katy, Texas, Katy High School, middle
Malissa Mort, senior, Fredericktown, Pa., Bethlehem Center High School, light
Melissa Moore, junior, San Jose, Calif., Del Mar High School, light
Jennifer Perrin, senior, Boswell, Pa., Somerset Area High School, middle
Emily Rhinehart, junior, Orland, Calif., Orland High School, middle
Erin Soli, senior, Plainville, Conn., Plainville High School, light
Kristie Sweat, junior, Cookeville, Tenn., Cookeville High School, middle
Anna Tong, junior, Honolulu, Hawaii, Kaiser High School, middle
Elizabeth Torres, sophomore, Kahuku, Hawaii, Kakuku High School, light
Sarah Williams, senior, Interlochen, Mich., Benzonia Benzie High School, middle
Alicia Wilson, senior, Santee, Calif., Santana High School, upper

Note: Lightweights (100-121 lbs.); Middleweights (122-140); Upperweights (141 and above)