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Taking down the naysayers

01/06/02

PAIGE PARKER

FOREST GROVE B oys used to whistle nonchalantly as they sparred with Jill Remiticado.

Fellow wrestlers in Hawaii would compound the disrespect by calling her a joke when she walked past. Her high school teammates once ditched Remiticado in a Denny's bathroom, forcing her to chase the team van on foot as it pulled away.

She caught up.

Remiticado, now a 123-pound 20-year-old, withstood the snubs and insults of high school wrestling, set a women's powerlifting record by hoisting 336 pounds over her head, and emerged one of Hawaii's top female wrestlers. She did a lot, she says, "for a girl."

Then, two years ago, Remiticado walked into the wrestling practice room of a small liberal arts college in Forest Grove.

A few of the guys glanced up and wondered why their new statistician wore sweats.

And women's wrestling arrived at Pacific University.

In September, the 2,200-student university added a women's wrestling team. It became one of 15 U.S. colleges -- the only one in the Northwest -- with an organized women's club or team. In November, Pacific's women were ranked fourth in the first-ever national women's poll released by TheMat.com, a Web site sponsored by the sanctioning body for amateur wrestling in the United States.

Women's wrestling as a whole is gaining momentum, evidenced by its addition to the roster at the 2004 Olympics, the sole new sport that year. But it still is playing catch-up. Out of 755,000 amateur wrestlers in the United States, 5,000 are women, said Gary Abbott, director of special projects for U.S.A. Wrestling, the sanctioning body.

Other girls can pick up a softball, basketball or tennis racket and just play. But when she dons a singlet, a woman must shrug off a society that looks askance at girls who tussle with boys in wrestling maneuvers that include crotch holds, leg-straddling and something called "the gut-wrench." A young sport The University of Minnesota-Morris became the first U.S. college to field a women's team in 1994 -- nearly 100 years after the first college men's teams formed.

Some colleges, such as women's wrestling power Missouri Valley in Marshall, Mo., created women's divisions because coaches wanted to protect their men's teams from Title IX gender-equity cuts.

Pacific had never had a woman on its team in 50 years before Remiticado showed up as a freshman in November 1999. She chose Pacific for its championship wrestling team and for its programs in physics, her major, and Japanese and math.

Remiticado picked up wrestling as a high school freshman in Aiea, near Honolulu, because she wanted to stand out at her elite private high school. Her experience was typical of most female wrestlers, who come up through all-male high school teams, sparring and competing against boys in divisions based on weight.

Two years would pass before Remiticado beat a boy. Many girls quit the sport at this point, discouraged by defeat. But living in Hawaii, one of two states with a girls-only state tournament, gave Remiticado more opportunities to wrestle girls.

As a junior, Remiticado won at 114 pounds in the state's first high school girls' wrestling tournament. She placed fourth the next year.

When she joined Pacific's team, Remiticado sparred with the men and traveled with them to tournaments, but she competed only when the opposing team included a woman. She traveled to the U.S. Girls Wrestling Association finals twice, placing first in her weight class both years. He's a believer Assistant coach Mike Clock watched Remiticado closely. In a world full of doubters, Clock is a mat-thumping evangelist, but his conversion to women's wrestling came slowly.

Clock is a 35-year coaching veteran who led the Pacific men to 16 consecutive Northwest Conference championships before stepping down in 1988. For most of his career, Clock thought women lacked the work ethic and pain threshold required of an elite wrestler.

"I wondered even if women worked hard, if they'd want some special consideration," he said.

Meeting Remiticado changed his mind.

"The very fact that she was in there, she didn't ask for anything special, she worked hard, she couldn't beat any of the guys but she kept coming, convinced me that we needed to take a look" at starting a women's team, Clock said.

Clock and coach Frank Johnson approached Pacific's dean, who gave the OK to start a club. Though the women don't have their own budget and must pay travel expenses, the dean found a small amount of start-up money.

Clock mentioned the team to coaches at other schools last spring, and they passed along the news. By summer, his roster was set. This season, Pacific's eight women wrestle other women in six tournaments over five months. On Friday, they will face Missouri Valley in the Oregon Classic Duals in Redmond.

Clock expects Pacific to upgrade the women to varsity status within two years and the team eventually to grow as large as the 27-member men's team.

When he mentions that he coaches women, Clock finds himself reassuring startled listeners that women wrestlers aren't ugly, masculine or dumb.

Unlike coaches in sports with a tradition of female participation, Clock must sell women's wrestling.

"These aren't the dregs of society," he tells the skeptical. "These are girls you'd be proud to have your sons going with." Olympic gold beckons Women wrestlers say they like the sport because it offers a physical challenge and the opportunity to shine individually while still belonging to a team. A young sport with few elite athletes, it also provides an unprecedented chance to win an Olympic medal.

One of Remiticado's teammates, junior Katie Kunimoto, says the lure of Olympic gold led her to leave her spot as a University of Hawaii cheerleader to wrestle, first for Missouri Valley, then Pacific.

As they chase the Olympics, women wrestlers must fight stereotypes. Pacific's women acknowledge that a few of their peers view the sport as a way to meet men. Remiticado says she can "recognize a woman who's wrestling for the wrong reasons from across the mat."

"It bothers me that they're the examples that people use to make a mockery of the sport," she said.

Articles about women's wrestling are rife with snide asides about mud and Jell-O. Women wrestlers recall instances of outright sexism: Male trainers who thank females for not weighing-in naked, as the men do. High school coaches who ask tournament officials to rejigger the brackets to avoid coed matches. High school boys who forfeit rather than wrestle girls.

At times, even the sport's supporters misstep. Clock offered to buy flashier singlets for Pacific's women, something he chuckles at now. Wary of offending heavier women, most coaches call the weight class over 165 pounds the "unlimited" class; the men are called "heavyweights."

And when wrestling's international governing body approved Olympic women's wrestling, it made room by cutting male divisions, a move some say is liable to engender resentment.

To prove they belong, women wrestlers say they practice hard, aware skeptics may be watching every pin and pushup.

Pacific's women started conditioning three weeks before the men. They often join the men's two-hour practices. When they train separately, it is with assistant coach Matthew Farahani. The former Iranian national Greco-Roman champion leads them through three hours of running, tumbling and pummeling.

Opening the mat room to women has tempered the atmosphere, Clock allows. With the chin-scratching bewilderment of a man often amused by female behavior, Clock recalls when Remiticado arrived at practice carrying a birthday cake for a teammate.

The women say they realize most male objections to women's wrestling are tethered to a basic truth.

"Wrestling a girl, it is a no-win situation for a guy," said Sam Baumer, a senior on the men's team. "In high school, if you lose to a girl, it's like, dude, you got beat up by a girl. And if you beat them, it's like, dude, you beat up a girl."

Pacific's women say they haven't received any such guff.

When Remiticado's male teammates realized she was there to stay, the upperclassmen made an informal pact not to date her.

"More than anything, it's a sign of respect," Baumer said. "She's equal. She's one of the boys now." Oregonian researcher Lovelle Svart contributed to this report.

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PREP REPORT: Tri-County wrestler proving girls can compete with boys

By PETER LINDBLAD
Journal staff 12/13/2001

PLAINFIELD -- A woman's place is on the wrestling mat. At least that's where Jamie Chappa feels she belongs.

The freshman 103-pound wrestler for Plainfield Tri-County is 6-2 this season, with four pins, and making her male opponents wish she'd take up knitting instead.

"I was kind of nervous in my first match, but the first kid I went against forfeited because he didn't want to lose to a girl," said Chappa. "But that doesn't bother me if they think like that."

Unfazed, Chappa just goes about her business.

"When you get to a better level of competition, the guys look at it like you're just another wrestler that they might get beaten by," said Chappa. "I know a lot of kids who don't care that I'm a girl. They just know that I've given them a good run."

That attitude is changing as more and more girls participate in wrestling. The Stevens Point Area Senior High program also has a female wrestler on its junior varsity team this season.

So far, though, it's Chappa who is making the biggest impact, even as she tries to learn a different style of wrestling.

For six years in the middle school wrestling program in Wisconsin Rapids, Chappa wrestled free style, which taught her a vast repertoire of takedown moves. Now, Chappa is competing in "folk" style wrestling, where back points don't come as easy.

"In Rapids, it all depended on the takedowns," said Chappa. "We don't depend on the takedowns here as much. You have to be better on the mat."

Still, Chappa realizes she's got to get stronger as the boys she faces today turn into men. To keep up, Chappa is lifting weights to gain strength.

For right now though, Chappa has other ways of defeating her opponents.

"Actually, she's got really good technique," said Penguins coach Les Kramer. "What she lacks in strength, she makes up for in technique and quickness."

Watching tapes of wrestling greats with her dad, Ed, has helped Chappa develop her moves.

"My dad has a lot of training tapes, and that has helped a lot because I'll use moves they use," said Chappa.

A former high school wrestler, Chappa's father has been the guiding influence behind his daughter's development.

When Chappa's brother, Josh, who is a year younger than Jamie, expressed an interest in wrestling, he needed a partner to work with. They turned to Jamie.

"I was closest to him in weight, so when he needed a practice partner, I helped out," said Chappa, who describes her brother as a "tough" wrestler. "That's what kept me at it. We practiced a lot together before I ever competed.

It's not enough for Chappa to get a workout from her brother. In practice, Chappa works with Jesse Mata, a state qualifier for Tri-County last year.

"The team has been really supportive," said Chappa. "They have all really accepted me and helped me out."

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Fulp-Allen wins girls' wrestling tourney

By Mark Foyer--Half Moon Bay Review 1/8/2002

A wrestling match can last three rounds.

But Half Moon Bay High School girls wrestling champion Sara Fulp-Allen has won every match this year by pin before the end of the second round.

That included the three matches she wrestled at the Dec. 22 Lady Bearcat Invitational, the largest girls' wrestling tournament in the state's history. The tournament was held at San Mateo High School.

Fulp-Allen claimed the 108-pound title in the tournament.

Teammate Alisa Gammon finished second at 114 pounds.

Fulp-Allen began the tournament by pinning Anna Trinidad of Edison in the second round. She then pinned Melanie Grim of Jesse Bethel in the first round.

Fulp-Allen then claimed the title after pinning Lenci Landaker of Vallejo in the second round.

"I have wrestled (Landaker) before," Fulp-Allen said. "I have never lost to her."

Fulp-Allen was in complete control of that match. At the time of the pin, she was leading 10-0.

When she arrived to San Mateo for the inaugural tournament, however, she had no idea what to expect because she thought she wouldn't know many of her opponents. As it turned out, Fulp-Allen said saw both familiar and new faces. A total of 85 girls from 33 schools wrestled in the 11 weight divisions.

In addition to wrestlers from San Mateo County, competitors from the East Bay, Napa, Sacramento, and as far south as San Diego attended the tournament.

"It was awesome," Gammon said. "When I arrived, there were 50 girls standing in line, waiting to be weighed in."

Gammon began her day with two pins. She first beat Asia Abed of Hogan High School of Vallejo with a pin in the second round.

That was followed by another second round pin, this one against Kassie Cook of American of Fremont.

That set the stage for the title match against Shiela Lerit of Vallejo.

"I have wrestled her before," Gammon said. "I knew she was a good wrestler."

Lerit had pinned Gammon in previous matches.

The match was after the first round. But early in the second round, Lerit pinned Gammon.

Despite the loss, Gammon was happy with the way she wrestled.

"The last time we wrestled, I was always defending myself," Gammon said. "I was happy to see that I was able to get closer to her level of wrestling. There was no way I could have done this last year."

The two will return to the mat on Jan. 5, competing in the Williams Cup in Thousand Oaks.

That same day, the Half Moon Bay boys' wrestling team will participate in the Las Lomas Tournament in Walnut Creek.

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Almost There
Martin shows flashes, but not enough to win

By ANTHONY ANDRO 1/6/2002
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

GRAND PRAIRIE - Martin showed flashes of the type of wrestling team coach Tony Warren thinks it can be Saturday at the Lone Star Duals.

Unfortunately, those flashes weren't enough to carry the Warriors to the title.

The Warriors sandwiched two losses to Lawton (Okla.) around victories over Austin Bowie and Amarillo Caprock to finish fourth in the 24-team tournament at Warrior Coliseum. Martin finished third last year and second two years ago.

"It's a significant accomplishment to finish fourth in a field like this," said Warren, whose team lost its quarterfinal and third-place matches to Lawton. "What we have to find is some consistency. I'm not happy with our performance in the morning [a 47-31 loss] or in the evening [a 45-24 loss]. But I am happy with the way we wrestled in the afternoon."

The Warriors rebounded from the morning loss by routing Austin Bowie 57-20 and edging Amarillo Caprock 39-38. In the victory over Caprock, the Warriors rallied with pins in their final three matches, making up a 38-23 deficit.

"I saw some things I've been needing to see from this team," Warren said. "We were able to step up at times when we needed to. Hopefully this will get us ready for district."

After a strong showing in pool competition Friday, Bowie had its problems Saturday. The Volunteers lost all three of their matches and finished in eighth place. Rockwall defeated Bowie in the quarterfinals 54-19. Jesuit edged the Volunteers 39-35, and Austin Bowie won the seventh-place dual 54-27.

Brother Martin of New Orleans made it three consecutive Lone Star Dual championships with a 48-18 victory over defending state champion Rockwall.

Martin's Jennifer Miller pinned Sam Houston's Yadira Aguilera to win the 148-pound division. Sam Houston's Monica Coleman claimed her third championship this season, pinning Julie Aquino of Hereford to win the 215-pound division.

Miller, a sophomore, has won three events this season and is 5-0 in the 148-pound division. She has also wrestled at 165 and 185 pounds this season.

"I'm glad I won because it proves a lot of work pays off," Miller said. "I'm very pleased with the way I wrestled. The Sam Houston girl [Aguilera] was strong, and she's going to be good."

Coleman, also a sophomore, wrestled three times at the tournament but only spent 3 minutes, 12 seconds on the mat. The championship, which lasted 2:48, was Coleman's longest match in the tournament. She pinned her other two foes in 10 and 14 seconds.

"I'm proud of myself," Coleman said. "I've gotten better since last year. "

Amarillo Caprock won the girls team title with 150 points. Killeen Ellison finished second, and Sam Houston and Arlington tied for third.

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