Wrestling one of the fastest-growing female high school sports in California

January 22, 2002

By LEAH ETLING
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Before the finals at the Napa Valley Girls Classic wrestling tournament, the announcer presented each contender, mentioning a few details about them.

Many had impressive wins at state or national tournaments on their resumes. Another had a special message for the crowd.

"She wants everyone to know that (movie star) Heath Ledger is the hottest," the emcee boomed.

Welcome to girls wrestling, one of the fastest growing female high school sports in the state. It's a blend of post-Title IX empowerment, pure competitive adrenaline and start-up initiative that could prompt the California Interscholastic Federation to sanction separate all-girls teams, rather than co-ed squads, within the next decade.

Last year, the number of girls participating in wrestling nationwide grew 23 percent, from 2,474 to 3,032. The number of teams with female participation grew by 22 percent, from 734 to 896.

Of the 31 states reporting girls' wrestling participants in 2001, California had the most by far, with 752. Texas followed with 485.

"My freshman year in high school, you didn't see any girls," said Alexander Duerr, coach of the Valley Freestyle Wrestling club and a volunteer assistant with several Santa Rosa high school programs. Duerr was a wrestler at Montgomery from 1996 to 2000.

"I think there were three girls throughout the whole (North Bay) league. Now, it seems like every team has at least two girls."

There were 129 entries in last weekend's Napa Classic, making it the largest girls wrestling match in California history. That mark may be broken next week though, at the open state championships in Vallejo.

The Napa tournament was one of a half-dozen all-female matches in the state this season, all but one of them in Northern California.

Around the Redwood Empire, most wrestling teams now have a girl or two on their roster. Casa Grande High was represented well at Saturday's tournament, with both Gaucho wrestlers, Jackie Mattos and Adriana Cervantes, making the finals. Montgomery High had three entrants and St. Helena sent two.

"The fact that they have enough girls to have tournaments like this is important," said Casa Grande assistant coach John Talent, who expects there to be enough interest in the sport for separate teams in the next five to 10 years.

Most of the girls who wrestle now, though, don't seem to care whether they compete against girls or boys. They're generally treated well by their male teammates.

"They're like family, like brothers," said sophomore Alexandria Duerr of Montgomery, whose brother introduced her to the sport and helps coach her.

She prefers wrestling against boys. "Girls are vicious, they'll slap you," Duerr said. At the Montgomery invitational, one of her female opponents made a judo move to her chin that the referee didn't call.

"I practice with guys so I know their style, and girls' body shapes are hard to deal with. Their hips get in the way."

She and freshman teammate Florence Rubinger have found boys have a different reaction when beaten, too. Rubinger (the first freshman girl to win a NBL varsity match, at 103 pounds) and Duerr were surprised when their vanquished opponents shed tears.

Other wrestlers, like freshman Mattos of Casa Grande, prefer to go up against girls because their strength is more closely matched. She is looking forward to the girls state championships, and should do well there after finishing second in the 152-pound division at Napa.

Cervantes, a Casa Grande junior, has a sense of trail-blazing to go along with superb technical skills. "It feels like we're crossing boundaries," Cervantes said. "At first it feels like maybe you shouldn't be there, but then you learn how to act like a guy without being a guy. We're the best smelling ones on the team."

Cervantes said she and Mattos are fortunate to have coaches who can take them to separate tournaments. Some of the wrestlers at Napa came on their own or with family members.

Todd McNicholas, a first-year assistant coach at Casa Grande, had no problem spending a 12-hour day in Mattos and Cervantes' corners. "They go out there and work just as hard as the guys," he said.

"As athletes we expect the same from them as we do from anyone else," Talent added.

While most of the coaches at Saturday's tournament were male, Talent believes the first generation of female high school wrestlers will become the future coaches of all-girls teams. Thousand Oaks, the biggest team at Napa with 20 athletes, is coached by national champion wrestler Shannon Yancey.

Angela Ardizzone, a second-year wrestler for St. Helena, was the only girl on the Saints team last year. This season, she's been joined by Natalie Escareno.

"It works better with another girl so you can practice with them," Ardizzone said.

Kanani Arakaki, a Montgomery senior, wrestled her first match Saturday and was surprised at the pain of the experience.

"Getting rubbed into the mat was very violent, but it was a good learning experience," said Arakaki, who lost her first match at 144 pounds, but won her second and forfeited her third due to nerves. She wasn't sure if she'd wrestle again this season, since her parents prefer that she not wrestle against boys.

Saturday's experience, though, showed her there may not be any difference. "Girls like to fight dirty," Arakaki said.

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Weighty Role for Tacoronte

By Tara Driscoll
STAFF WRITER

January 20, 2002

Late Friday evening, past 9:30 p.m., and about 12 hours before Lauryn Tacoronte was to wrestle in a quad meet at FDR, the Curtis sophomore still hadn't eaten a thing that day.

When she has to make weight, she's content sipping juice - apple, orange or cranberry - taking vitamins and running the school halls wearing four jackets to sweat off the pounds.

The only active female on a PSAL wrestling team, Tacoronte does what any wrestler would do to make weight. Hours spent conditioning and weight training have paid off for the 16-year- old, who recently earned a starting spot in the 103-pound class on the coed squad.

Curtis (8-2), a club team last year, was given PSAL approval to turn varsity this winter. Tacoronte confidently approached Curtis wrestling coach Chris Alena last season about joining. She had been interested for awhile, remembering how a newspaper story she read in middle school about a girl wrestler inspired her.

"I thought, 'If she can do it, I can do it,'" Tacoronte said.

So she suited up, joined in and has been an integral part of the team ever since.

"With her talent, she can compete with anyone," Alena said.

Last month, Tacoronte was up to 116 pounds and edged out by Thomas Quigley for a starting spot at 112.

Eager to compete, she dropped weight and beat out Chat Jayasuriya for the 103 spot, earning a starting position against Stuyvesant on Jan. 8.

Tacoronte looked solid in practice and scrimmages, but could she win an official match?

"I was walking up to the circle and heard giggling" from the other team, she said. Not at all intimidated, Tacoronte stepped in for battle and won an 11-3 decision. "It felt great."

Since that match, Tacoronte defeated a Far Rockaway opponent, won a forfeit and lost her first match yesterday to FDR's Michael Cruz.

"It's good to get an occasional kick," she said after the FDR loss.

The almost 5-footer is unmistakably female, but come match time, her nose ring is gone and her light brown pony tail is tucked under a black and white bandana.

"She's something special," her dad, Joe, said. "We thought she was crazy in the beginning, but she has a fire inside her."

The self-described "tomboy" has made a case for girls in wrestling. Tacoronte's biggest challenge, like many females, is building upper-body strength.

Hunter College wrestler Christina Luksa, 18, can attest to that. She came to cheer her for her alma mater yesterday and offered Cruz advice before he took the mat to face Tacoronte. Luksa, a powerhouse in the 141 class, wrestled her senior year at FDR.

"I told him to watch out for the hips," Luksa said. "And don't take it as a joke."

Cruz didn't, defeating Tacoronte, 16-1. After the match, he hugged Tacoronte, who managed a smile in her defeat.

"She's very flexible," Luksa said after watching Tacoronte in action. "She needs to be more aggressive and take her opponent down first. That's something I'm still working on."

Tacoronte, an A student enrolled in the advanced international baccalaureate program at Curtis, hopes to develop into a college athlete.

"I want to go to NYU, compete on the wrestling team and train to be a physical therapist," she said.
Copyright © 2002, Newsday, Inc.

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PSAL Wrestling Goes to College

By Eric Lynn 1/22/2002

Christina Luksa, formerly of the FDR High School Wrestling Team under Coach Paul Klyap is the first female wrestler in PSAL history to go on to wrestle on the college wrestling circuit. She was also the first female in the PSAL history to win a match against a male. Christina is the first female wrestler in the history of Hunter College.

Why did you choose to wrestle?

I grew up being bullied by my very large brother who later encouraged me to take up the martial arts. The martial arts I was involved with was very similar to wrestling, so, when the opportunity arose to wrestle, it was only natural that I sign up. I began my struggle in my junior year of high school. I already knew most of the wrestlers and was familiar with the coach. The coach turned me down immediately. I was upset, but with encouragement from the wrestlers on the team, I continued to push. They even offered to put together a petition to get me onto the team. In my senior year, I took a fitness test and was finally accepted onto the wrestling team.

How does the college wrestling circuit differ from your PSAL experience?

I had to fight just to become a part of the FDR wrestling team, and continued having to fight to gain the respect of the people around me. At Hunter college, I was asked by coach Bob Gaudenzi to be a part of the wrestling team. I do not hear any of the remarks from my friends or the other wrestlers about being a girl on the wrestling team. My teammates made me feel very comfortable. Many of them refer to me as mom because I tend to clean up after them alot.

How well do you wrestle against your college rivals?

The wrestlers I find myself against are much stronger than I have ever faced. Many of the people I face now have much more experience with wrestling because they live on Long Island, Staten Island, and upstate which begin wrestling at a much younger age. I may not win often, but I can hold my own. When one of my teammates is looking for a challenging partner to help enhance their wrestling ability, they will not hesitate to choose me.

How has wrestling affected you outside of the sport?

Physically, I am much stronger than I ever would have dreamed possible. The strategy and thinking that goes on in wrestling has helped me have better concentration in the classroom. People look up to me because I have the confidence and courage to take on the challenge of wrestling men. Interestingly enough, more men look up to me for what I do than women. People don't want to mess with me, even though I'm harmless. Because I have been successful in my wrestling carreer, I am not afraid to take on greater risks and challenges that come up.

Where do you want to go with your wrestling carreer?

I will definitely continue wrestling through all four years of college. I understand that a female olympic wrestling team may be put together. I would definitely consider that opportunity. I would also like to consider the possibility of coaching high school wrestling, possibly even for FDR high school.

If there were an all girls wrestling team, would you rather wrestle there, or, would you want to continue to wrestle against the guys?

I wouldn't join the girls wrestling team. I have never wrestled a female before. If given a choice, I would choose to remain with my teammates, even though it would be 10 times harder.

How does your family feel about your wrestling against men?

My father is totally against it. He believes women should not compete in men's sports. He won't come to my practices because he is not sure how he would react.

My mom says to do it, but not to come to her when I get hurt. Mom doesn't come to my maches either because she doesn't want to see me struggling or getting hurt.

My brother thinks I'm crazy. He doesn't understand why I like to wrestle.

My 3 sisters are supportive of my wrestling, even though they are not able to see my matches because of where they live.

What advise would you give to the female wrestlers on coed PSAL high school teams today?

If you think you're mentally strong enough to handle the stress of the controversy of being a female on a coed team, you must push through everything and think of yourself as nothing more than a wrestler. It is difficult to do this, however, Before tournaments, I am often nervous, and feel like I am disliked because I am intruding on a male dominated sport.

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League: Wrestling is for boys
Granite, Collinsville teams are cited

By Brian Brueggemann 1/11/02
BBRUEGGEMANN@BND.COM

GRANITE CITY -- Having a grandfather who was a standout wrestler in high school and college inspired 12-year-old Erika Prazma to join the junior high wrestling team.

But a ruling by her school's athletic conference has pinned the sixth-grader's dream to the mat.

The Madison County Junior High School Athletic Conference has determined that wrestling, according to the conference's constitution, is a sport for boys.

And Erika, well, is not a boy.

``I think it's pretty much discrimination,'' said the girl's mother, Jill Prazma.

Erika and two other girls signed up for the wrestling team this year at Grigsby Middle School in Granite City. Erika and one of the other girls, sixth-grader Sulyn Keomanivane, even beat out some boys to make the varsity team, which puts them in matches against eighth-grade boys from other schools.

Jill Prazma said her daughter competed in one match already this year and fared well against an older boy. Erika lost, but it was a technical fall, not an actual pin.

The Prazmas on Friday received a copy of a letter from Sue Rives, the president of the athletic conference.

The letter states that two schools in the conference are allowing girls to participate in wrestling, but the conference's constitution lists wrestling and football as ``boys football'' and ``boys wrestling.''

``As this issue was not discussed at the September meeting and I do not have any knowledge of additional changes to the constitution, we will continue to follow the established guidelines and allow only boys to participate in football and wrestling,'' Rives' letter states.

It also states: ``If you would like to request an amendment to the constitution for the February meeting, please follow the steps outlined in the conference constitution.''

Jill Prazma said the February meeting is too late. The wrestling season ends Feb. 20.

Erika said she thinks the conference made the ruling ``just because it's body-to-body contact, and they don't want girls wrestling with boys. But that's wrestling, and that's what you do.''

She added, ``I think girls have the same rights as boys do.''

Her grandfather, Jim Bledsoe, placed second in state while wrestling for Granite City High School, was a national champion during college and was invited to compete in Olympic trials, Jill Prazma said.

Rives could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

Jill Prazma said she, too, was not able to contact Rives, who is principal at Lewis & Clark Junior High in Wood River. Prazma said she did speak with Regional Superintendent of Schools Harry Briggs, and his advice was to get a lawyer.

Jill Prazma said she and her husband haven't decided what to do.

The other school referred to in Rives' letter is North Junior High School in Collinsville which has three female wrestlers, according to a St. Louis television news report.

Prazma said she doesn't know the policies at other schools and conferences regarding female wrestlers in junior high.

However, many local high schools allow females to wrestle against males in Illinois High School Association competition.

Mascoutah and Belleville high schools, for example, have had female wrestlers in recent years, and a girl currently competing at Mahomet-Seymour High School near Springfield is considered one of the best female wrestlers in the nation.

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Fulp-Allen takes Williams Cup

Half Moon Bay Review 1/16/02

Sara Fulp-Allen, a junior at Half Moon Bay High School, claimed the 103-pound title at the all-girls Williams Cup Wrestling Tournament held Jan. 5 in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Fulp-Allen defeated Myca Wantabe 9-0 in the title match. Wantabe, of Vintage High School in Napa, entered the tournament as the No. 3 ranked wrestler in the nation in that weight division.

Fulp-Allen won her first two matches by pin. She won her semi-final match by technical fall.

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