Wrestlers story

TOLIN WINS CONSOLATION FINALS AT MISSOURI VALLEY WOMEN'S INTERNATIONAL OPEN

CASPER - Sarah Tolin of Casper, Wyoming wins the consolation finals and takes home a 3rd place plaque at 55 kilograms/121 pounds at the Missouri Valley Women's International Open wrestling tournament in Marshall, Missouri on January 26, 2002. This is Tolin's highest place finish at a senior women's international wrestling event. In December, Tolin won first place in her first women's college tournament at the University of Minnesota-Morris where women's varsity collegiate wrestling in the United States first began in 1995.

In the consolation finals, Tolin, a freshman at Neosho County Community College in Chanute, Kansas, defeated Lisa Ward of Woodinville, Washington, a freshman at Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Missouri, by an 8-5 decision. Prior to the tournament, Ward was ranked fourth and Tolin was ranked fifth at 55kg/121 pounds for all U.S. College Women wrestlers by TheMat.com and USA wrestling.

The 55kg/121 pounds tournament champion was Malissa Sherwood of Tracy California, a Senior at Missouri Valley College, who pinned all of her opponents in the tournament, except for Tolin who lost on points in her first round match-up against the veteran Sherwood. Coming into the tournament, Sherwood was ranked 2nd at 59kg/130 pounds for U.S. College Women and was the 2000 gold medalist at the Pan-American Games. Sherwood is also a 5 time U.S. Women National's runner-up.

Sherwood, who has often been ranked #1 among all U.S. Senior women, pinned in the finals Jessi Shirley of Galion, Ohio, a freshman at Cumberland, College. Shirley in the latest college rankings was ranked #1 at 55kg/121 pounds for U.S. College Women. Because of the FILA pool system for international competition, Tolin who placed 2nd in her pool advanced to the consolation finals but did not have the opportunity to wrestle Shirley who took first in her pool. This was the first FILA tournament in the world to utilize the new international weights that were changed to accommodate women's wrestling as an Olympic sport in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.

The Neosho County Lady Panthers finished the Missouri Valley Women's International Open tournament in fourth place with host Missouri Valley taking the team title, Cumberland College placing second, and University of Minnesota-Morris finishing third. Other Neosho County placers included Kera Pemberton of Manhattan, Kansas - third at 48 kg/105.5 pounds; Jennifer Steele of Otawatomie, Kansas - fifth at 59kg/130 pounds; Emily Black of Baldwin, Kansas - sixth at 63kg/138.5 pounds; and Randi Miller of Arlington, Texas - second at 72 kg/158.5 pounds.

Neosho County is the first and only junior college in the United States with a varsity women's wrestling team. The Neosho County men's team won the 2000 NJCAA national championships and is currently the top ranked JUCO team in the United States.

Tolin is coached by NJCAA 2000 Coach of the Year Terry Pack, Head Women's Coach Johnny Taylor, and Assistant Coaches Aurel Ciufulescu, a former Romanian national and world team member, and Ricky Pierce in his first year of coaching at Neosho County.

Tolin and her teammates take the next week of competition off as Neosho County Community College is hosting the NJCAA men's collegiate wrestling regionals. Tolin and her women's team will next wrestle in two weeks at the Dave Schultz Memorial International Wrestling Tournament at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In addition to the strong competitors from the United States at the senior women's level, elite women athletes from Canada and Bulgaria are expected to compete in the tournament. The men's Freestyle and Greco-Roman competition will feature some of the world's best elite athletes.

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TOLIN RANKED 5TH IN US COLLEGE WOMEN WRESTLERS

(1/22/02)Tolin Family Wrestling page

CASPER - Sarah Tolin, is ranked 5th nationally at 121 pounds in the latest rankings for U.S. College Women released January 21, 2002 by TheMat.com and USA Wrestling. Tolin, a freshman athlete at Neosho County Community College in Chanute, Kansas, is in her first year of college wrestling. She is a Casper native and transfer student from Casper College (Casper, WY). Tolin is a 2000 graduate of Kelly Walsh High School (Casper, WY) where she competed with Tim Wilcox's Trojan Wrestling team for two seasons.

In the final 2001 college women's rankings, Tolin was ranked 7th at 123 pounds. Last month, in a varsity dual at Williamsburg, Kentucky, Tolin lost a close but hard fought match to Jessica Shirley, now the top ranked wrestler at 121 pounds from Cumberland College. Tolin and her college teammates will compete at the Missouri Valley Women's International Open this weekend in Marshall, Missouri.

As of January 1, 2002, FILA has modified the international women's weight classes used in Freestyle wrestling in non-Olympic years, which the U.S. and Canadian Colleges use for their varsity women's wrestling programs. The North American college women's coaches have also now added an additional weight class of 169.5 pounds at the top of the weights for a total of 8 weight brackets for U.S. College Women. The college women rankings will be based on these eight new weight classes throughout 2002.The weight changes were made by FILA because women's wrestling has been added as an Olympic sport beginning with the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

Tolin is joined by three of her NCCC teammates in the latest national college women individual rankings. Freshman Kera Pemberton, a High School All-American from Manhattan, KS, is ranked 5th at 105.5 pounds; Freshman Emily Black, from Lawerence, KS, is ranked 7th at 138.5 pounds; and Freshman Randi Miller, a High School All-American from Arlington, TX, is ranked 3rd at 158.5 pounds. Neosho County Lady Panthers are currently ranked 6th in the nation among all college women wrestling teams.

While the Neosho County women's team is in their first season, the Neosho County men's wrestling team is in their fourth season, and is currently the top ranked team in the nation in the latest NJCAA college poll. The Panthers were the NJCAA national championship team in 2000. This past weekend the Neosho County men Panthers dominated the field at the Apodaca Dual Showdown at Northwest College in Powell and in separate duals, defeated #4 ranked Ricks College of Rexburg Idaho, #5 ranked Northwest College of Powell Wyoming, and the unranked but talented Western Wyoming College of Rock Springs Wyoming. The Neosho men entered the tournament with six #1 ranked wrestlers and two wrestlers ranked #3.

Tolin earned her varsity letter in wrestling as a senior at KWHS and was the first girl in Wyoming allowed to wrestle on a boys high school team by the Wyoming High School Activities Association. This is her eighth year of wrestling. She is a three time recipient of the Wyoming Governor's Award for Excellence in Freestyle Wrestling. A two time Girls Freestyle State Champion, Tolin received a ninth place medal at the 2000 Girls High School National Championships, earning All-American honors. She is also the female athlete representative on the Board of Directors of the Wyoming Amateur Wrestling Association.

Tolin is also a member of the Phi Theta Kappa National Junior College Scholastic Honor Society and was recently named to the Vice-President's Honor Roll with a 3.5 GPA for her first semester at Neosho County Community College.

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USA Wrestling Junior Olympic Wrestling Committee approves girls division at 2002 ASICS Junior National Championships in Fargo, N.D. in July

1/30/2002
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling

The USA Wrestling Junior Olympic Wrestling Committee unanimously approved a proposal to host a girls division at the 2002 ASICS Junior National Championships in Fargo, N.D. in July.

This will be the first time that a girls division will be included in the tournament, considered the largest and most prestigious youth wrestling event in the world.

Female wrestlers in grades 9-12 will be eligible to participate in the competition, representing their USA Wrestling state associations.

The specific schedule for the ASICS Junior National Championships for girls is being finalized and will be announced shortly.

The Junior National Championships were created in 1971, with a freestyle division for high school boys. In 1972, a boys Greco-Roman division was added to the competition. The number of boys participants in this event has grown to over 1,800 each year, and has been a training ground for numerous future Olympians.

In 1996, the Junior Nationals were combined with the Cadet Nationals, making it the largest event in wrestling history, with up to 3,600 competitors each year. The addition of the girls division at the 2002 ASICS Junior Nationals will mark another milestone for this competition.

In September 2001, the International Olympic Committee announced that women's freestyle wrestling would be added to the official program at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

Wrestling is one of the fastest growing sports for young women in the United States. The National Federation of State High School Associations reported over 3,000 high school girls involved in the sport last year. USA Wrestling youth programs for girls have also grown during recent years.

USA Wrestling will now host age-group national championships for young women on four youth age levels: FILA Cadet, Junior, FILA Junior and University.

In order to participate, an athlete must qualify through procedures set by their USA Wrestling state association. A list of USA Wrestling State Chairpersons can be found on USAWrestling.org.

For more information on the ASICS Junior Nationals for girls, contact Mark Scott, USA Wrestling Director of State Services at 719-598-8181.

“We are very excited to add women to the Junior National program,” said Rich Bender, Executive Director of USA Wrestling. “It is an important step as we form a much needed developmental structure for our future Olympians.”

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The best men and women wrestlers in the USA to compete at the 2002 World Team Trials in Saint Paul, Minn., June 21-23

1/31/2002
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling

The Saint Paul Convention and Visitors Bureau, Minnesota/USA Wrestling and USA Wrestling are proud to announce that the 2002 World Team Trials will be held at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in Saint Paul, Minn., June 21-23.

The best men’s freestyle, men’s Greco-Roman and women’s freestyle wrestlers in the nation will battle for the right to represent the United States in the 2002 World Championships at this popular and prestigious event. The 2002 World Championships will be held in Iran (men’s freestyle), Russia (men’s Greco-Roman) and Greece (women’s freestyle).

The quality of the competition is expected to be outstanding. Many of the stars from the 2000 U.S. Olympic team, as well as the 2001 U.S. World Teams in all three styles, are expected to participate.

"Saint Paul is honored to forge this strong partnership with our friends at USA Wrestling to host the 2002 Men's Freestyle and Greco-Roman and Women's Freestyle World Team Trials in Saint Paul at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium,” said Thomas G. Getzke, CMP, the President/CEO of the Saint Paul Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Saint Paul is well known as a seasoned veteran tournament city with extensive experience in event management, fan services and event marketing. We have no doubt that USA Wrestling will have an outstanding event in Saint Paul. Our goal as host city is to work in partnership with USA Wrestling to establish a new level of excellence for the event."

"The upper Midwest is well known as national leader in the ongoing development of the sport of wrestling and we aim to use every resource to focus on presenting a successful event. The Roy Wilkins Auditoruim will be an excellent venue for the event. The athletes will enjoy the ‘big show’ atmosphere and the fans will appreciate the great sight lines. Saint Paul and the entire Twin Cities area offer so much to see and do. USA Wrestling participants, family members and fans will enjoy the unlimited variety of visitor attractions, restaurants, parks and of course, the spectacular Mall of America," Getzke said.

“Minnesota/USA Wrestling is extremely pleased that the World Team Trials for USA Wrestling will be held in Minnesota,” said Bill Hinchley, CEO of Minnesota/USA Wrestling. “Minnesota's rich tradition in Women's wrestling, in Men's Freestyle, and in Greco-Roman wrestling makes our state an ideal location for this great event. Minnesota/USA Wrestling will do their part in making the World Team Trials a very successful event.”

“USA Wrestling is excited to award one of its premier competitions to Minnesota,” said USA Wrestling Executive Director Rich Bender. “The wrestling community in Minnesota is very large and active, and we anticipate that the event in Saint Paul will be the most successful World Team Trials ever held.”

This is only the second time in USA Wrestling history that the World Team Trials for men’s freestyle, women’s freestyle and men’s Greco-Roman will be held together at one site. USA Wrestling expects that this competition will continue to grow into one of the most popular wrestling events in the nation.
The tournament format features a two-day Challenge Tournament and a championship finals series. The Challenge Tournament in all three styles will be held on Friday, June 21 and Saturday, June 22. This includes all of the competitors, except for the 2002 National Champions who are automatically in the finals.

On Sunday, June 23, the Championship finals in each weight class will be held, featuring the national champion facing the Challenge Tournament winner in a best-of-three series.

There are seven weight classes in each style. Each of the 2002 U.S. Nationals champions automatically advance to the championship finals on June 23.

The United States is among the top wrestling nations in the world. The U.S. won seven wrestling medals at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, including four medals in freestyle and three medals in Greco-Roman. The United States also captured seven medals at the 2001 World Championships, including three in Greco-Roman and two each in men’s freestyle and women’s freestyle.

Minnesota is a hotbed for wrestling in the United States. The Univ. of Minnesota is the reigning NCAA Div. I wrestling champion, and the Gophers draw tremendous crowds and support for their wrestling events. Numerous Minnesota natives have won medals for the United States on the international level. Minnesota/USA Wrestling has one of the most successful state wrestling organizations in the nation, with outstanding programs for athletes of all ages.

The location in Saint Paul makes the event within close range of wrestling fans from across the region and nation. All sports fans are encouraged to make plans to come to Saint Paul for some truly special wrestling.

Many local wrestling stars are expected to be on display, including 2000 Olympic bronze medalist Garrett Lowney, 1996 Olympic silver medalist Brandon Paulson and 2001 World silver medalist Brandon Eggum. These stars, along with many other talented wrestlers, live and train full-time in Minnesota.

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