|
|
|
|
Revive wrestling at ISU, but as a women's sport
Pantagraph Publishing Co. Feb 3, 2002
Illinois State University as a pillar of higher education has long been a leader in keeping abreast of technological advancements and social issues. They have pushed the envelope by being advocates for programs in diversity, women's studies, studies in Near Eastern cultures and program elimination through the application of the proportionality interpretation.
And, it is again time for them to be a leader and put their action where their commitments are. It is time for them to reinstate wrestling as a university program.
Don't get excited! Not wrestling as a men's sport, but a wrestling team for women.
And, the rationale is sound: There are presently girls wrestling on high school teams in Illinois that have no university programs to migrate to: hence, the program would be a recruiting tool for the university.
Additionally, there are about 2,000 girls nationwide participating in high school wrestling, which broadens the market.
Thirdly, there are 15 universities that presently have teams or clubs for women: University of Minnesota-Morris was the first in 1994. Hawaii leads the pack of participants, and what young woman wrestling wouldn't want to go to Hawaii.
November 2001 found the first ranking of women's collegiate wrestling by an authorized sanctioning body. Missouri Valley, Marshall, Mo., led the pack.
Illinois State University at one time led the state in having the highest number of wrestling coaches in high school ranks. Therefore, there should be a lot of qualified coaches available. Bloomington- Normal metro. area is a hot bed of quality wrestling programs, which would be an interest-plus.
The addition of a women's wrestling program at ISU would not upset the gender proportionality/quota hindering program additions. ISU could be the host school for the first Girls State Wrestling Championship.
And, finally, women's wrestling will be the sole new sport allowed in the 2004 Olympics, for which ISU could prepare the women.
So, what do you say? Let's wrestle.
Robert W. Koehler
Normal
----------------------------------------------
Girls take up takedowns : Coed wrestlers gain a foothold on high school teams
ALLAN STEELE; THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE 2/5/02
Aleesha Tello says has those days when she wonders if it's all worth it.
|
David Shea 
Carrie Rosema
|
The bruises, the sore muscles, the grueling practices in the
cramped, overheated wrestling room -- it all takes a toll. On
top of that comes the occasional glance from a classmate that
seems to ask, "What are you trying to prove?"
Then Tello straps on her head gear, gets on the mat, and the
reason she's a wrestler comes rushing back quicker than a
double-leg takedown.
"I grew to love it," said Tello, a junior at Jurupa Valley.
"When you wrestle, you try your heart out. . . . You go out
there, work your butt off and you try to win." For the ever-growing
number
of high school girls who enter the
male-dominated sport of wrestling, the will to win often is
accompanied by a steel-like perseverance.
"I've always liked to prove that girls can do the same things
guys can," said Tello, a 112-pounder who has wrestled for three
seasons.
Girls have been wrestling on boys' high school teams for more
than two decades, but the numbers have leaped over the past five
years. According to a survey by the National Federation of State
High School Associations, 3,032 girls wrestled in 2000-01, up 23
percent from the previous year. California led the nation with
752 girls competing.
Up for the challenge
Ask a girl why she wrestles, and the conversation usually turns
to challenges.
"You think I want to be dancing around with a bunch of girls?"
Tello asks with a laugh. "Where's that going to get me? A lot of
my cheerleader friends want me to do that, but it's not
challenging enough."
The challenge female wrestlers face is twofold; the most obvious
is strength. Teen-age boys, although they may weigh the same as
their female opponents, generally have more muscle mass and
greater upper body strength. The second challenge is history.
Wrestling has been around for thousands of years, and for most
of those years it has been an all-boys club.
"That very first week I had to keep up with the guys to show
them I could do it," said Melissa Kendall of Rubidoux, a junior
who earned her letter this season. "Guys are bigger and
stronger, but really it doesn't make a difference. When you go
out there, it's not a girl against a boy, it's wrestler against
wrestler."
Norco's Jessica Ramsey was a stat girl for the wrestling team
when she saw Riverside La Sierra's Elizabeth Ashley wrestle boys
in a preseason meet. Ramsey decided she wanted to try the sport.
"At first I had to prove that I'm not a little girl," Ramsey
said. "A lot of the boys weren't really comfortable at first."
Ramsey said she finally earned the team's respect after her
boyfriend quit the team and she decided to stay. She has
competed this season with sore knees, a black eye and nose
bleeds, and had to wear a brace after fracturing her tailbone.
"I'm not quitting," Ramsey said. "We had about 10 boys that
quit, but I'm not going to be like that. I want to prove I can
do it."
Apprehension fades
It's one of the most important matches of the season for San
Jacinto, and fans in the home crowd are standing and yelling.
"Amanda! Amanda!"
When her arm is finally raised in victory, Tigers freshman
Amanda Stormo can't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Her
two-point decision over the boy from Big Bear didn't decide the
meet, but it was one of the highlight matches of the night. She
had her opponent on his back twice during the match, then had to
hold off a near fall of her own as the final buzzer sounded.
The recent San Jacinto-Big Bear dual meet featured four girl
wrestlers -- three, including Stormo, in varsity matches.
When some boys realize they have to wrestle a girl, "you can see
a nervousness before the match," said Stormo, whose brother
Jimmy also wrestles on the team.
"I know they feel they have to beat me because I'm a girl," says
Alaina Villarreal, a first-year wrestler at Hemet West Valley.
"I try to give it my all, show them that I'm not as weak as they
may think."
Most boys admit they feel a little apprehension before wrestling
a girl, but once the whistle blows, gender is not an issue.
"There's no difference," San Jacinto's Andrew Holmes said. ". .
. She's not a girl, she's just another wrestler."
The motivation to win can also be fueled by a fear of losing.
"No guy wants to lose against a girl," said Jurupa Valley's
Tello. "He pushes himself and he won't give up."
Girls facing girls
When Corona and Norco met in a dual meet last month, the final
match of the night was between Ramsey of Norco and Elizabeth
Torres of Corona.
Torres won the match, and the Panthers won the meet.
With so many girls wrestling, they sometimes find themselves
matched up against other girls, especially in lower weights.
"If they lose to a boy, they can rationalize it, because it's a
boy and he's stronger," Norco coach Phil Reddish said. "If they
wrestle another girl, they have to prove they're a wrestler."
As motivated as boys are not to lose to a girl, girls can be
more so.
"You don't want to lose to another girl," Stormo said. "You want
to think you're the best girl out there."
Tello said she learned her lesson after getting beat in her
second match with a girl.
"If you go in cocky, you'll go straight to your back," she said.
Parents' perspective
Tello lines up with her teammates on the mat and goes through
stretching drills. Her brown hair is tied back in a short
ponytail, identifying Jurupa Valley's lone girl wrestler is a
sea of blue warmup suits.
In the stands are her parents, Eddie and Lupe.
"I'm all for it," Lupe said. "My husband was the one that wasn't
too happy about it. Eddie is coming around."
Said her husband: "(At first) it was a pretty big shock to me
because I know the guys are more physical and stronger. . . .
"I'm proud of her. I'd still like to see her play tennis."
The future of wrestling?
The California Interscholastic Federation doesn't sanction a
separate girls' wrestling championship.
Rob Wigod, assistant commissioner of the CIF Southern Section,
said the CIF is aware of the growing number of girls competing
in varsity wrestling and expects the numbers to increase since
women's wrestling has been added to the 2004 Olympics.
"It's a situation we'll probably have to discuss," Wigod said,
adding that 20 percent of the CIF membership must field an
all-girls' team before it can be considered for a championship
sport.
Two states, Hawaii and Texas, sanction girls' high school
wrestling, but Kent Bailo, founder and director of the U.S.
Girls' Wrestling Association, says that number could change.
"In 10 years I think every state will have a boys' and girls'
tournament," said Bailo.
For now, area girls like Rubidoux's Kendall, who said she wanted
to wrestle since she was 4, will have to be content wrestling on
boys' teams.
"I never imagined going out on the mat and raising your hand
would be so wonderful," she said. "It's greater than I ever
thought it would be."
* * *
GIRLS' WRESTLING FAST FACTS
* Twenty four states currently hold high school girls'
wrestling state championships.
* Six U.S. colleges and 20 Canadian colleges offer women's
varsity wrestling.
* In 1986, America Morris of San Diego's Clairemont High became
the first girl on record to pin a boy in a varsity match.
* In 1994, the University of Minnesota-Morris became the first
college to field a women's wrestling team.
* Lake Arrowhead Rim of the World's Marcie VanDusen won the
119-pound Skyline League title in 2000.
* Women's wrestling will debut in the Olympics in 2004.
* More information: www.usgwa.com or www.TheMat.com.
---------------------------------------------
Newport's wrestling siblings make it finals week Prep beat
Seattle Times 2/5/02
High-school wrestling doesn't have a tag-team option, but Leilani and
Jimmy Akiyama of Newport were quite a combo at the KingCo 3A wrestling
tournament at Liberty High School, as both made the finals.
Leilani (103 pounds) was one of two freshmen to reach the finals last
Saturday, though she lost 11-0 to Mount Si's Jason Rothger. It is the
second straight year a girl has wrestled for a title in one of the two KingCo
conferences. Last year, Lisa Ward of Woodinville wrestled for a title
in KingCo 4A. Leilani's older brother, Jimmy, won the title at 130,
defeating Cedarcrest's Darren DeBoer 10-7 in the first match between the two
wrestlers.
Both will compete in the Region II meet Saturday at Liberty, where the
top four wrestlers in each weight class will advance to the state
tournament.
Wrestling is just one sport the two siblings share. Both have won
national judo tournaments. Jimmy, a junior, has won two national competitions,
and Leilani has won 15.
--------------------------------------------------------
GIRL POWER ; FORGET SUGAR, SPICE AND EVERYTHING NICE. CHELSEA SCHMIDT
IS SHOWING HER CLASSMATES THAT GIRLS ARE MADE OF STRONGER STUFF.
Greensboro News Record; N.C.; Feb 3, 2002; DIANA ORNITZ
Beads of sweat glisten on Chelsea Schmidt's flushed face. Her
quadriceps tighten as she prepares for the 112-pound impact of a young man
tackling her to the floor.
He rushes her. Their bodies tangle and twist as they smash to the
ground. Then they get up and they do it again.
This is the reality every afternoon at Kernodle Middle School in
Greensboro, where 13-year-old Schmidt is tackling boys - and gender stereotypes -
as the only girl on the school's wrestling team.
Wrestling is becoming increasingly common among girls across the nation
with the 1972 passage of Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sex
discrimination in any school that receives federal funding. According
to the National Federation of High School Associations, 3,032 girls now
compete in wrestling, up from 94 in 1992. It's also catching on in Guilford
County, with a handful of young girls taking to the mat against mostly male
competitors.
For Schmidt, who plays both basketball and soccer, the chance to
wrestle was prompted by a comment made by a Kernodle classmate last year.
"Someone told me that girls can't wrestle," says Schmidt, a self-
described "girly girl" who loves wearing makeup and high heels. "I set out to
show them 'yes, they can.' "
She's succeeding at her goal. Schmidt has won seven of her eight
matches this year, which has pleased her coach, Jody Bullard.
Bullard admits feeling some initial hesitation when Schmidt approached
him last year about trying out for wrestling. Kernodle was then a recent
addition to Guilford County Schools, he said, and it was his first time
coaching middle school students.
"She was real persistent," says Bullard. "She's got a lot of fight in
her."
Very true, agrees Cathy Schmidt, Chelsea's mother. Schmidt grudgingly
accepted her daughter's interest in joining the wrestling team. Visions
of gruesome sports injuries filled her head at first.
But nothing was stopping Chelsea, her mom says.
"She went straight to the principal and said that she wanted to wrestle
without telling me," says Cathy Schmidt with a smile. "If she wants to
do something, you can't tell her she can't."
Of course, there were a couple of minor details that needed addressing.
Chelsea had never seen a wrestling match before, much less practiced
any of the techniques common to the sport.
In August, she joined Team Silver Cats, a wrestling club at Kernodle
coached by Bullard. That's when she began picking up some of the basics of
wrestling. One other female student, a sixth-grader, also was in the
club. nly seventh- and eighth-graders can play team sports at Kernodle,
Bullard says.
Schmidt says she never thought twice about how the boys on the
wrestling team would perceive her interest.
"I'm not one to be embarrassed," she says. "I was more afraid I
wouldn't be good at it."
But the boys on the team welcomed Schmidt as one of the guys. In fact,
the majority of the giggles came from Schmidt's female friends, who had to
adjust to the image of their friend in a wrestling singlet and helmet.
Schmidt likens her teammates to a band of brothers with their good-
natured teasing and playful antics both on and off the mat.
"Make him scream, Chelsea! Make him scream!" hissed Brandon Garcia, a
lanky, dark-haired teammate who watched as she wrestled partner Will
Kohlenberg during practice.
Her brown eyes crinkle with amusement at Garcia's taunting. She takes a
breath, then uses her shoulder to ram into into Kohlenberg's body,
maneuvering him to the floor.
All teasing aside, teammates say it's Schmidt's courage that merits
respect.
"It's cool for a girl to be strong enough to wrestle a guy and not be
afraid of the challenge," says teammate Jonathan Garbade, 14, as he cools down
after practice. "Most girls want to go shopping and to the movies."
"She's brave," continues Garbade with a chuckle. "I'm scared to wrestle
her."
That's what makes pinning a male opponent so exciting, says Schmidt. It
brings the boys down a notch.
"All of the guys on our team think that if I've pinned a guy, I've
ruined his ego," she says with a laugh. "Which makes me try even harder to
prove a girl can do it."
Teammate Karlten Austin, 13, says Schmidt always inspires the most
applause during matches and tournaments. Parents are quick to give her a smile
or offer an enthusiastic "You go, girl!" when they see her.
"Anybody could be out there wrestling and she gets the most applause,"
says Austin. "It's funny sometimes to see other coaches' reactions."
Bullard says Schmidt is a good wrestler made even better by her strong
focus and drive to excel.
"She's strong, she's got good balance and she's methodical," says
Bullard. "She also knows that if she wants to wrestle in an area where girls
haven't wrestled before that she's going to have to put in a lot of extra
effort."
Fine by me, says Schmidt. She may be the only one at practice wearing
pink socks with white hearts around the ankles, but she's as aggressive as
any of her male counterparts.
"When I lose, I know I have to work 10 times harder to improve," says
Schmidt. "If I want to do something, I want to be the best at it."
