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Fund-raiser will aid wrestler
Sacramento Bee 2/14/02
A fund-raising event will be held from 4 to 10 p.m. Monday at Chevys Fresh Mex Restaurant, 7401 Laguna Blvd., to help Laguna Creek High School wrestler Teresa Dal Ben raise money to compete at the United States Girls Wrestling Association National Championships in Lake Orion, Mich.
Dal Ben, a California women's state wrestling champion in 2000, 2001 and 2002, is the only female wrestler in California to have won the state title three years in a row.
Last year, she placed fifth at the national championships and earned all-American status as a female wrestler. She is ranked second in the nation.
Chevys will contribute 15 percent of the total of all receipts turned in from 4 to 9 p.m. Monday to Dal Ben.
For more information, call Dean Dal Ben at (916) 688-8821.
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Wrestlers claim PAL titles
Mark Foyer--Half Moon Bay Review 2/17/02
When Sam Temko of Half Moon Bay pinned Matt Morrison of Terra Nova in the 147-pound finals Saturday, two things were accomplished.
First, it gave Temko the Peninsula Athletic League title for that weight division - his first ever league title.
Secondly, it clinched the team title for the Cougars.
A short time later, it was official as Half Moon Bay claimed the PAL Tournament team title by scoring 191 points. Terra Nova, who had won the last two titles, finished second with 172.5 points. Hillsdale was a distant third with 145.5 points.
Temko was one of four Cougars to claim individual titles. Sara Fulp-Allen (103 pounds), Josh Brown (125) and Ben Gammon also won titles.
Daniel Ho (119), Nick Rey (135), Nate Rey (140) and Stephen Steinhoff (152) were all second in their weight divisions.
Adam Midose finished third at 189 pounds. Alisa Gammon (112), Dan Silveria (161) and David Seaton (171) were all fourth.
All 12 wrestlers qualified for the Central Coast Section tournament, taking place Feb. 22-23 at Independence High School in San Jose.
On Feb. 5, Half Moon Bay claimed the PAL dual-team title, earning a 32-29 win over Terra Nova. It's the first time in three years Half Moon Bay claimed the team title. Terra Nova had won the title the previous two years.
Of the four Cougars to claim PAL titles Saturday, only Gammon's match against Hillsdale's Dean Nessel went the full three rounds.
Up 4-3 late in the match, Gammon was trying put Nessel on his back. Meanwhile, Nessel was trying to flip Gammon around for reversal and two points. A few times, Nessel came close. But he couldn't finish the job.
"It was a close match," Gammon said. "I was surprised to come out on top."
Fulp-Allen trailed 2-0 before completely taking over her title match. Getting near-fall points boosted her lead to 19-3 when she was declared the winner by technical fall.
"It was a good match," Fulp-Allen said. "I have wrestled him four times before."
Both Brown and Temko finished their matches in the second round with pins. That helped the Half Moon Bay cause as Brown pinned Jeff Vella of Terra Nova, and Temko knocked off Vella's teammate, Matt Morrison.
"I started by wrestling career with a winning team," Brown said. "I end the career the same way. Too bad we couldn't win all four years."
Basically, Brown had his way with Vella. Brown took command in the second round, when he picked up his pin. In his first two matches of the day, Brown won by pin in the first round.
Pins were the order of the day for the Cougars, as 18 of the 24 matches they won were by pin. Two more wins were by technical fall.
With each win counting for two points, and each win by pin accounting for another two points, all the pins helped the Cougars put distance between themselves and Terra Nova.
"I wasn't sure if we would win it today," Fulp-Allen said. "Terra Nova has a very good team. All those pins helped us out."
That was also the case when Half Moon Bay beat Terra Nova in the dual meet on Feb. 5.
Though both teams picked up seven wins, Half Moon Bay had four of the bigger wins with Fulp-Allen and Paul Ollerton each getting pins and Brown and Temko winning by technical fall.
Aside from Terra Nova's Jimmy Hasset winning his match by forfeit, Terra Nova's biggest win came from Brian Redfield in the form of a technical fall.
Matt Faughender and Matt Schug earned major decision victories.
Despite the difference in pins, Half Moon Bay was leading 26-25 with three matches remaining. Ben Gammon earned a 5-2 decision over Martin Nofezinger to boost the Cougar lead to 29-25.
When Nick Rey defeated 11-5 Paul Halteh, it clinched the victory for the Cougars.
"There was good intensity on both sides," Temko said. "It all came down to who got the pins and technical falls. It was a great match."
The junior varsity team put on a good showing at the PAL JV Tournament Friday. The Cougars placed second with 44 points. Terra Nova won with 78 points.
Kyle Gehret won at 191 pounds.
Aaron Wilson (127) and Marci Anorico (137) were both second at their respective weight divisions. Stephen LaMascus (147), Jason Schafer (152), Anders Moberg (160) and Daniel Grech (121) were all third.
Aaron Miller (132), Max Grauke (217) and Ben Gotschall (121) all placed fourth. Kevin Lewis (121), Sean Smith (152), Dylan Ho (105) and Peter Stadler (147) were all fifth.
In the dual against Terra Nova, Half Moon Bay JV wrestlers winning included LaMascus, Smith, Gehret and Grech.
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Reversal of roles
By Jennifer Wielgus
Telegraph Staff Writer 2/11/02
Nikki Kennedy gets up from her chair and brings down the house.
Her every step toward the center of the gym seems to pump up the volume in the stands. The voice over the loudspeaker announces her name, and the buzz breaks into a roar. An excited throng of FPD students takes to its feet, eager for the evening's main event.
The wrestler with the sandy blonde braids is about to compete.
On this particular night, Kennedy loses her match. She twists, turns, writhes and wriggles for nearly two periods - almost four minutes - before Stratford's Ryan Castles pins her to the mat.
But judging by the crowd's reaction, you'd think Kennedy just captured a state championship.
"It doesn't matter if she wins or loses, everyone's standing and cheering for her," says Clay Dykes, Kennedy's teammate and one of the top GISA wrestlers in the state. "We always want to see her wrestle because it's cool to see. It's something that isn't happening every day."
Quite true.
Kennedy, a wiry 5-foot-7, 111-pound senior, is the only girl wrestling in the GISA and one of only a handful of girls wrestling in the entire state. The National Federation of State High School Associations allows girls to compete on boys teams in sports where girls teams are not offered.
Kennedy is FPD's starter in the 112-pound weight class. She has an 8-3 record, with three of those wins coming on pins and the rest by forfeits. She's electrified the atmosphere surrounding the Vikings' first wrestling season.
But it hasn't been easy.
She's had to sacrifice some of her favorite foods to maintain wrestling weight. She's had to train harder than she ever did in track, her favorite and best sport. She's had to cope with wrestlers from other teams who would rather forfeit a match than wrestle a girl.
Still, Kennedy has never regretted her decision to participate.
"When I started and I knew nothing about it, I had no idea," she says. "I just did it to stay in shape for track. But now I really like it. I found out that it's great. ... There's nothing like going one-on-one for two minutes."
Tough Enough
Kennedy may still be learning the technicalities of varsity wrestling, but she's always had the necessary toughness. She grew up on a block with a bunch of boys, and she took part in all of their rambunctious games.
"They'd rough me up, and we'd play death matches and whatever," says Kennedy, whose uncle, Chip Minton, wrestled professionally. "I guess that's how I got good at sports."
Kennedy first demonstrated her grit on the track at FPD. She pushed herself in practice by running with the boys.
She refused to sit out the track season after she tore a knee ligament playing basketball as a sophomore. She ran that spring, then had knee surgery in the summer.
When senior year arrived, Kennedy - the defending GISA state champion in the triple jump - wanted to make her last season her best. She yearned to find a winter sport that would help her get an early start with conditioning.
Basketball was out because of the risk of re-injury to her knee. But when she discovered her school had started a wrestling team, the search was over.
Kennedy approached coach Chris Wilson and pledged her commitment.
"I was like, 'Nikki, the goal in a wrestling match is for them to pin your shoulder blades on the mat with all of their weight being on your chest,'" Wilson remembers. "And her response was, 'Coach, I don't care. I'll try to the end.' No excuses, no regrets, just give me the spot."
Wilson, also FPD's boys track coach, had already seen Kennedy's intensity. He wasn't about to discourage her. GISA rules allowed it, and Kennedy's mother had no objections, so the deal was done.
To Wilson's surprise, his other wrestlers quickly accepted Kennedy. There were no jokes, just cheers. Most of the Vikings could, in a way, relate to their female teammate.
Everyone but Dykes, who wrestled at Northside High before transferring to FPD as a sophomore, was learning the sport for the first time.
And to no one's surprise, Kennedy wasn't afraid to jump in the ring.
"She's pretty fiesty," says Dykes, a senior who holds a perfect 17-0 record in the 152-pound weight class. "She's quick, she's strong, she's aggressive, and that's basically all you need to be a wrestler."
Off the mat, Kennedy is a typical 17-year-old girl. She has a boyfriend and works at Express, a trendy clothing store at Colonial Mall, on the weekends. She cares about her appearance - a lot.
"She's a girly-girl," says her mother, Juaneice. "When she walks out of this house to go to school every morning, she is dressed to the nines. Her hair is fixed, and her makeup's on, and she's perfect. She wears skirts, and she does not look tomboy-ish in any way.
"But she's tough."
Fitting in
When she decided to join the wrestling team, Kennedy had to take her toughness to a new level.
She competes in the sport's second-lowest weight class. That pits her against much-younger boys, mostly eighth- and ninth-graders. If she wrestled at her normal weight, about 120 pounds, she probably wouldn't have much success.
"I know I wouldn't be that good if I was up a class," she says. "My advantage is that it's easy for a girl to be 112 and be kind of strong."
But in order to fit in her weight class, Kennedy must maintain a strict diet. The self-described "pig" cut avoids fast foods and restricts herself to about 1,000 calories a day. A normal diet consists of about 2,500 calories.
Most days, she drinks a diet shake for breakfast, has a salad for lunch and a low-calorie dinner. Like most wrestlers, she doesn't eat on the day of a meet until she's finished wrestling.
"I really have to kill myself," Kennedy admits. "But it's definitely worth it. When I pin two boys in one night, having that discipline is definitely worth it."
Juaneice Kennedy worries about her daughter's regimen, but Nikki laughs off any talk of eating disorders. When asked her current weight, she replies, "111 going on 120."
"As soon as (season's) over, I'm going to go to every restaurant in Macon," she says with a big smile. "I'm going to pig out. I can't wait."
Kennedy knows she's not the only one subjected to the grueling physical demands of wrestling. But she's had to face some other challenges that her male teammates have not.
Because of her gender, she's not always accepted in the wrestling community.
Some schools have refused to wrestle Kennedy. At one particular three-team meet, the other two teams forfeited the 112-pound match - even though they had eligible wrestlers in that weight class.
"I don't think it's fair to the kids for them to wrestle her," says Windsor coach Jeff Benefield, who leads the top GISA program in the area. His team forfeited its first match with Kennedy, but saw its wrestler pin her in a second meeting.
"She's a senior, and my guy's an eighth grader. His peers pick on him if he loses, and if he wins, he beat a girl. It's a no-win situation," Benefield says. "We don't have boys and girls going against each other in other sports. ... I'm not for girls wrestling boys."
Kennedy has a simple reaction to that attitude. She thinks about the time she spent training, learning and watching her weight, only to stand on the sidelines and take an automatic win. That makes her mad.
Looking back on that double-forfeit meet earlier in the year, she says: "I don't understand what the big deal was. ... If their guy had wrestled me, I would've killed him. I was so mad."
Not every team has made Kennedy's gender an issue.
Castles, a Stratford eighth grader, has wrestled Kennedy three times this season. A first-year wrestler, he had to face her in his very first match of the season in front of his home crowd. He pinned her that night, and again at FPD's lone home meet.
But she pinned him, too, at a meet at Eagle's Landing.
"I would rather wrestle boys, because it's just kind of weird (wrestling a girl) and I don't like doing it," Castles says. "But once you're actually out there doing it, you don't think about it."
Says Stratford coach Walt Mays: "If she's willing to get out there and compete, and she can do it at the varsity level, then she deserves that opportunity, just like anybody does. She's a wrestler, and that's how we treat her."
Leading the Way
Opponents have no choice but to wrestle Kennedy this weekend. She will be FPD's 112-pound entrant in Saturday's GISA Class AAA state meet. A forfeit means elimination from the tournament.
Wilson has seen Kennedy come a long way since the beginning of the season, and he has especially high expectations for her now.
"I fully am counting on her to go very, very deep into the state tournament," Wilson says. "Would I be shocked if she won the whole thing? Absolutely not."
Whatever happens in the tournament, Kennedy will look back fondly on her wrestling experience. She predicts that this will be her best track season ever because of wrestling.
And after she leaves FPD - she's been accepted at Auburn and wants to study to be a fertility doctor - Kennedy hopes she'll be a pioneer.
"At our school, since wrestling just started, there's no way there could be a girls wrestling team right now," she says. "But maybe one day. I think it would be neat."
Wilson thinks Kennedy has already forged new ground. As a first-time wrestling coach, he's learned it takes a special athlete to go one-on-one for two minutes in the middle of a mat.
"The reason why there are no girls in this sport is because there are not a lot of guys who like this sport," Wilson says. "This is a war. This is as close as some of these guys are going to come to a war - you're either going to whup or get whupped.
"It's a tough thing, and it takes a lot of courage. It's something a lot of the other 875 students here aren't willing to do."
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GIRLS AND WOMEN IN SPORTS FESTIVAL RETURNS ; LOCAL GIRLS WILL EXPLORE
EVERYTHING FROM TACKLING TO WALL-CLIMBING.
Greensboro News Record; Greensboro, N.C.
; Feb 3, 2002; DIANA ORNITZ
WANT TO GO? What: We Can Play: Celebrating 30 Years of Title IX, a
sports festival in honor of National Girls and Women in
Sports Day. When: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 23. Where: Fleming Gymnasium,
UNCG campus. Who can participate: Girls ages 9-18.
COST: $10 per person (includes lunch, T-shirt and sports activities.)
Registration deadline: Feb. 14. Information: Call 273-3461.
Girls, stretch your muscles and lace up your sneakers. Father Time
moves pretty fast, and now it's time to show him how quick you
all can be. The annual Girls and Women in Sports festival is back for
its eighth year in Greensboro.
Designed to highlight and encourage women's athletics, the festival
gives young women ages 9-18 the opportunity to explore and
experiment with a variety of sports, some of which traditionally have
been male-dominated, said Jane Billings, assistant executive
director of the YWCA of Greensboro.
The YWCA, along with the Tarheel Triad Girl Scout Council, UNCG,
Women's Sports Foundation and Atlantic Coast Conference are
sponsoring the festival this year. The theme, "We Can Play," celebrates
the 30th anniversary of Title IX, the federal law that requires
any school receiving federal funds to allow girls to try out for, and
if qualified, participate on a boys' team if no comparable girls' team
is available.
Billings said participation has steadily grown from the 85 young women
who took part in the festival in 1994, its first year. Almost
200 girls from surrounding counties participated in last year's
festival, and organizers say at least that many are expected to take
part this year. Space is limited, and registration is required.
More than 10 sports are offered, including basketball, fast pitch, self
defense, fencing, soccer, tennis, gymnastics, track and field,
lacrosse, volleyball, dance and football. New to the festival this year
are wrestling and wall-climbing, Billings said.
The festival occurs in conjunction with events across the country in
celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Each
Greensboro participant will receive a T-shirt with the "We Can Play"
logo on the front.
"The most important thing is, of course, to celebrate women and girls
in sports," Billings said. "For so many years, women couldn't
play. And not just play, but coach or be trainers. This encourages
girls to be healthy and fit as a lifestyle, but also to introduce girls
who attend to the potential career opportunities for them in
athletics."
Each girl is asked to pick the top three sports she is interested in
playing during the festival, Billings said. While no one is
guaranteed every sport they select, the participants get to rotate
through several sports tutorials throughout the day.
The festival draws on local athletes and fitness proponents to conduct
the sports workshops. Members of local college sports
teams, including N.C. A&T, Bennett College, Greensboro College, UNCG
and High Point University, will work with participants in
their chosen sports. Coaches from area high schools, colleges and
universities will also take part.
Marcy Welch-Deloatch of Greensboro, who lost 114 pounds several years
ago, will lead the young women in a group warm-up this
year.
Welch-Deloatch exercises every morning at 5:30 a.m. and teaches
aerobics to Christian music several times a week. Fitness is an
integral part of her life, and that's what she plans to tell
participants at the sports festival.
"I feel I have something to offer," Welch-Deloatch said. "Fitness is a
sport, but you've got to have the will and mind and heart to do
it."
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Lujan upholds family tradition
DFW.COM 2/14/02
Colleyville Heritage wrestler Rebecca Lujan doesn't lack for family support.
Lujan, a senior who qualified for state by reaching the 148-pound final in the Region II tournament Saturday, is upholding a family tradition. Her father was a state qualifier in New Mexico. Her brother Albert, now an assistant wrestling coach at Grapevine, was a state runner-up in New Mexico, and another brother, Alex, was a 1999 Texas state runner-up.
Rebecca Lujan is a former varsity swimmer who, during her sophomore year, petitioned the school to start the Panthers' girls wrestling team. She was one of seven girls in the wrestling program last season, but this season the program grew enough to field a full varsity lineup of 10. The Panthers team finished third at the region meet.
Lujan (24-5) usually has at least one family member in the stands at meets.
"It's really funny. I have like 10 different coaches," she said. "I always hear my brother [Albert] because he's the loudest. Everybody hears him."
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Grappling adversity
By Brent Maycock
The Capital-Journal
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A girl competing in a sport traditionally reserved for boys, Brooke Bogren is accustomed to facing long odds. This year has been no exception
CARBONDALE -- Wrestling isn't just a sport for Brooke Bogren.
It's life.
Perhaps that explains why the Santa Fe Trail senior continues to relentlessly pursue her dreams in a male-dominated environment. Long after most female wrestlers have traded in the singlet for a uniform of a traditional "girl's sport," Bogren looks forward to strapping on the headgear and getting after it with whomever lines up across the mat from her.
"I always liked it, so I kept wrestling," Bogren said. "There wasn't a point where I told myself, 'I have to keep wrestling.' This is what I do. It never crossed my mind to quit and not wrestle anymore."
Fab Frosh
Even though she has wrestled since she was 6 years old, Bogren really burst on the state scene as a freshman. She was the hot story in 1999, when she finished second at 103 pounds at regionals and became the first female wrestler ever to qualify for the state meet.
Thrust in the spotlight, Bogren didn't disappoint, winning a match. In fact, her two losses at the tourney were to eventual champion Austin Devoe of Columbus (an 8-0 decision) and to 2000 103 champ Michael Pelz of Clearwater (pinned). For the year, her record was a tidy 27-8.
"It was just flat loaded that year," Santa Fe Trail coach Regan Erickson said. "She was real close to placing and I honestly believe that the pressure, in terms of TV cameras -- at the state tournament, they were in her face all the time -- that put a lot of pressure on her and she could have placed. I guarantee you she would have been up there."
Bogren's instant success hardly came as a surprise to those who knew her.
"I came here when she was in the eighth grade and I never really viewed her any differently than any of the other wrestlers," Erickson said. "If there was a difference, it was that she worked harder than just about anybody. She just outworked her opponents."
Beyond the spotlight
Since that meteoric rise to state fame, Bogren's prep career has somewhat plateaued. She returned to state as a sophomore but failed to win a match at 103 pounds and finished the year with a 14-7 mark.
Last year, Bogren spent the bulk of the season stuck behind eventual state third-place finisher Cody Betsworth at 112 pounds, though she still managed to post a 9-5 mark in limited varsity action and a 13-0 JV record.
"I really would have liked being on varsity, but there was somebody there that could help the team," Bogren said. "I was just focused on making our 103 better and everybody on our team better."
Not only was Bogren helping her team get better, she also was getting better, even if her win-loss record wasn't.
"Her freshman year, her strength was her biggest thing," Erickson said. "It wasn't technique or anything, she was just flat stronger than most of the people she wrestled. The kids that beat her were as strong as she was. Now she's got really good technique. She's got really good shots now, she's tough on top and still needs work on bottom -- like every other wrestler I've got."
Bogren eyed a return to a full-time varsity spot as a senior, but only days before practice began, she suffered torn cartilage in her right knee -- the same knee in which she had torn the ACL in junior high and had screws inserted following her freshman season.
She is only just now returning from a mid-December surgery to repair the cartilage and remove the screws. Last week's Kaw Valley League meet was Bogren's first competition of the season, and she took third.
"It was tough just sitting there and watching people wrestling," said Bogren, who owns a 53-22 career varsity record and a 23-1 JV mark. "It was one of those things where I wanted to get out there and wrestle, but if I got out before I should, there's a chance I could hurt it worse. So, you wait, but it's hard to sit there and watch."
The waiting is over and now Bogren has the daunting task of cramming a season's worth of success into one meet, Saturday's Class 4A regional meet at Burlington. It's an uphill battle. She is the No. 6 seed, and only the top four finishers qualify for state.
But she is used to long odds.
"I'd love to say I wrestled three years on varsity and made it to state three years, but it will be tough," Bogren said. "I wouldn't say it's impossible; it's a longshot for me to go to state."
Her teammates certainly won't bet against her.
"She's one of those people where she might have gotten knocked down, but she'll get back up," said Betsworth, who has wrestled with Bogren for more than six years. "She's got the heart of a lion and when she wants it, she really goes after it. You wouldn't recognize her. On the mat, she's the fierce type, and off it, she's so shy and quiet. She's not what you expect, she'll come right after you. She's not scared."
Prepping for more
Regardless of Saturday's outcome, Bogren has plenty to look forward to. Her prep success pales in comparison to her national accomplishments.
In three of the last four years, Bogren has won titles at the Cadet FILA Women's National Championships. Her streak likely would be at four if not for the surgery that cost her the 1999 summer schedule.
At each of the last two Cadet Nationals, Bogren was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler. She qualified for the 2000 Pan-American Games, which wound up being canceled.
Last summer, Bogren traveled to the Klippan Lady Open in Klippan, Sweden, and won the 52-kilogram (114-pound) Cadet title, posting a 5-0 mark in a single-elimination format. She nearly pulled off a sweep, winning four matches in the Senior National division before falling to eventual champion Jessi Shirley of Ohio. Bogren's efforts landed her on the Asics High School All-American first team.
She credits some of her national success to her high school training.
"I think wrestling the guys has made me more aggressive when I'm wrestling the girls," said Bogren, who began competing in national female tournaments when she was 9. "I don't sit back and wait for stuff to happen. I try stuff more, and I'm plain more aggressive. But you always have to wrestle your match, no matter if you're wrestling guys or girls."
A college scholarship likely awaits Bogren, with four-year colleges Cumberland (Kent.) College and the University of Minnesota-Morris among the top suitors. But it's a goal even beyond that that really drives Bogren. Four weight classes of women's wrestling have been added to the event schedule for the 2004 Olympic Games.
"That's been a goal for a long time -- even before they thought about girls wrestling in them," Bogren said. "I always thought, 'This is going to happen some day and I'm going to be there. I want to be in the trials and go to the Olympics.' It's been a dream of mine to go to the Olympics."
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Bogren by the numbers
Brooke Bogren was the first female to qualify for the Kansas state high school wrestling meet and the first to win a match there. Here are some of her other feats:
• Career varsity record: 53-22
• Career JV record: 23-1
• Three-time Cadet Women's National Champion
• Two-time Most Outstanding Cadet Wrestler
• 2001 Klippan Lady Open Cadet Champion
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Berkeley Prep's Molina Dominating Male Opponents
By EDDIE DANIELS edaniels@tampatrib.com
Published: Feb 14, 2002
TAMPA - There's a small room behind a basketball gym at a west Tampa school that bustles with sound. There is yelling, slamming thuds, heavy breathing.
Inside, the comfortable, cool air is transformed into a thick, humid, perspiration-laden mixture that can tame the most dedicated athlete.
Cutting through that thick mass are 13 wrestlers who aim to advance out of this week's regional tournament and qualify for the state tournament.
``I never planned on getting this far,'' said Berkeley Prep 103-pounder Dominique Molina. ``And that's my goal right now, to qualify [for state].''
Take one look at Molina, and you're guaranteed to do a double take. Molina's blond hair is longer than anyone else's on the team. The freshman's voice is of a higher pitch.
But on the mat, she'll throw you around and dominate like any other opponent.
Yes. She.
``It's neat to watch her wrestle now,'' said Berkeley Prep coach Russ Schenk, who calls Molina `Domi.' ``She's doing a real good job, she works hard, [is a] great athlete, very smart as far as grades go. So it's a pleasure to have her on our team.''
The 14-year-old also participates on the volleyball and weightlifting teams.
Back to wrestling. Her roots in the sport start with older brother Brandon, who now plays football at Harvard. Brandon finished third one year and fifth his senior year during his run at the state heavyweight title.
``That has to have a trickle- down effect,'' Schenk said. ``She got to see the discipline and what it really takes to be the best and saw her brother doing it and evidently liked it because she's doing all that stuff.''
She admits to being ``petrified'' when she first watched her brother wrestle. During that match, he was pinned after about seven seconds elapsed from the clock. But that didn't deter her from the sport. Instead it ``grew on her.''
``I just wanted to make varsity,'' she said. ``That was my first goal. I never thought I would get this far actually.''
Molina's record is a deceptive 12-10. At the start of the season, she wrestled at 112 and suffered through a 1-6 record. But with a change in weight class [103] and a growing confidence, she since has gone 11-4.
``In the beginning of the year I was nervous about going out,'' she said. ``I knew the moves in my mind, but just to apply them at certain times [was tough]. Then once I got over that, I was able to go out there and be aggressive. That's when I started to win.
``I think 103 is definitely where I belong. I'm wrestling guys who are a little bit smaller and not as muscularly developed.''
Schenk promises Molina has more to learn and will get better.
Berkeley Prep's campus isn't the only Bay area school with wrestlers with high aspirations.
More than 125 wrestlers will compete Friday and Saturday with state competition on their minds. Some will travel to Brandon, others to Sebring and Pinellas Park.
Brandon and Jesuit lead the pack with 14 wrestlers who qualified for regionals.
As for Molina, the issue of being one of three girls on the team is moot, even with the fact she's the only one who has made it this far.
``She's getting noticed for being a female wrestling when she actually should be getting noticed for being just a wrestler,'' Schenk said. ``She's an outstanding wrestler and she's only going to get better.''
