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Andrew VonBank
Associated Press 2/20/02
After testifying on a bill that would outlaw mixed-sex wrestling teams, Burnsville High School wrestlers Ian Stoneberg, bottom, and Tim Berceau, top, demonstrate moves that would be considered improper off the mat during the Education Policy Committee meeting Tuesday at the State Capitol in St. Paul. The bill passed the committee overwhelmingly and now heads to the House floor.
Instant poll: girls and boys wrestling each other
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Paul Walsh - Feb 19, 2002 CST startribune.com
That's what some legislators are trying to do. What do you think? Should high school boys and girls wrestle each other? If not, are there equality issues?
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Wirt County's Erica Dye shoots for state wrestling title
By JOHN RABY, AP Sports Writer
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. 2/20/02
Wirt County's Erica Dye would like a better view of the crowd at this
year's state high school wrestling tournament.
Namely, from the top of the awards podium.
Dye became the first girl to place in the tournament when she took
fourth at 103 pounds in Class AA-A last year.
Her goal this time is to finish higher - if not win it all - when the
tournament begins Thursday at the Huntington Civic Arena. "I plan on
it," she said without hesitation. "I have a good chance. I'm really ready.
"My main goal is to be satisfied with myself. If I give it everything
I've got, I'll be all right. I'll be happy with myself."
Few gave her the chance to succeed four years ago. Some grumbled at the
thought of a girl beating a boy in a traditionally boy's sport.
Those perspectives have changed over her career.
"They take me seriously. They have for a while now," she said. "It's
not unexpected for me to do well this year. I don't plan on going down
there and choking like I have before."
Dye, who listens to heavy metal groups such as AC/DC and Guns N' Roses
as motivation, practices with her team twice a day. She attributes her
improvement to watching herself on tape and overcoming nervousness.
"She's a very good technician, and she's really strong for a girl,"
said her coach, Scott Moore. "The boys' strength doesn't overpower her."
She's gotten so good that Dye competed in girls tournaments last summer
in Switzerland and Sweden, finishing fourth and first, respectively.
Next month, she'll compete in the U.S. high school girls nationals. She
also inspired the United States Girls' Wrestling Association to hold a state
tournament at Wirt County in March.
Despite her determination this week, Dye, a senior, doesn't see herself
wrestling much once she graduates - a decision based on nine years of
nonstop competition and training and the fact that few colleges offer
women's wrestling.
"I'm really tired of it. It wears on you. It's intense," she said. "I'm
not sure what I want to do."
Her initial plans are to concentrate on college if she can secure an
academic scholarship, wrestling only in national and international
tournaments.
All season, she rarely discussed her future with Moore to keep her
focus and minimize the pressure of facing life after high school.
Moore admits he'll be disappointed if Dye puts wrestling on hold
because he's afraid the layoff will hurt her chances of getting to the next
level.
"Girls wrestling is just starting. There's not girls wrestling in the
Olympics, but I'd say by the next Olympics (in 2008), there will be,"
he said. "I would think she'd have a chance to get there."
For now, Moore is just hoping Dye becomes the best in the state - girl
or boy.
Dye (32-6), who won her regional, will meet Braxton County freshman
Adam Ridler (24-10) in the first round on Thursday. Her top opponent is
expected to be Madonna's sophomore Anthony Valles (37-3), who wouldn't face Dye
until the finals if both advance.
"If she wrestles up to her capabilities, I honestly feel she's got a
chance to win it all," Moore said. "She's worked hard since the state
tournament last year. Her confidence has really increased."
Dye even thinks Wirt County has an outside shot at unseating five-time
defending champion Oak Glen in the Class AA-A meet. Oak Glen qualified
five regional champions and 13 wrestlers overall, while Wirt County
qualified four champions and 12 wrestlers.
In Class AAA, three-time defending champion Parkersburg South placed
second at its regional meet behind host Parkersburg and brings six regional
champions to the state tournament.
Parkersburg South has won six of the last seven titles and 12 overall.
Only two schools from outside Parkersburg have won the Class AAA title since
1987. North Marion was the last to do it in 1998.
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A girl wrestler battles, on the mat and off
Christine Cairoli is one of a few girls in the region who have competed on varsity squads this season. Not everyone thinks she should be there.
By Tom McGurk 2/20/02
Inquirer Suburban Staff
LINDENWOLD - High school coed wrestling. The idea rankles some coaches and players, and embarrasses others.
Neither reaction worries Christine Cairoli.
She's not afraid of much.
The sophomore's resume includes honors student, cheerleading captain, school actress, karate enthusiast and saxophone player.
And, now, starting 112-pounder on the Lindenwold High School wrestling team.
Girls who wrestle on the varsity level are rare in South Jersey. Cairoli and Katie Ryan of Gateway Regional High School in Woodbury Heights are the only two to participate in a varsity match this season.
Even fewer girls enjoy success against their usually stronger male counterparts. Tara Cumberland of Northern Burlington Regional High School was one of the exceptions; she won several times in 1995.
In Levittown, Bucks County, Aquilla Hills has had some success against the guys. At Truman High, the 103-pound, 5-foot junior ended her varsity wrestling season with a 4-10 record. She was eliminated from postseason competition at a tournament last weekend.
Cairoli's interest in wrestling began with a good-natured debate.
During her freshman year at Overbrook High School in Pine Hill, Cairoli got into a conversation with a friend who was on the wrestling team. The dialogue went from lighthearted to heated.
"He said a girl could never survive one wrestling practice, and that got me upset," Cairoli said. "I told him that cheerleading practices were just as tough as wrestling. He just laughed."
That conversation triggered something in Cairoli.
After switching to Lindenwold High, which opened in September, she told her friends that she would be going out for the wrestling team this season. Few believed her, but word of Cairoli's intentions quickly floated around the school.
She was constantly approached about her plans. Even her algebra teacher weighed in.
"He said he thought it would be a good idea," she said. "That's when I went to the coach and told him I was coming out for the team. He asked if I was serious, and I said, 'I'm very serious.' "
Some parents would be concerned about their teenage daughter's wrestling boys. Not Patricia Bellace, Cairoli's mother.
"Go for it," Bellace told her daughter. "She has three brothers. Her uncle wrestled, and her cousin wrestles. She's also been right there competing against the boys and playing sports. I wasn't surprised at all."
The day after Thanksgiving - the starting date for winter sports - was judgment day for Cairoli.
"I was extremely nervous. I just kept thinking, 'Am I going to survive this?' " she said.
Coach Erik Saunders put the team through a conditioning workout - a 21/2-mile run to the White Horse Pike and back. Cairoli mixed in with the rest of the squad, many of whom were on the football team. She hung in and finished the run.
During the next few weeks, Cairoli began a crash course on the sport. She attended each practice and worked hard to improve.
"She's a tough kid," Saunders said.
Cairoli, the team's only 112-pounder, also began to gain respect from teammates who had initially shunned her.
"Some of my teammates weren't exactly happy that I was wrestling, but I think that has changed some," she said.
Cairoli struggled in her first 10 bouts, getting pinned nine times and losing the other by a technical fall, meaning the match was stopped because she was behind by at least 15 points.
"I found out quickly that I'm at a disadvantage strengthwise with the guys I wrestle," she said. "I have to rely more on leverage."
As the losses piled up, so did Cairoli's frustration. It culminated at a practice in January.
"I just started to cry," she said. "I'd been constantly working, but couldn't do anything in the matches. It was killing me."
Cairoli was consoled by several of her teammates, who persuaded her to stay on board.
As the weeks passed, Cairoli started to hit more moves as the half-nelsons and single-leg takedowns came more fluently. She was gaining confidence.
On Jan. 16, Cairoli had her right arm raised by the referee for the first time, accepting a forfeit victory against Glassboro High School. It was her first of two forfeit wins.
Her defining moment came at Gateway on Jan. 23. Wrestling Katie Ryan, Cairoli recorded a takedown in the first period and scored a reversal in the second before finishing off a pin 3 minutes, 17 seconds into the match.
"It was the first match that I knew I could win," Cairoli said. "I don't even remember what move I used when I got the pin."
Cairoli doesn't consider herself a renegade. She just loves to compete and has said the sport has taken her determination and concentration to a higher level.
But there isn't an issue that draws more anger throughout the wrestling community than females competing in the sport.
Many believe girls should be able to wrestle, but only against other girls.
"By the nature of their bodies, boys are stronger than girls," Gateway athletic director Jean Phelps said. "It's a tough situation. Nobody knows more technique than Katie [Ryan], but it's difficult for girls to remain competitive in those situations."
John Sanders, who has coached at Eastern High School in Voorhees for 37 years, was more emphatic: "Girls wrestling boys just isn't right. Heck, the terminology of certain moves or using those moves can be considered in bad taste or vulgar, especially when you're talking about teenage boys and girls.
"It puts everyone in an awkward position. Look at it from the young man's perspective. What if that young man loses the match? He will never hear the end of it. Even if he wins, he's going to hear it, too."
Sanders said no girl had wanted to come out for one of his teams until senior Beth Joseph approached him before this season. Joseph had wrestled in the middle school program and is one of the Vikings' managers.
Sanders talked to Joseph and her father, and Joseph elected to remain a manager.
"I don't have a problem if there is a girls' team for wrestling. That's different," Sanders said.
To that, Cairoli said: "There's no reason why girls can't wrestle. It's just like anything else in life: If you want to do something, go out and do it."
Cairoli's first love is still cheerleading, and she has been competing for 11 years. She was honored by the Collingswood-based Brooks-Irvine Football Club, one of the largest in South Jersey, last fall for her skills.
Cairoli is a member of the winter cheerleading squad, but misses most games because of her commitment to wrestling. That has her return to the wrestling team next season in doubt.
"I'm still debating," she said. "I want to wrestle and would love to finish out high school with the team, but I'm a cheerleader, too."
As to the question of which is harder?
"They're both tough, but wrestling is definitely more physically challenging," she said.
Cairoli is one of the few people in South Jersey who can say that from experience.
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The other Kim captures title as Poway continues its reign
By Tom Shanahan
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 17, 2002
POWAY – They're clearing space for another CIF-San Diego Section championship plaque in Poway High's wrestling room. It's routine this time of year for a school with a streak of 16 straight titles.
But at the same time, the Kim family is making room for a fifth consecutive CIF individual title at its home in Poway. Andy Kim won four CIF titles in his Poway career before graduating last year in a career that included two state-meet runner-up finishes and cast a big shadow for his little brother, Chris.
Now Chris Kim – in a win that warms the hearts of overshadowed little brothers everywhere – has his own title and spotlight.
The Poway junior recorded a takedown in the final three seconds of the 121-pound final to defeat Granite Hills senior Michael Kroeger 3-1 in last night's CIF Division I meet at Poway's gym. Chris trailed 1-0 at the start of the third period.
"I call him the Cardiac Kid because he's won a lot of matches that way," Poway coach Wayne Branstetter said of Chris' comeback. "He's got a lot of heart. He's not as physically blessed as Andy, but he's a CIF champion now."
Kim was one of six Titans to win individual titles as Poway easily won the team title with 285 points to runner-up Mt. Carmel's 224.
"No matter what I do, I'm still Andy's little brother," said Chris, who improved his season record to 29-5. "But I still like wrestling. It's challenging and the rewards outweigh the frustrations over the comparisons."
In all, Poway had eight finalists and advanced a wrestler in all 14 weight classes to the Masters meet Friday and Saturday at Carlsbad High. The top eight in each weight class earned berths at Masters, which determines the San Diego Section's three state-meet qualifiers.
Poway's other five champions were junior Joe Baker (32-2) at 114, junior Patrick Payne (34-3) at 137, senior Jeff Moriarty (29-9) at 142, junior Paul Baird (31-1) at 147 and senior Gavin Fuchs (35-7) at 154.
Payne and Baird, both ranked No. 1 in the state, were named the outstanding lightweight and heavyweight, respectively.
Mt. Carmel's runner-up finish included four individual champs: junior Ryan Cunningham (29-5) at 132, senior Mike Cunningham (30-5) at 162, senior Franco Garcia (23-5) at 191 and senior Stanislov Bgatov (25-4) at 217.
Other individual champions were Fallbrook sophomore Enrique Solis (21-10) at 105, Granite Hills senior Mitch Stone (34-5) at 127, Vista senior Steve Williams (33-1) at 173 and Rancho Buena Vista junior Nikola Dragovic (36-3) at heavyweight.
Williams joined Payne and Baird as winners of a second straight CIF title.
Montgomery senior Tabitha Coffey became only the second girl to qualify for a Masters meet when she placed seventh at 105. Coffey benefited from the four-division format. With only nine 105-pounders entered in the Division I meet, Coffey's only win was the seventh-place match.
