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Female wrestles into second place
The Capital (Annapolis, MD) 2/24/02
Emily Duckworth's season ended in defeat, yet it felt like a victory.
The 103-pounder lost the championship match at the county's junior
varsity wrestling tourney last Saturday.
But her second-place finish was the best since females first took to
county mats in 1986.
"It was really hard," said Emily, a South River High School honors
student who lives in Edgewater. "At the end of the season, I was so proud to
say I was a part of this." Up to seven female wrestlers competed last year,
but Emily and Arundel High School's Julia Mitrocsak were the only ones to
stick out the season this year.
And though female wrestling will soon become an Olympic sport, longtime
coach Al Kohlhafer said he doesn't think women will ever make up a high
percentage of local teams.
"I don't perceive this getting bigger," said the 33-year Northeast High
School veteran. Part of the reason is that more than 15 years after a
Meade sophomore opened the door, female wrestlers still face many of the same
challenges they did in the 1980s.
With its strenuous physical demands and constant close contact, co-ed
wrestling draws criticism from many male wres tlers, coaches and
parents.
Some believe females will never succeed at the varsity level because,
pound-per-pound, males generally have greater strength.
But South River Coach John Klessinger said meeting the physical and
mental challenges of the sport earned Emily the respect of her teammates, even
as others ridiculed her.
"When things were going tough, she stayed very positive," Mr.
Klessinger said. "A lot of guys would hear the snickers and the comments and hang
it up. She didn't let it get to her."
Instead, she built an 8-11 record, better than many of the males on the
young South River team, and even wrestled about a half dozen varsity
matches.
None of the wins came through pins, however, and Emily admits she
hasn't even been able to pin a teammate in practice. But she also said she
wouldn't if she could because she believes the males would be embarrassed no
matter how good a wrestler she'd become.
Mr. Kohlhafer said some coaches resent that female wrestlers bring
potential humiliation to each match.
"This is a macho-type thing," he said. "I've sat in the stands and
heard people talk. They don't talk about (the girl). They're talking about
him. If he loses to the girl, he loses to a girl. But if he beats the girl, he
just beats a girl."
The guys on Emily's team are some of her biggest supporters, however,
right behind her parents.
Although Ed and Peggy Duckworth weren't thrilled when their swimming
and soccer-playing daughter told them she was going out for wrestling, they
stood by her throughout the season.
"You raise your daughter to be able to do whatever she wants to do,"
said Mrs. Duckworth, who watched the petite girl come home with bruises and
split lips for the first few weeks of practice.
When they saw her commit to the intense practices, her parents cheered
Emily's decision and watched every meet anxiously.
One of her biggest moments came in her first match above her normal
weight class. Having just healed from an ankle injury, she took an aggressive
charge and shocked her 112-pound opponent when she lifted him up and
then dropped him back to the mat.
As he floundered around beneath her, Emily's all-male teammates
realized for the first time she might be able to win.
But it wasn't meant to be, and her opponent recovered to pin her in the
next period.
Still, the loss wasn't in vain. An injured teammate approached her
moments after the match and admitted he probably "couldn't have wrestled it any
better."
Emily plans to return next year and may even move up to varsity
permanently if there's an opening in her weight class.
"It's a great sport," she said. "It's all about you. You can't blame
mistakes on anybody else or on your team."
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TWO FOR ONE;
Westside boys, Lee girls did best in split
JEFF JENKINS, Houston Chronicle correspondent 2/22/02
When John Vogt took over Lee's wrestling program two years ago, there
was little with which to work.
After the Houston Independent School District opened Westside, most of
Lee's wrestlers left to join coach Ron Baker, who previously coached the
Generals. Despite the exodus, Vogt says there was no animosity.
"Most of Ron's wrestlers were with him when he coached at Paul Revere
Middle School and at Lee," Vogt said. "It made sense for them to go with Ron.
As far as I'm concerned, there were no hard feelings." Apparently, the
split wasn't necessarily bad for either school. Westside's boys and Lee's
girls will have distinctive presences at this weekend's University
Interscholastic League state championships at the Austin Convention Center.
The Wolves will send three qualifiers and two alternates to state - up
from one wrestler last season. Meanwhile, the Generals will have another
nice contingent - three qualifiers and two alternates - after taking six in
2001.
Westside and Lee were two of the biggest surprises at the Region 4 meet
in San Antonio, with the Wolves pinning down second and the Generals third
in their divisions.
"John's girls have grown by leaps and bounds. So have our boys," Vogt
said. "Nobody really expected much of either team, but we made Houston ISD
proud.
"No team in the area has improved more than Westside. Westside's like a
suburban school in our school district. They are loaded."
Leading the Wolves is junior Shaun Shaikh at 140 pounds. Shaikh, who
opens against Will Rowe of Azle, owns a 47-6 record on the year after
finishing second in his weight class at regionals.
"Shaun has been spectacular all year," Baker said. "At one point in the
season, he felt like he was getting burned out, but instead of
quitting, he worked even harder. He's got the skills and competitive nature to do
well at state."
"The 140-pound class is pretty tough," Shaikh said about wrestlers such
as Lewisville Hebron's Jake Jackson and Klein's Pierre Poledore. "But if I
wrestle like I can, I can win a few matches."
Also representing the Wolves in Austin are sophomore Trey Blakely at
119 pounds and sophomore Ryan Hazard at 112.
Blakely (37-8), who was second at regionals, faces Matt Simo of Mayde
Creek. Hazard (29-8), fourth in the region, draws defending state champion
Patrick Huff of Katy Taylor.
The alternates for Westside are sophomore Chris Alamo at 189 pounds and
junior Phillip Kownslar at 180.
"Those kids did a great job to get to state," Baker said. "Like most of
our boys, they're young. We'll have 13 of 15 back next year."
Westside has more boys at state this year; Lee has a veteran in junior
Juana Larin, who returns at 215 pounds.
Larin, a silver medalist at regionals, is considered a legitimate
contender after going 13-1 on the year. She locks up with Katy Klammer of Hebron
in her opener.
"We're ecstatic Juana's going again," Vogt said. "She had a bad case of
the flu at regionals. Actually, the whole team had the flu bug. We're
fortunate we did as well as we did."
"I'm ready to go," Larin said. "Having gone to state, I'm not as
nervous. I know what to expect."
Senior Celeste Varela is a first-year wrestler who qualified at 95
pounds. Varela (17-6), the regional champion, meets Crystal Valdez of Caprock.
"Celeste has come out of nowhere," Vogt said. "She's been a big
surprise."
Another newcomer is sophomore Reyna Cruz at 110 pounds. Cruz (21-15)
got hot late in the season, winning a double-overtime wrestleback to take
second at regionals. Cruz is paired with Brandi Brown of Arlington in the first
round.
Sophomore Sonja Zilic (21-9) is a possible late entry at 102 pounds
after an injury to another wrestler. If not, she will go to Austin as an
alternate.
"We probably won't know anything until state," Vogt said. "We're
keeping our fingers crossed."
Senior Linda Guerrero (23-6), a state qualifier in 2001, is an
alternate at 102 pounds.
Baker and Vogt are excited about the direction of their programs and
the future of the sport in Houston. Their progress at regionals was the
first
"When someone does well, it makes everyone else better," Baker said.
"We hope this will help to promote wrestling in our school district and in
Houston.
"I'm happy to see Westside having some success," Vogt said. "We really
pull for each other. There's no rivalry at all."
At a glance
What: University Interscholastic League Wrestling Championships.
Where: Austin Convention Center.
When: Today, boys weigh-in, 8 a.m.; boys first round, 10 a.m.-12:30
p.m.;
boys second round, 1-4 p.m.; girls weigh-in, 3 p.m.; girls first round,
5-5:45 p.m.; boys third round, 6-8 p.m. Saturday, boys weigh-in, 7:30
a.m.;
boys fourth round, 9-10:30 a.m.; girls weigh-in, 9:30 a.m.; girls
second
round, 11 a.m.-noon; boys fifth round, 12:30-1:30 p.m.; girls third
round,
2-3 p.m.; girls finals, 4-5:30 p.m.; boys finals, 6 p.m.
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Mahomet pins down 4th
By Randy Reinhardt
Pantagraph staff 2/24/02
NAPERVILLE -- Freshman Kyle Schutte had the fortunes of the entire Mahomet-Seymour High School wrestling team riding on his back.
The problem was that back was being pressed perilously close to the mat Saturday during the quarterfinals of the Class AA Dual Team State Tournament Saturday at Naperville North High School.
Summoning a sudden burst of strength, Schutte bridged, reversed Granite City's Sheldon Murphy and scored a dramatic pin to give Mahomet-Seymour a nine-point lead and clinch a 29-26 quarterfinal victory.
The Bulldogs then lost, 43-27, in the semifinals to Chicago Mount Carmel and 53-7 to Glenbard North in the third-place match.
New Lenox Providence claimed its sixth straight Class AA state championship with a 34-17 triumph over Mount Carmel.
Mahomet-Seymour's fourth-place trophy followed a third-place finish in 2001.
"We had a phenomenal season," Bulldogs' coach Tom Porter said. "Coming home with hardware is unbelievable. The kids battled. We've gone through a lot of ups and downs. I'm really happy with the season."
Schutte's key victory against Granite City avenged a regular-season defeat.
"He pinned me earlier this year with that cradle. I've got to work on that," said Schutte. "It just felt great to pin him. It was going through my head I had to do this for my team.
"When I took him on his back I felt so much relief in my body. I was really tired out there, giving it my all."
"Kyle is a freshman. He's still learning," said Porter. "He's a fighter and an unbelievable athlete. His athleticism paid off. He turned the match around for us."
Granite City coach Allen Kirgan was upset that his wrestler had Schutte nearly pinned for so long before Schutte was quickly given a pin after he seized control.
"I thought they called that fall awful quick compared to our fall," Kirgan said. "You could blame the officiating all day, but they won the meet."
Mahomet-Seymour (25-3) took a 10-0 lead on Granite City (25-1) with wins by Brent Johnson at 130, Bobby Hill at 135 and Josh Jeffers at 140. Ryan Stites (171), Cory Johnson (275) and Mary Kelly (103) also prevailed for the Bulldogs.
Mahomet-Seymour 215-pounder Joe Sapp kept a loss to fellow state qualifier Jacob Janek to 3-2 despite battling mononucleosis. Sapp did not wrestle the rest of the day.
"Sapp is a very sick boy," Porter said. "What he did for us was exceptional to get a trophy."
Hill, Brandon Arnold and Stites earned decisions for Mahomet-Seymour against Mount Carmel. Stites upset individual state champion Tom Treadway, 6-4 in overtime.
Mount Carmel held a 43-9 lead before forfeiting the final three weight classes to Bulldogs Chris Kelly, Schutte and Mike Vandre.
"They are an outstanding team," said Porter. "They are well coached and they've got great athletes."
Mahomet-Seymour didn't have much left for Glenbard North. The Bulldogs lost the first six bouts to fall behind 23-0 and got their only wins from Stites and Vandre.
"We're not in the same category with a Glenbard North," Porter said. "They've got a lot of upperclassmen, and we're pretty young."
Mary Kelly capped a groundbreaking four-year career as a female wrestler on a boys team with a 26-13 record as a senior.
"I don't really look at it as being a female wrestler," she said. "I'm out here just like all the guys. I'm just another wrestler. I look at is as being part of the team."
Kelly plans to attend a college where she can compete on a women's wrestling team. She also will train with the goal of competing in the 2004 Summer Olympics.
The Bulldog 103-pounder said her team "probably came here just to wrestle the first match. Then we were satisfied with that. We could have done a lot better today."
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Girls and wrestling / They deserve the chance to play
Published Feb 22, 2002
As lawmakers watched two high school boys demonstrate the "high crotch takedown" this week, one could just imagine the ripple of uneasiness in the room. The issue before a Minnesota House subcommittee was coed wrestling teams, so members were likely imagining 14-year-old girls locked in that move with teenage boys.
One high school coach who opposes mixed-gender teams summarized the mood: "If we saw these same things in the hallways of the school, we'd break them up and send someone to detention."
He is right on that point. But he and the legislators who would ban mixed-wrestling teams are wrong to effectively lock girls out of the sport. Wrestling is not sexual play. On the mat, and under the supervision of coaches, it is a legitimate sport that happens to require body contact.
That contact has prompted some legislators to propose outlawing coed teams. A bill before the House would repeal part of a state law that allows girls to try out and play on a boys' high school team if there is no equivalent girls' team.
It is good policy and should remain in place. While we agree that it would be preferable to have both girls' and boys' teams, the numbers don't support it in wrestling, at least not yet. That's no reason to deny interested girls the opportunity.
Male players and parents who testified for the bill emphasized the unique nature of the sport. While many team athletics involve some physical touching, wrestling is all body contact. They argued that it is awkward for boys; therefore they should not be forced to compete with females.
Frankly, breaking gender barriers has always brought some discomfort to those who prefer the status quo. Government should promote expanded opportunities for girls, not restrict them. In addition, who is to say that some boys might not initially be uncomfortable touching other boys in wrestling moves? If an individual has issues with close body contact, then wrestling is clearly the wrong sport.
Yet increasing numbers of teenage girls are taking to the mat. More than 3,000 girls participated in high school wrestling nationally -- most of them on boys' teams, according to a national high school association. Three states already have enough interest to have competitive girls' teams. At some point, that may be true in Minnesota.
Until then, the Legislature should honor the spirit and intent of Title IX federal rules that seek equal access to sports for women. The Minnesota House should reject the proposed bill. Girls who make the cut in wrestling should be allowed to play.
