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S.C. GIRLS GET INTO WRESTLING
GERALD DAIVS 2/26/02
THERE WAS SOMETHING missing during the S.C. State Individual Wrestling
Championships on Saturday - girls.
That might not always be the case. For while there were no female
wrestlers competing in the two-day tournament at the Carolina Coliseum, there are
female wrestlers on the high school level. Swansea, the Class AA champion, has
a female wrestler, as do several other teams in the state.
Dreher coach Paul Watson has noticed the increasing number of females
getting into wrestling. Last season, Watson put on an all-female tournament and
drew 26
wrestlers from the Carolinas, Florida and Virginia.
The second annual S.C. Women's Wrestling Championships will be held
Saturday at Dreher, and Watson expects an even bigger turnout.
Dreher has 15 girls entered, and Watson said he expects 35 to 40 to
participate.
"When we held this tournament last year, the response was fantastic,"
he said."I had women e-mailing requests for Open tournaments that females could
enter."
Watson said he created the tournament, which is not sanctioned by the
South Carolina High School League, to draw attention to his high school
wrestling program and to give females a chance to compete.
The attitude that females don't belong in such an aggressive sport is
slowly changing. There are approximately 2,000 female wrestlers in the
country. There are six all-female teams on the collegiate level - Neosho County (Kan.)
Community College, the University of Minnesota-Morris, Missouri Valley College,
Cumberland (Ky.) College, Pacific (Ore.) University and Menlo (Calif.) College.
"Girls are getting into it," Watson said. "What we're seeing is girls
are showing up at wrestling tournaments with their boyfriends and like what they see.
They also want to show what they can do."
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Girls of grapple fight for recognition
Christine Rivet 3/7/02
Teri O'Connor swears that wrestling has given her more guts and poise
than she could have ever dredged up elsewhere.
In fact, the sport has transformed this once rudderless young girl into
a crusader of sorts, one who has put her sport into a headlock, refusing
to let go until girls' wrestling is officially recognized by the Waterloo
County Secondary Schools Athletic Association.
Although girls' wrestling is sanctioned by the regional and provincial
high school associations, WCSSAA hasn't budged. What few girls do wrestle in
local high schools do so only through an exhibition schedule, without
winning a team trophy, at least until they move on to the regional and
provincial championships. "Every other (school) district recognizes
female wrestling, even OFSAA (the Ontario Schools Athletic Association). So
why is Waterloo County still in the Dark Ages?" O'Connor asked after she
called The Record to outline her mission, which includes urging her teachers and
fellow students to support the cause.
"We want to be able to win a team trophy," says O'Connor, a Grade 12
student at Forest Heights Collegiate, who hopes to wrestle at the university
level before she becomes a teacher and possibly, a wrestling coach herself.
Seems the sport has created a monster.
And one of O'Connor's coaches says he understands why.
"I think the girls are after affirmation," says Forest Heights
wrestling coach Harry Niezen, who expects a city-high 20 girls to join the
school's wrestling team this season, in part, due to O'Connor's efforts.
"And why not? The girls put the same work into the sport that the boys
do. They practise just as hard, just as often. They just want to be treated
as equals."
The holdup is at the coaching level since the support of the local
coaches is necessary before WCSSAA will even consider changing the sport's
status. A coaches' vote on the issue was soundly defeated about a month ago.
Although girls like O'Connor say they can't understand why the coaches
won't step into the 21st century, another Forest Heights coach says he thinks
he knows why they are resisting.
"It's a political thing to force male coaches to coach girls," says
coach Richard Bimm, who would love nothing more than to see WCSSAA adopt
girls' wrestling. "With all the things you hear about going on (allegations of
teachers sexually harassing students), it can be kind of scary for a
male coach. Some coaches just don't want to risk it."
Of course, wrestling is a physical sport which demands its participants
grab hold of each other, often in compromising positions.
For that reason, the coaches at Forest Heights say they forbid girls
from sparring with the boys. And the male coaches make a point of
demonstrating the sport's various moves and holds on their male wrestlers only.
Forest Heights made another significant leap forward this season
because, for the first time, the school's wrestling teams will welcome a female
coach, Chandra Hunter, when practices start this week.
Landing Hunter took a little convincing, because she has no previous
experience in the sport. But it was worth the effort, says Niezen, who
figures the sport needs a shot in the arm.
"If WCSSAA adopted girls' wrestling, more girls would want to wrestle
at their high schools and it's just a gut feeling, but I think more boys
would want to wrestle too because the sport would have a higher profile,"
says Niezen.
So while WCSSAA and its coaches dither over what will certainly be the
inevitable decision of officially adopting female wrestling, the Forest
Heights coaches say they couldn't be prouder of the role O'Connor will
have had in changing history.
"In Grade 9, Teri was an angry young kid," says Bimm. "Then this sport
got a hold of her. Now, look at her. She's got so much self confidence. I'm
told she has much better grades now.
"I call her my marketing manager," he says.
Shouldn't WCSSAA be promoting just such extra-curricular activities,
sports in which young girls are afforded the chance to change their lives for
the better?
Isn't that what receiving an education is all about?
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Extra inspiration for Cox
The Guelph Mercury February 21, 2002
Amanda Cox has always had the wrestling bloodlines but now she's got a
little extra motivation to help out.
Cox has turned to the girl who beat her for the gold medal in the
67.5-kilogram weight class at the Ontario Federation of Schools
Athletic
Association (OFSAA) wrestling championships last year as her
inspiration in
2002.
Candace Vanderwiel of Beamsville was killed in a car accident two weeks
after beating Cox for the Ontario high school title at Memorial Gardens
in
Guelph. The memory of Vanderwiel is what is pushing Cox, a Grade 12
student
at Centre Wellington in Fergus, towards her first provincial high
school
championship. "We were really good friends. She had a great heart for
wrestling," Cox said after beating St. John's-Kilmarnock's Michaela
Ramsden
in the 67.5kg final during the Central Western Ontario Secondary
Schools
Association (CWOSSA) championships Wednesday at Lourdes high school.
Cox, who will make her third trip to the provincial high school
championships next week in Thunder Bay, said she has dedicated this
season
to Vanderwiel.
"I'm doing it for myself and for her," Cox said. "She inspired me to
live
life to the fullest. I went through a tough time last year but then I
realized this is where I'm supposed to be and what I'm supposed to be
doing."
Cox met Vanderwiel, one of her main rivals, at a wrestling camp a year
before she was killed in a single-car crash in Vineland. Vanderwiel was
considering attending the University of Guelph, where she would have
been
coached by Amanda's father, former Olympian Doug Cox.
"We were the only two girls so we stayed together," Cox said. "We kept
in
contact. It was a quick relationship but she meant so much to me."
In 2000, Cox finished sixth at OFSAA then followed that up with a
second-place finish a year ago. Cox, who could very well be the
favourite,
has an excellent shot at winning the OFSAA title this season.
In addition to the inspiration Vanderwiel's memory is providing, Cox is
hoping to make up for a disappointing fourth-place finish at the
provincial
junior championships last month in St. Catharines.
"I think I have a really good chance," she said. "I didn't do as well
as I
wanted at provincials, I knew I could do a lot better. But I was
walking
through a lot of tournaments. I needed that kick in the butt to realize
I
have to dedicate myself to this."
Wrestling is as natural to Cox as brushing her teeth, given her
family's
involvement in the sport. Her father, Doug, wrestled in the 1996
Olympic
Games in Atlanta - Amanda was there to see it live - and her older
brother
Jamie wrestles at the varsity level as a member of the Guelph Gryphons.
A
couple of cousins are also involved in the sport.
Cox's gold medal in the 67.5kg class at the CWOSSA championships helped
lift
Centre Wellington into a tie with College Heights for the girls' team
title.
Both schools finished with 37 points, two more than third-place
Brantford
CI. Erin and Centennial tied for fifth with 31 points.
Jackie Gallina (first in girls' 57.5kg), Chris Prickett (first in boys'
61kg) and Andrew Bingley (second in 57.5kg) were the other Centre
Wellington
wrestlers to earn OFSAA berths.
College Heights coach Doug Wilson was beside himself with the finish,
the
first CWOSSA title of any kind for the school.
"I'm absolutely shocked," he said. "We're a school of only 490 kids and
I
only brought seven girls. Out of the seven I brought, five scored
points."
Four College Heights wrestlers - Jessica Carere (41kg), Deanna Vicary
(44
kg), Scott Franklin (heavyweight) and Adam Jelly (41kg) - moved on to
the
OFSAA meet.
In the boys' team competition, Monsignor Doyle of Cambridge finished
first
for the third consecutive year, finishing with 55 points. Resurrection
of
Kitchener and Centre Wellington were tied in second with 54 points, St.
Mary's was fourth with 46 points and Centennial was fifth with 42
points.
A total of 20 local wrestlers qualified for the OFSAA championships,
including four from St. John's-Kilmarnock.
Centennial had four advance - Adam Rosenbloom won the boys' 64kg weight
class, Crysta Brousseau won the girls' 47.5kg division, Jen Krall won
the
girls' 61kg class and Brandon Brousseau was second in the boys' 54kg
class.
Lourdes' Jordan Kraemer (first in 41kg) and Amber Fair (second in 84kg)
advanced.
Erin's Kim Johnstone won the girls' 77kg weight class while Ashley Cox,
Amanda's cousin, was second in the girls' 57.5kg division
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Olympics motivate Rushton
Lakeport wrestler collects fifth SOSSA championship
Bernie Puchalski The Standard
(Lindsay) Rushton
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HAGERSVILLE - Lakeport wrestler Lindsay Rushton used the Winter Olympics to help motivate herself for the SOSSA wrestling championships Wednesday.
"Watching the Olympics inspires you so much, especially when Canada comes in for the opening ceremonies," the 18-year-old said. "It makes you feel like you want to be there or go for a run."
The OAC student looked inspired in winning her fifth straight SOSSA title and disposing of her closest rival, Thorold's Sasha Smith, by technical superiority.
And while winning SOSSA may be old hat for the 2001 world junior bronze medallist, Rushton didn't believe it was hers just for showing up.
"You know the competition more so you're more relaxed, but you never take it for granted," she said.
According to longtime wrestling coach Bill Smith, the two-time OFSAA champion joins former Olympian Marty Calder as the only five-time SOSSA wrestling champion.
"I still really look up to Marty a lot and knowing I did it as well makes me feel great," she said.
Rushton hopes to follow Calder's footsteps in another way and represent Canada at the Olympics. Beating a former world silver medallist last year and losing in overtime to another, makes her dream seem attainable.
But the inclusion of women's wrestling in the 2004 Olympics isn't without its challenges. Because the addition means the subtraction of male weight classes, it means there will be a limited number to choose from. And while Rushton wrestles at 54 kilograms in high school, she's looking to wrestle at 48 kilograms in the Olympics.
"It will be a big challenge, but I think I can do it. I have to work hard and not eat as much. I'm a pig," she said, admitting she has a particular fondness for chocolate bars and junk food.
"I'm always asking my mom to buy me cake," she said with a laugh.
"It will be tough, but she still hasn't started working like she's gearing for it yet," Smith said. "But that's what she has in mind."
With two years of junior eligibility left, Rushton won the Ontario junior title at 54 kilograms this year and will wrestle at the senior provincials at 54 kilograms.
But she knows she has to step up her training back to where it was last summer when she was training for the junior world championships.
"It was like a big break, but I think I needed it."
Unfortunately for her, and her opponents, she's so strong that she doesn't get challenged much at the high school level.
"I need to go up to Brock. Without those training partners, I'm not getting the experience I need."
In the team competition Wednesday, the Beamsville women were in a class of their own winning six gold medals on the way to 259 points. They were followed by Thorold (97), Hagersville (83), Lakeport (65) and St. Mike's (52).
Following are the top three Niagara finishers, where available, from SOSSA. The top two advance to the OFSAA championships in Thunder Bay.
44 kilograms: 1. Marta Tabaka, St. Mike's; 2. Laura Kipp, Beamsville.
47.5 kilograms: 2. Amanda Stevenson, Beamsville.
51 kilograms: 1. Liz Martindale, Beamsville; 2. Anita Stevenson, Beamsville; 3. V. Brazeau, St. Mike's.
54 kilograms: 1. Lindsay Rushton, Lakeport; 2. Sasha Smith, Thorold; 3. Kayla Bredin, Stamford.
57.5 kilograms: 1. Candice Vermeulen, Beamsville; 2. Andrea Grossi, St. Francis.
61 kilograms: 1. Caity Wismer, Beamsville; 2. Sarah Easton, Stamford.
64 kilograms: 1. Jody Dykstra, Beamsville; 2. Jessica Purcer, Lakeport; 3. Laura Kleinendorst, Beamsville.
67.5 kilograms: 1. Calista Livingston, Thorold; 2. Elena Stevenson, Beamsville.
72 kilograms: 1. Nordonia Smith, Thorold.
77 kilograms: 1. Stephanie Harding, Laura Secord.
84 kilograms: 1. Candace Rempel, Beamsville.
Unlimited: 2. Sara Henderson, Kernahan Park.
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Wrestler Neufeld draws strength from fallen mate
Beamsville athlete wins SOSSA crown with motivation by Vanderwiel
Bernie Puchalski
The Standard
Hagersville
Candace Vanderwiel is never far from the thoughts of Beamsville wrestler Joel Neufeld.
"Last year, my training partner and friend was killed in a car crash," the 17-year-old Grade 12 student said. "All she ever wanted to do was win gold at OFSAA (the Ontario championships). She did so, and I feel I want to do the same.
"I think about her all the time. She's my motivation and my inspiration."
After finishing third at the Southern Ontario championship last year, Neufeld used the motivation to win the SOSSA 67.5-kilogram title Wednesday.
"I clamped down this year and worked hard and trained hard," he said. "I fit as much wrestling into my schedule as possible."
That intensified training regimen includes five days a week on the mats plus two days of either running or weight lifting.
"I feel a lot stronger this year and I've had a lot more accomplishments."
And he'll have a chance to add to those accomplishments at the OFSAA championships in Thunder Bay.
"If I win, I win. If not, I'll come back even harder next year."
Neufeld's success was only a small part of Wednesday's bonanza for Beamsville. The school won the girls and overall titles and the boys were a close second to Hagersville.
"We've got the greatest coach (Dave Collie) I've ever had, excellent training partners and good people who work hard to motivate each other to work hard," Neufeld said.
Defending OFSAA champions who won their events included St. Catharines Collegiate's Jamie Macari (54 kilograms) and Hagersville's Ray Foster (72 kilograms).
In the boys team competition Hagersville (295) was first followed by Beamsville (248), Thorold (235), Cayuga (135) and Dunnville (135).
The top three overall teams were Beamsville (507), Hagersville (378) and Thorold (332).
Following are the top three Niagara finishers, where available, from the SOSSA meet. The top two advance to the OFSAA championships.
38 kilograms: 2. Chad Smith, Kernahan Park.
44 kilograms: 3. Brad Currie, Kernahan Park.
47.5 kilograms: 1. Steve Bergen, Thorold; 2. Phoutti Khomborinh, Lakeport.
51 kilograms: 2. Jason Sharp, Thorold; 3. Dave Purcer, Stamford.
54 kilograms: 1. Jamie Macari, St. Catharines Collegiate; 3. Travis Nunnamaker, Beamsville.
57.5 kilograms: 1. Steve Brinkman, Beamsville; 3. Kevin Foxton, Laura Secord.
61 kilograms: 2. Tim Shields, Thorold; 3. Drew Neufeld, Beamsville.
64 kilograms: 1. Henry Vanek, Beamsville; 3. Brandon McCarthy, St. Catharines Collegiate.
67.5 kilograms: 1. Joel Neufeld, Beamsville; 2. Zolt Kornocovic, Westlane; 3. M. Gilson, Stamford.
72 kilograms: 2. Andrew Slocki, Beamsville; 3. C. Lewis, St. Mike's.
77 kilograms: 1. Nathan Richardson, Governor Simcoe; 3. Leroy Williams, St. Catharines Collegiate.
84 kilograms: 1. Mike Neufeld, Governor Simcoe; 3. Mike Wakulich, St. Catharines Collegiate.
95 kilograms: 1. Sean Bowen, Thorold; 2. Adam Grant, Stamford.
Unlimited: 1. Dan Miles, St. Francis; 2. Allan Kipp, Beamsville; 3. Lionel Grant, Robert Land Academy.
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Brock rules the mats
Badgers wrestling teams capture another set of Ontario titles
David Larkins
Special to the Standard
Staff Photo by Denis Cahill / Brock University's Mary Kleinendorst, bottom, takes on Guelph's Nathalie Bendavid in the 77-kilogram division at the OUA wrestling championships at Brock Saturday. Kleinendorst won the match and went on to finish third.
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Brock Badgers, Ontario University Athletics wrestling champions, is close to becoming a cliche.
Brock's men captured overall gold for the eighth straight year while the women won their second straight, Saturday afternoon at Brock.
"It's really hard," said Badger coach Marty Calder. "You have to realize how hard people work because they want to beat us."
Battling back from a preliminary-round deficit, the men took six golds and the overall title (72 points). Guelph, which lead 60-54 heading into the gold-medal round, finished second (66 points).
The key in the gold medal round were three crucial Brock victories over Guelph opponents. Clint Kingsbury beat Brendan Eyre 11-0 at 54 kilograms and Jay Allin defeated Matt Muskatt 11-5 at 57 kilograms.
But the most energizing match was Steve Snyder's 13-3 win over Gryphon Vic Sprenger at 90 kilograms. That win completed the comeback for Brock and eliminated any hopes for Gryphon gold overall.
"We were a bit nervous and that was exposed in the early rounds," said Calder. "We had a team meeting and the guys just had to put it into perspective."
Other gold-medal round winners were: James Pernal, 6-2 over Lakehead's Alex Jeffrey at 61 kilograms; and Ryan Weicker at 68 kilograms, beating Lakehead's Brent Fryia 11-0.
Adam Fera was the only Brock male defeated in the gold-medal round. He was edged 3-1 by Lakehead's Devlon Kirk at 82 kilograms.
On the women's side, Tonya Verbeek continued to shine. Appearing in her final match at Brock, the fifth-year student didn't have a point scored against her in four matches. She sealed her fourth OUA title with a 10-0 technical superiority win over McMaster's Ellen Macro in the gold medal match.
The women scored four out of a possible five golds with Megan Dolan's loss to world junior champion Tara Hedican of Guelph at 65 kilograms the only defeat. Julie Harris won gold at 48 kilograms with a 7-1 win over Kristen Wells of Queen's, Heather Sweezey defeated Rachel Dean of Western 11-1 in the 53 kilogram-final and Laura Jones pinned Lakehead's Christine Calver for gold at 70 kilograms.
Overall, the women finished with 52 points followed by Lakehead (37) and Western (36). The Badgers now send seven males and six females to the national championships in Thunder Bay.
"We want to win both (men's and women's titles). We have seven (male) athletes that can all win and that would give us more than enough points," Calder said. "The girls got six through and Megan is capable and so is Jones. It's a good group."
The men are looking for a repeat as CIS champs while the women hope to avenge last year's second-place finish to the University of Calgary.
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A bang for the wrestling Bucs
Beamsville continues to add mat titles
Bernie Puchalski 3/6/02
The Standard
Staff Photo by Bernie Puchalski / Beamsville Bucs wrestling teammates Liz Martindale, top, and Anita Stephenson practise after their Ontario championship win over the weekend. Martindale defeated Stephenson in the 51-kilogram final.
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In one fantastic weekend, Beamsville Secondary School doubled the number of its Ontario high school championship team wrestling titles.
By winning the overall and girls' titles last weekend in Thunder Bay, the school now has four OFSAA wrestling banners to hang in its gymnasium.
"Yes, little old Beamsville, but we do have a bit of a tradition here," said head wrestling coach Dave Collie. "We have had a strong program for 15 years and there's high expectations for them.
"And compared to other sports teams in our school, they work a lot harder."
Beamsville wrestlers can be found on the mat over Christmas, during exams, and in the early morning hours before school starts. And when they're not wrestling, they're running and lifting weights.
Even the week after their best weekend ever, when one would think the team would take a well-deserved break, many were in the gym preparing for the Ontario Winter Games and the national cadet championships in April.
The school's results speak for themselves. In Collie's 15-year coaching reign at Beamsville, the school has won 22 zone and 14 Southern Ontario team titles. Team members have won 29 OFSAA medals, 24 national medals, and three Beamsville wrestlers have represented Canada at the world championships.
And nowhere did the hard work pay off more in 2002 than in the 51-kilogram girls' division, where Beamsville's Liz Martindale beat teammate Anita Stephenson in the OFSAA gold-medal match.
"Mr. Collie is an amazing coach and it's the work everybody puts into it," Martindale, 16, said. "We're here training five days a week and it makes such a difference."
It was quite an accomplishment for the Grade 11 student, who was knocked out early last year in her first trip to the provincial championships.
"It was good for the team because we could get the points," she said. "I knew she would be tough competition."
It's the first time Collie can remember two athletes from the same school wrestling in an OFSAA final.
"From a coaching perspective, it was nice. We knew we were going to come out of it with a gold and silver."
"My goal was to score points on her this time, and I didn't," Stephenson said. "Another disappointing thing is I'm a year older than her and have been wrestling for a year longer, but you can't stay mad at friends for too long."
The 16-year-old Stephenson was glad she met Martindale in the final.
"It's a stress reliever. You could be going against someone you don't know."
And while Stephenson lost the battle, she's not ready to concede the war.
"She has beaten me every single time. It will change eventually, but I have to train harder," said Stephenson, who also boasts two OFSAA gymnastics medals.
Beamsville wasn't the only school to enjoy OFSAA success, as Niagara wrestlers brought home 11 medals, including five golds.
It's the best Niagara showing in years and one reason for the overall success is the way all the region's coaches work together. When Beamsville had two athletes wrestling at the same time at OFSAA, another Niagara coach would step in and work one of the corners.
"We look more at the big picture, trying to develop wrestling in the entire area instead of individual schools," Collie said. "But it doesn't mean we're not trying to win when zone and SOSSA come around."
"None of us is trying to put another program down to get better," longtime coach Bill Smith of Lakeport said. "We all help each other."
Smith also credits Niagara's school boards for the wrestling success.
"They've never batted an eye to send the wrestlers who have qualified and the coaches who deserve it. We have enough hassles as it is."
