U.S. names 2002 Pan American Championships teams for freestyle, Greco-Roman and women in Caracas, Venezuela, March 14-17

3/4/2002
Jaimie Millward/USA Wrestling

USA Wrestling has announced the U.S. lineups for the 2002 Pan American Championships, set for Caracas, Venezuela, March 14-17.

Held three of every four years during the non-Pan American Games years, the Pan American Championships features the best wrestlers in North, Central and South America. The Greco-Roman tournament will be held March 14-15, the women’s tournament will be held March 15-16 and the freestyle tournament will be held March 16-17.

This will be the first Pan American Championships that will feature the new international weight classes established by FILA. As of Jan. 1, 2002 the weight classes for all three styles of wrestling were changed to seven classes, these new weight divisions are as follows:

Men’s freestyle and Greco-Roman: 121 lbs., 132 lbs., 145.5 lbs., 163 lbs., 185 lbs., 211.5 lbs. and 264.5 lbs.

Women: 105.5 lbs., 112 lbs., 121 lbs., 130 lbs., 138.5 lbs., 147.5 lbs. and 158.5 lbs.

The U.S. Greco-Roman team will be led by three U.S. Nationals champions including Jeff Cervone (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Air Force) who will compete at 121 pounds. 2000 Olympian Kevin Bracken (Colorado Springs, Colo./NYAC) is expected to compete at 145.5 pounds and Keith Sieracki (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) will wrestle at 163 pounds.

2000 Olympian Jim Gruenwald (Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) will compete for the U.S. at 132 pounds. Gruenwald has finished second in the 2001 U.S. Nationals.

Others competing for the U.S. were in the top five placings at 2001 Nationals. Ethan Bosch (Colorado Springs, Colo./NYAC) placed third and is expected to compete at 185 pounds. Placing fourth was Ross Thatcher (State College, Pa./NYAC) who will compete at 211.5 pounds and taking second was Dremiel Byers (Colorado Springs, Colo./U.S. Army) who will be competeing at 264.5 pounds.

The U.S. freestyle team will be led by 2001 World silver medalist Brandon Eggum (Minneapolis, Minn./Minnesota Storm) who will wrestle at 184.8 pounds.

Two U.S. Nationals champions who will be competing are Erik Akin (Overland Park, Kan./Dave Schultz WC) will wrestle at 121 lbs. and Eric Guerrero (Stillwater, Okla./Cowboy WC) will be compete at 132 lbs.

Second place finishers at the 2001 U.S. Nationals who will be a part of the freestyle team include: Chris Bono (Ames, Iowa/ Sunkist Kids), Byron Tucker (Norman, Okla./Team Excel) and Tolly Thompson (Lincoln, Neb./Sunkist Kids). Bono, who was a member of the 2001 Wolrd team, will compete at 145.5 pounds, Tucker will wrestle at 163 pounds and Thompson will grapple with the 264.5-pounders.

Completing the freestyle team for the U.S. is Daniel Cormier (Stillwater, Okla./Gator WC) competing in the 211.5 pound weight class.

The women will field a strong team who were all top placers at the 2001 U.S. Nationals. Leading the way will be a trio of champions. Stephanie Murata (Lansing, Mich./Sunkist Kids) will be competing at 121 lbs., Toccara Montgomery (Cleveland, Ohio/Sunkist Kids) will wrestle at 147.5 pounds and Iris Smith(Colorado Springs, Colo./Sunkist Kids) will be grappling at 158.5 pounds. Both Murata and Montgomery won World sivler medals in 2001.

Tonya Evinger (Bates City, Mo./Unattached), who placed second at last year’s national tournament, will be wrestling at 130 pounds.

Rounding out the women’s line up will be Clarissa Chun (Marshall, Mo./Missouri Valley WC) at 105.5 pounds, Patricia Miranda (Saratoga, Calif./Dave Schultz WC) at 112 pounds and Grace Magnussen (Marshall, Mo./Dave Schultz WC) at 138.5 pounds. Chun and Miranda both finished third at the 2001 U.S. Nationals. Magnussen placed fourth at last year’s national tournament.

PAN AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
at Caracas, Venezuelz, March 14-17
U.S. Greco-Roman team
55 kg/121 lbs. - Jeff Cervone, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Air Force)
60 kg/132 lbs. - Jim Gruenwald, Colroado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Kevin Bracken, Colorado Springs, Colo. (NYAC)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Keith Sieracki, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Ethan Bosch, Colorado Springs, Colo. (NYAC)
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Ross Thatcher, State College, Pa. (NYAC)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Dremiel Byers, Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Army)
Coaches - Dan Chandler, Greg Zavala
U.S. Men’s freestyle team
55 kg/121 lbs. - Eric Akin, Overland Park, Kan. (Dave Schultz WC)
60 kg/132 lbs. - Eric Guerrero, Stillwater, Okla. (Sunkist Kids)
66 kg/145.5 lbs. - Chris Bono, Ames, Iowa (Sunkist Kids)
74 kg/163 lbs. - Byron Tucker, Norman, Okla. (Team Excel)
84 kg/185 lbs. - Brandon Eggum, Minneapolis, Minn. (Minnesota Storm)
96 kg/211.5 lbs. - Daniel Cormier, Stillwater, Odla. (Gator WC)
120 kg/264.5 lbs. - Tolly Thompson, Lincoln, Neb. (Sunkist Kids)
Coaches - Chris Horpel, Kevin Jackson
U.S. Women’s freestyle team
48 kg/105.5 lbs. - Clarissa Chun, Marshall, Mo. (Missouri Valley College)
51 kg/112 lbs. - Patricia Miranda, Saratoga, Calif. (Dave Schultz WC)
55 kg/121 lbs. - Stephanie Murata, Lansing, Mich. (Sunkist Kids)
59 kg/130 lbs. - Tonya Evinger, Bates City, Mo. (Unattached)
63 kg/138.5 lbs. - Grace Magnussen, Marshall, Mo. (Dave Schultz WC)
67 kg/147.5 lbs. - Toccara Montgomery, Cleveland, Ohio (Sunkist Kids)
72 kg/158.5 lbs. - Iris Smith, Colorado Springs, Colo. (Sunkist Kids)
Coaches - Rusty Davidson, Afsoon Johnston

----------------------------

The team won both the HISD District Tournament and the Region IV Tournament. Qualifying six girls and one alternate, the girls wrestled their way to a tenth place finish at the UIL State Tournament. The state qualifiers and their weight classes are: Linda Guerrera, 95; Cynthia Osueke, 102; Reem Al-Hellou, 110 (alternate); Amanda Noteware, 119; Iris Carizales, 138; Desiree Garrison, 185; and Juana Laurin, 215. This was every girl’s first year of wrestling and four of them are graduating this year. Expectations for next year’s team are high.

Two girls continued wrestling during the post-season. Competing in the USGWA Texas State Tournament, Desiree Garrison placed second, and Amanda Noteware earned the State Championship, even defeating the UIL State Champion. Noteware and Garrison both qualified for the USGWA National Tournament in Lake Orion, Michigan. Both girls competed and senior Amanda Noteware placed ninth in the 126 pound weight class, earning an All-American title. The salutatorian of her senior class, Noteware will attend Princeton University in the fall where she plans to continue wrestling.

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The impossible dream comes true

By Steve Brannan 3/6/02
sbrannan@amarillonet.com

Something happened on the night of Feb. 22 that even now is hard for anyone involved to explain. With only four wrestlers making the trip to Austin, Tascosa was a long-shot at best to capture the UIL girls' wrestling title, yet every pair of eyes showed something different.

The Lady Rebels began to believe.

Keep in mind, this is a Tascosa team that had never won a tournament in the program's short history. In an area rich with girls' wrestling talent, the Lady Rebels regularly had taken a back seat to Caprock and Palo Duro, teams that had won the last two state championships.

After the first round on Friday, the numbers looked promising - no team had separated itself from the competition in the same way Palo Duro had done a year before. Depending on what happened Saturday, any of five teams still had a chance to claim the team title.

"I'm always the eternal optimist, but I thought we had a chance right after regionals," Tascosa coach Johnny Cobb said. "It was not necessarily a realistic chance, but it was a chance."

For Tascosa to win, just about everything would have to be perfect.

And for one day, it was.

Taking the opportunity

In the three years since starting the girls' wrestling program, Tascosa had never finished among the top 10 teams in the state. Only two of the team's wrestlers - Houston Shepherd and Tasia Benfield - had been to the state tournament before, with Shepherd winning the 138-pound title in 2001.

The Lady Rebels were young, but their improvement showed exponentially.

Again finishing behind the likes of Caprock and Palo Duro during the district and regional tournaments, Tascosa's strides could be seen in its number of state qualifiers. Along with Shepherd and Benfield, Tamron Johnson also qualified despite wrestling in a higher weight class - 185 - in only her first full season in the sport.

"I expected to get beat up," Johnson said of her first season. "All the girls I was wrestling were in a bigger weight class. I was afraid they would squash me."

Jenifer Brantley gave the Lady Rebels four qualifiers when she knocked off Caprock's Lindsey Bohensky in a wrestleback at 102 during the regional tournament.

"Everyone expects Caprock and Palo Duro to win," Brantley said. "We've gotten better by wrestling very good competition."

The field was set, but would Tascosa have enough to contend?

Defying the odds

With Brantley, Shepherd and Benfield all getting pins during their first-round matches on Friday, the Lady Rebels sat two points behind Palo Duro entering Saturday's final rounds. Each wrestler earned 10 points for her team by making the finals, so the next round would prove significant for all of the top teams.

Although Johnson would lose her consolation match, the other three advanced to the finals with pins - a fact that would prove significant later that night.

"When I started seeing all the numbers of the other girls who were left, I knew we had a chance," Cobb said. "All three of our girls had gotten pins in the previous matches, so we had to be in the hunt. Still, I was a little surprised."

Brantley would lose her final to Stephanie Jenkins of El Paso Hanks, but Shepherd and Benfield would win their individual titles on decisions at 138 and 148.

At that point, all the Lady Rebels could do was wait.

With two individual titles already, Hanks had its shot at the team crown when Diana Reveles wrestled in the 165-pound final. Arlington Sam Houston, too, could make its mark with Monica Coleman in the 215-pound final.

Both lost, leaving the Lady Rebels waiting for more than an hour as officials and coaches tallied the final numbers.

"I thought if we all get pins, we'd have a really good chance at getting the state title," Shepherd said. "I thought we lost it when we didn't get pins in the last two."

Earlier pins, though, proved to be the tiebreaker. The two additional points from each pin gave Tascosa 12 bonus points, giving them a 1 1/2-point edge over Hanks and a three-point difference over Sam Houston.

Cobb danced a jig. Assistant coach Donna Welch finally sat down. Looks of shock crept over the Lady Rebels' faces.

And suddenly, the impossible dream had come true.

A new tradition

Prior to the 2002 state wrestling tournament, Tascosa was a team looking to break out of the shadows of its cross-town rivals. Winning the state title accomplished that goal.

Just as importantly, though, the Lady Rebels matched the success of their boys' counterparts in a school with a long wrestling tradition.

Before the UIL began sanctioning the state wrestling tournament, Tascosa was one of the most dominant boys' teams in the state. Brandon Slay starred with the Rebels before winning an Olympic gold medal during the Sydney Games in 2000.

Cobb is hopeful the Lady Rebels can follow in the same type of tradition.

"Now we are able to start having a winning tradition like the boys," Cobb said. "When you have a state-championship program, that's an immense motivational opportunity for the girls. They're part of something that's the best in the whole state. I think there'll be more intensity and hard work now."

More hard work would be nice, but sometimes a little bit of luck can seem just as important. After all, the Lady Rebels needed a lot of both to make their first tournament championship the most important of all.

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Dynamic duo
Cobb, Welch mesh to lead Tascosa's championship drive

By Steve Brannan 3/6/02
sbrannan@amarillonet.com

Assistant coach Donna Welch and coach Johnny Cobb faced new challenges as they led the Lady Rebels to their first state title. Steven Dearinger/sdearinger@amarillonet.com

When Johnny Cobb was asked to start up the Tascosa girls' wrestling program, the task brought around many new challenges. Although Cobb had coached the school's boys' program for many years, he would have to switch gears in an emerging division in a short amount of time.

The same was true of assistant coach Donna Welch, who Cobb tabbed as his assistant despite Welch having never wrestled before.

Three years later, though, their unique coaching dynamic helped land the Lady Rebels a state championship.

"I've been around wrestling for 30 years or more," Cobb said. "Coaching girls was a new experience for me. But if you look at the program in the last few years, our numbers have just continued to grow. We've put a lot of hard work into this."

That hard work has been spread around, as well.

Welch first got involved with the Tascosa wrestling program as an observer, watching the boys' team and quickly growing to love the sport. She was chosen to lead the team's spirit squad, but that job would soon change.

With girls' wrestling having just completed its first season on the UIL level, Cobb was put in charge of starting the Lady Rebels' program. Saying he felt it important to get a female involved as an assistant, Cobb picked Welch for the new position.

"When he asked me to be involved with the girls' wrestling team, I told him if we were going to do it, we were going to do it all the way," said Welch, one of only a handful of female wrestling coaches around the state. "Some of the coaches in the Panhandle didn't want to get involved with girls' wrestling, but coach Cobb was not like that."

Despite her enthusiasm, Welch would be in for a crash course in wrestling.

Much like the team she coached, Welch began to learn the basics of wrestling from Cobb. She would be in charge of individual workouts for many of the girls and kept the team organized, freeing up Cobb to take care of technique.

Soon, Welch's competitive spirit would take over. She took the mat with the team, becoming a frequent opponent during practices.

"She had never wrestled before," Cobb said. "She was having to learn everything just like the girls. She works as hard as they do, so she gets better and better every year."

Welch's hands-on approach also gave the Lady Rebels a coach they could relate to directly.

"I guess we're all learning together," Welch said. "I ask a lot of questions, they ask a lot of questions. We bring up a lot of stuff. We're just learning together."

Cobb, meanwhile, was in for a rude awakening of his own.

Often considering himself gruff in his coaching technique, Cobb was forced to take a different approach at first with the girls' team. At first, it left for a few trying moments as Cobb became accustomed to his new team.

"What keeps coming to mind is Tom Hanks in 'A League of their Own,' " Cobb said. "I just kept thinking about the line, 'There's no crying in baseball.' It was kind of the same way with wrestling.

"Girls express themselves a little bit differently from boys, and it took a while to learn that."

But with the team's new championship, the Lady Rebels' learning curve has grown exponentially. Tascosa returns plenty of freshman to its lineup for next season along with necessary experience, giving the team a core group of wrestlers to build around for the first time in program history.

At first, starting the girls' wrestling program may have felt like an uphill battle. But after three years of work by Cobb and Welch, the Lady Rebels' program has grown up.

"I think now we're seeing that this team is where we want it to be," Cobb said.

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