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 Altmar-Parish-Williamstown High School freshman, Jessica Pierce, wrestles in practice with fellow teammate Ron DuPont. Pierce is the only female wrestling varsity in this area. The APW Rebels wrestles in the central New York district. |
Area girls compete
Wednesday, March 27, 2002
A pair of female wrestlers from Altmar-Parish-Williamstown High School and another from Watertown were among 10 place-winners in the high school division of the U.S. Girls National Wrestling Championships last weekend in Lake Orion, Mich.
Jessica Pierce of A-P-W finished fourth in the 118-pound class, and her sister, Jillian Pierce, finished fourth at 165 pounds. Alicia Countryman of Watertown finished 12th at 126 pounds.
Jessica Pierce, a freshman, wrestled varsity at 126 for A-P-W last season. Jillian Pierce, a junior who did not wrestle for A-P-W because of a knee injury was making her third trip to the nationals. She finished 10th in 2000 and seventh last year.
Countryman wrestled varsity and junior varsity last season at Watertown High School.
Wendy Casey of Binghamton, who won the 130-pound class, was the top New York state finisher.
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Comstock girls compete in national tournament
Tuesday, March 26, 2002
Comstock wrestling coach Dan Crumley said that he was "very proud" of two girls on his wrestling team after they participated in the national girls' wrestling tournament in Detroit last weekend.
Jessica Langworthy and Katrina Emmans, both sophomores, each competed in the event and both wrestled well. Langworthy finished 10th in the nation at 132 pounds while Emmans did not place among the top 10 at 140. Both Langworthy and Emmans finished fourth in the state tournament the previous week.
"I think it will help me self-discipline wise," Langworthy said of the experience. "Wrestling a girl is a lot different than wrestling a guy. Guys are more muscular and girls are more flexible and have to finish their moves."
Crumley was more than pleased with the performance of Langworthy and Emmans.
"They come to practice, they put in the time, they know the technical moves," Crumley said. "I'm very proud that these girls have the attitude of coming to practice, putting in their time and preparing themselves."
"He was very supportive," Langworthy said of Crumley. "He was down there yelling moves at me."
Representatives from 34 states, totaling 550 wrestlers in all, competed in the event, including girls from Hawaii and Alaska, according to Crumley.
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HIGH SCHOOL FOCUS: Girl wrestler never stops moving
March 28, 2002
By WILL DeBOARD
BEE STAFF WRITER
Trying to catch up with Katy Jones is difficult.
The Davis High senior never stops moving, on or off the wrestling mat.
On the mat, the 152-pounder finished third in the nation last weekend at the National High School Girls Wrestling Championships in Michigan.
The week before, she finished second in the state at 165 pounds, losing in the finals to San Diego's Sherri Foster when she was caught in a throw and was pinned.
Off the mat, she's nearing the end of high school, readying herself for college and holding down a job.
She goes to school until 4:30 p.m. every day, and works almost 30 hours a week at Velvet Grill and Creamery on McHenry Avenue.
"It's a busy time," Jones said. "But I have to pay some bills and save some money for college."
She plans on going to school at Menlo College next year, the only college in the state that has a women's wrestling program.
In the meantime, she'll keep to her busy schedule, and find time to prepare for national team tryouts this summer in Las Vegas.
"I got invited after the nationals," Jones said. "I'm going to be one of the youngest there, but hopefully that won't stop me."
Nothing, it seems, will stop Jones, or the girls movement in high school wrestling.
Last school year, the number of girls in high school wrestling grew to 3,032 participants, up from 2,474 during the 1999-2000 year, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
The number of wrestling teams with girls participating also increased.
In 1999-2000, 734 high schools had girls involved in wrestling, but the 2000-2001 year, the total grew to 896 programs, or by 22 percent.
"Last year at nationals (where Jones also took third), we had 12 wrestlers in my bracket," Jones said. "This year, there were 25. It's doubled in one year.
Jones, who is believed to be one of the fewer than 10 high school female wrestlers in the area, is hoping more get involved.
"A lot of them think all you do is wrestle against guys, and that's unfair," she said.
This season, Jones put up good numbers for Davis at the junior varsity level, going 14-1. She was 0-3 for the varsity. Halfway through the season, she quit to focus solely on her technical skills.
The results were mixed.
"I became better technically, but I wasn't working out with a team and I started getting tired at the end of matches," she said.
That's what happened in the state finals against Foster.
"She does a lot of weight training, you can tell," Jones said. "She's a monster. She was so strong."
Still, Jones led in the third period.
"But she caught me when I got tired," Jones said. "I tried to keep moving, but she grabbed my head and threw me to my back and that was it."
Jones said she cost herself at nationals, committing two errors she hadn't made all year.
"In my quarterfinal match (against Ohio's Kasey Johnson), I was ahead almost the entire match," she said. "I was getting takedowns and letting her up and getting takedowns again.
"But she caught up when I did two illegal holds -- I locked my hands. In the third round, I was trying to hang on, but she beat me by a point."
Jones breezed through the consolation bracket after that, eventually finishing third.
Jones is ranked No.2 in the nation at 165 pounds by the United States Girls Wrestling Association. But when she began about eight years ago, she was No.3 in the Jones household.
"I started when I was 10," Jones said. "My brothers both wrestled, and they kept beating up on me. I guess I got interested from that, although it was more self-defense than anything else."
Now, it's her opponents who need to work on the self-defense
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FOCUS ON SMALL COLLEGES Pacific wrestler wins third women's title in row
03/27/02
JOHN NOLEN
Jill Remiticado extended her perfect record at the U.S. Girls Wrestling Association finals last weekend.
The Pacific University junior made it three consecutive national championships when she won the 121-pound title Saturday in Lake Orion, Mich.
Remiticado, who began wrestling as a high school freshman in Aiea, Hawaii, won three matches en route to the title. She outpointed her first opponent, then scored technical falls over the next two, including Marianne Vollmer of Missouri Valley in the final.
Three other Pacific wrestlers also placed. Katie Kunimoto (114 pounds) and Kaci Lyle (154) were second. Kristin Kujioka was third at 107.
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Ex-coach will face trial on sex coercion charge
The Grand Rapids Press; Mar 26, 2002; Barton Deiters
A former Creston High School wrestling coach faces a circuit court date
on charges he used his authority to coerce a 16-year-old girl into having
sex with him.
During a preliminary examination in Grand Rapids District Court on
Monday, Anthony Marquette McNeal, 29, was ordered to stand trial for
third-degree criminal sexual conduct. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in
prison.
Although the girl was 16, the age of consent, McNeal used his position
as a eacher and her wrestling coach to coerce her into having sex in his
high school office, Kent County Assistant Prosecutor Helen Brinkman said.
"I don't think there isn't a child who might have had an infatuation
with a teacher, especially in that age group," Brinkman said. She says McNeal
took advantage of his status over the girl, which she says is implied
coercion.
Jeff Crampton, McNeal's attorney, said the relationship was not illegal.
"In the spectrum of coercion, this was at the end of the spectrum,
where there was no unlawful coercion," Crampton said.
In a statement earlier this month, McNeal claimed the girl was not on
the wrestling team and was not a student of his.
"She was a friend who has made some serious -- and false --
accusations," McNeal said in the statement released by his lawyer.
McNeal joined the district in 1999 as a substitute paraprofessional,
then became a full-time paraprofessional, assisting teachers throughout the
district. His duties included working with emotionally impaired
students.
He also has worked as a teacher's aide at Ottawa Hills High School and
helped coach the Creston track team.
No date has been set yet for McNeal's trial. He is free on bond.
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