Murray wins writing award for story on WHS wrestler

San Gabriel Valley Tribune Online,April 16, 2002

Two San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group journalists have earned honors
at the recent Associated Press News Executives Council's annual contest
honoring the best newswriting and photography by AP member newspapers in
California and Nevada.

Walt Mancini, who grew up in South Pasadena and is a graduate of Cal
State L.A., has been a staff photographer at the Pasadena Star-News since
1974. He has been the recipient of many previous awards, including Photographer
of the Year from the Press Photographers of Greater Los Angeles in 1981
and the Visual Arts Award from the Pasadena Arts Council in 2000.

Mancini's Associated Press award is for his photo coverage of the
funeral of Egyptian-American grocer Adel Karas, killed after the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks in what authorities believe was a hate crime.

Roger Murray, who covers the high school beat for the Whittier Daily
News, was honored for his feature article on Melissa Martinez, the only
female on the Whittier High School wrestling team last season.

Wrestling in the 119-pound weight class, Martinez opposed both boys and
girls in her matches and earned a spot in the 2001 state meet. The
article told of her struggles to gain school approval to wrestle on a boys team
and her successes througout the season.

-- From staff reports

Here is the Article

Breaking barriers
Whittier's Martinez wrestles on boys team

San Gabriel Valley Tribune
March 10, 2001

By Roger Murray
Staff Writer

Melissa Martinez has seen the looks and heard the comments.

"Another girl trying to break into a guy's sport," they say. "What's she
trying to prove?"

She has watched eyes roll and heard the snickers when she walks into the
gym. It's old stuff now.

It bothered Martinez a bit when she began, but her skin is thicker now. This
is her thing. If it's not their's, that's their problem.

Focus is her key. She just wants to be the best she can be -- in wrestling.

Martinez recently competed in a USA School Girls Regional Wrestling
competition in San Diego, finishing fourth and qualifying for the state
championships next Saturday in Stockton.

It is a remarkable accomplishment, considering she started wrestling only
within the past year. This past season, because Whittier High School does
not have a girls wrestling program, Martinez competed with the boys.

She said she wanted to wrestle as a freshman, but everyone told her how
coach Jack Coppes felt about girls wrestling.

"They said he wouldn't let me do it, or if he did, I wouldn't have any fun,"
she explained during a recent interview on the steps outside the auditorium
before her first class.

As a sophomore, Martinez worked as a sixth-period teacher's aid and went to
all the matches. It was then that she realized how much she wanted to
wrestle, no matter how the coach felt.

She worked hard during the summer, then went through tryouts this past
season and earned a spot in the 119-pound weight classification.

"In the beginning, it was hard to feel like part of the program. But by the
middle of the year, the other wrestlers saw that I was very serious about it
and began to accept me more," Martinez said.

"My teammates said they would help me, and they have -- a lot."

She also said it wasn't as easy being accepted by Coppes.

"He was the head coach," Martinez said. "I did what he said to do. He was
there. I was there. We were just there. My teammates encouraged me. They
told me not to let (Coppes) get to me."

Martinez said that she, her parents and Coppes met with assistant principal
Dr. Mike Graber before she joined the program.

"They wanted to know why I wanted to do this, and I wanted them to know I
wasn't trying to prove anything other than I just wanted to wrestle,"
Martinez said. "I didn't want any special treatment. I just wanted to be
treated like everyone else, and get the same chance to wrestle."

Coppes admits he was uncomfortable with a girl wrestling in the program, but
said it was because of the potential for injury. He said he warned
Martinez's parents of that risk.

"If we had a girls program here, it would be different," Coppes said.
"Actually, I take my hat off to her. She's come a long way in a very short
time.

"Her mat experience is restricted, but she's a tough kid, an aggressive
girl. She made all the practices, worked very hard."

Teammate Ralph Tapia, who wrestled at 135, said he saw no problems with
having Martinez in the program.

"I know (Coppes) wasn't comfortable at first, but I think he got used to it.
It seemed like he was worried about her getting hurt.

"As for her, she worked harder than a lot of the guys. She is very serious
about it."

Martinez said that assistant coach Mike Noriega has spent the most time with
her.

"I think her feelings about how Jack felt actually helped her," Noriega
said. "It made her more intense. She wanted to show she belonged, that she
deserved to be here. She was much hungrier than some of the boys.

"She's still learning how to wrestle, but the most important thing is that
she never gives up. She just keeps going. She had the biggest heart on our
team."

Noriega said Martinez's record in matches against girls is 6-2. She is 2-10
against boys.

She was 2-1 in qualifying for the state tournament, losing her only match by
a point on what Noriega said was a "bad call by the referee that cost her
two points."

Martinez said losing that match was tough for her emotionally.

"It bothers everybody when they lose, especially that way," she said. "I'm
very competitive at whatever I do. I like competition. I grew up around boys
-- not family, but in the neighborhood. I had to like competition in order
to play with them."

When Martinez wrestles Saturday, it won't seem the same. No snickers, no
wide-eyed looks, no whispers.

The coach in her corner really is in her corner, so focusing should be a
breeze.

And that could mean trouble for the young ladies who will challenge her.

-- Roger Murray can be reached via telephone at (562) 698-0955, ext. 3046,
or through e-mail at roger.murray@sgvn.com.

Profile

Name: Melissa Martinez
Age: 16
School: Whittier High
Class: Junior
Notable: In addition to wrestling, the slender, 5-foot-6, 113-pounder, who
was born in Duarte and moved to Whittier just before her second birthday,
also is one of the Cardinals' best distance runners, competing in both cross
country and track.
Help needed
Whittier High School cannot contribute financially to Melissa Martinez's
trip to Stockton because the wrestling competition is not CIF-related. To
help defray her costs, a car wash fund-raiser will be held from 10 a.m. to 3
p.m. Sunday at Whittier High School (corner of Hadley and Whittier Avenue).

Martinez also is seeking donations. Anyone interested can send a check made
out to Martinez in care of Whittier High, 12417 E. Philadelphia St.,
Whittier, CA 90601-3994. For more information, call (909) 467-2558

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2002 Women’s World Championships moved to November 2-3 in Halkida, Greece

4/16/2002
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling

FILA, the international wrestling federation, has confirmed that the date and site of the 2002 Women’s World Wrestling Championships have been changed.

The 2002 Women’s World Championships will be held in Halkida, Greece on November 2-3, 2002.

The best women wrestlers in the world will participate, competing in the seven new international weight classes for women’s wrestling. This will be the first Women’s World Championships held since the International Olympic Committee announced that women’s wrestling had become an Olympic sport.

Previously, the event was scheduled for October 11-13 in Patras, Greece. Those making plans to participate in the Women’s World Championships should note the change of date and site this year.

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Fulp-Allen is best in USA

By Mark Foyer--Half Moon Bay Review 4/16/02

The last two times she went to the U.S. Girls' Wrestling Association High School Nationals Tournament, Sara Fulp-Allen finished third.

This time, the Half Moon Bay High School junior came away with the top prize, winning the 105-pound title in the meet, held March 22-23 in Detroit.

At the same meet, Alisa Gammon, a senior at Half Moon Bay, went 2-2 in the 110-pound bracket.

Katherine Fulp-Allen, her sister, placed second in the 91-pound bracket in the middle-school division. Fulp-Allen is an eighth-grader at Cunha Intermediate School.

Sara Fulp-Allen entered her portion of the tournament as the top seed. As you would expect, this put some pressure on her.

"A lot of the other states didn't want their girls to get the top seed," Fulp-Allen said. "Hawaii didn't have any of its girls seeded."

Her weight division was nearly filled to capacity, with 31 competitors.

Fulp-Allen's journey to the national title began with a win by technical fall over Yvette Madrid of Amarillo, Texas 18-2. The match ended a few seconds before the end of the second round.

"She was one of the biggest and tallest girls in the tournament," said the 5-foot-3-inch Fulp-Allen. "She had strong arms. I thought that she belonged in the 114-pound division."

Fulp-Allen followed that win with another by technical fall (20-5), this one over Heather Heiser of Fostoria, Ohio. Heiser was the only person in the bracket to get a first-round bye.

In the quarterfinals, Fulp-Allen beat Madison Bangert of Midland, Mich. 10-3.

That placed her in the semifinals. Fulp-Allen faced off against Melissa Orden from Ewa Beach, Hawaii.

Fulp-Allen jumped to an 8-0 lead before Orden made a charge. Fulp-Allen did have enough at the end to gain a 10-9 win.

"It was a long and tough match," Fulp-Allen said. "I was relieved when I won. I felt like that win was a milestone for me."

Fulp-Allen had fewer problems in the finals, defeating Caitlyn Chase of Naperville, Ill. with a pin 72 seconds into the match.

When the whistle sounded, Fulp-Allen quietly celebrated. She pumped her fist ever so slightly.

And then she was ready to get some shuteye.

"I was ready to go to sleep. The previous two nights, I got just five hours of sleep," she said.

But like a good sportsman, she stayed to watch the rest of the competition, and receive her award.

Today, Fulp-Allen continues to train. Her next competition will be at the end of the month in Las Vegas as the Senior Nationals.

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