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TheMat.com interview with Toccara Montgomery, the 2002 U.S. Nationals women's freestyle champion at 67 kg
6/15/2002
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
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Toccara Montgomery blasted onto the World scene last year, winning a World silver medal and receiving the FILA International Women’s Wrestler of the Year award. She was only 18 years old at the World meet last year. During the season, Montgomery beat three past World Champions in matches.
She claimed her second straight U.S. Nationals title in Las Vegas, and was named Outstanding Wrestler in the women’s division for the second straight year. She has just finished her freshman year as a member of the Cumberland College women’s wrestling team. TheMat.com caught up with Montgomery at her home in Cleveland, Ohio, as she prepares for the World Team Trials.
TheMat.com: You had a great season last year, winning a silver medal at the World Championships. How do you feel you are wrestling this year, in comparison to last year?
Montgomery: I feel about the same. Maybe, I picked it up a notch this year. Being on a college women’s team this year has made a difference for me.
TheMat.com: Last season, you beat three past World Champions. Has that given you additional confidence for the future.
Montgomery: For the most part, I look at them as another opponent. I don’t think about their records. I try to take it one match at a time.
TheMat.com: FILA named you the International Women’s Wrestler of the Year last year. Did that surprise you, and what did you feel when you learned that?
Montgomery: It was a big surprise. I didn’t know I was up for nomination or how they select it. It was a great honor being named Women’s Wrestler of the Year. It was a big surprise. I had no idea.
TheMat.com: At the U.S. Nationals this year, in the finals against Katie Downing, you hit one of the most exciting throws in U.S. women’s wrestling history. Tell us about that move, and if you were trying to do that.
Montgomery: I started off slow. I felt I had to get it moving. I shot a double leg off a counter. I didn’t expect for her to react that way. When she reacted in a picture perfect way, I responded like I would in the practice room.
TheMat.com: So, you throw people around like that in practice?
Montgomery: I like practicing throws during practice. That helped me with the throw in the finals match. I worked out with some Greco-Roman guys in the Cleveland State room and they showed me some good throws.
TheMat.com: You are now attending Cumberland College. How is school going for you and what do you feel is the future of women’s college wrestling?
Montgomery: To be in the Cumberland College’s women’s room has been a nice thing. I always wanted to be on a girls wrestling team, but I could not in high school. Sure, I am a member of the Sunkist Kids women’s team, but that is mostly at events. Our program, and the other women’s programs, are building and growing everyday. Our program and the others will make the sport grow in college.
TheMat.com: What coaches and individuals are helping you become a World-class athlete?
Montgomery:All of the coaches at Cleveland State have been a help. The coaches at some of the high schools around here have also been great. Kip (Flanik), my coach at Cumberland, has been a great help. Having a variety of coaches in Cleveland and Kentucky has been great for me.
TheMat.com: You wrestle at 67 kg, which is not an Olympic weight. Do you plan on moving up or down, and when will you make that move?
Montgomery: I’m actually trying to make the cut down to 138. That’s my plan. We’ll see what happens there.
TheMat.com: So you are coming down for the World Team Trials?
Montgomery: I’m definitely trying to make it for the Trials.
TheMat.com: Tell me about your Worlds final match against Christine Nordhagen-Vierling of Canada, a six-time World Champion. If you wrestle her again, would you do anything different?
Montgomery: The match was a disappointment. I went in with high hopes. I had the momentum from a win at the Sunkist Open. If I would do anything different, I would have gotten my offense going earlier. I was also a little frustrated with the officiating, but there is nothing you can do about that and I don’t want to complain. My biggest change would be to get the offense going earlier in the match.
TheMat.com: You won a World silver medal at the age of 18. How much better can Toccara Montgomery become?
Montgomery: I think right now I haven’t reached my peak. I still have a lot to come in the future. I can take it to a different level than it is right now.
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2002 World Team Trials preview for 67 kg in women's freestyle wrestling
6/15/2002
Gary Abbott/USA Wrestling
The 2001 FILA International Women’s Wrestler of the Year was Toccara Montgomery of the Sunkist Kids, who claimed a World silver medal and dominated most of her opponents all season. Montgomery, now a freshman at Cumberland College, continues to excel, winning her second straight U.S. Nationals title and Outstanding Wrestler award this spring. Her combination of power, speed, confidence and creativity makes Montgomery tough to handle at any level.
In the U.S. Nationals final this year, she scored an impressive 12-1 technical fall over Katie Downing of UM-Morris, including a double leg attack that she launched into the most impressive five-point throw in the history of the Women’s Nationals. This was against Downing, a past Junior World medalist and a 2001 Women’s World Cup champion, also one of the world’s best young talents. Downing has battled Montgomery many times in recent seasons, often in the gold-medal finals of events.
Both of these athletes will have to change weight divisions if they wish to make the 2004 Olympic team. Which way will they go? Many believe Montgomery might drop to 138.75, while Downing might choose to go up to 158.5. Will they make the move this year, or later down the road? Only time will tell. Today, in her TheMat.com interview, Montgomery confirmed that she is aiming for 138.75 pounds for this year’s World Team Trials, which would throw this weight up for grabs.
There is a drop off in experience in this division after the Montgomery and Downing. Placing third in Las Vegas was Lisa Bisers, a freshman at Johns Hopkins Univ. who has been a U.S. Nationals bronze medalist for two straight years. Bisers did not wrestle any other women’s freestyle events this season beside the U.S. Nationals. Placing fourth was Brandy Golt, a freshman at Missouri Valley College who has shown improvement during the college season.
Veteran Cindy Herceg of Spartak placed fifth at the U.S. Nationals, with Mollie Keith of Missouri Valley College taking sixth. Also qualifying for the World Team Trials in Las Vegas were Jimi-Dawn Hornbuckle of NLWC, who was seventh, and Stephanie Bolton of Cumberland College, who placed eighth. Hornbuckle is a veteran and a former U.S. Nationals champion, who may consider dropping down a weight division. The rest of the field is still young and learning the sport at this level.
This weight class shapes up as an anticipated battle between Montgomery and Downing, unless one of them decides to change weight class. It also provides an opportunity for a young talent to step up and make a name for herself.
67 kg (147.5 lbs.) qualifiers
National champion - Toccara Montgomery, Cleveland, Ohio (Sunkist Kids)
U.S. Nationals #2 - Katie Downing, Pendleton, Ind. (UM-Morris)
U.S. Nationals #3 - Lisa Bisers, Baltimore, Md.
U.S. Nationals #4 - Brandy Golt, Chesapeake, Va. (Missouri Valley)
U.S. Nationals #5 - Cindy Herceg, Los Angeles, Calif. (Spartak)
U.S. Nationals #6 -Mollie Keith, Aurelia, Iowa (Missouri Valley)
U.S. Nationals # 7- Jimi-Dawn Hornbuckle, State College, Pa. (NLWC)
U.S. Nationals #8 - Stephanie Bolton, Honolulu, Hawaii (Cumberland College)
Women’s Freestyle criteria: 1. Top eight at the 2002 Senior National Championships; 2. Current National Team Member - Top three; 3. Top three Finisher in a FILA A Championship in the past three years, including the Pan Ams, but not Sunkist; 4. 2002 University National Champion; 5. Past World Team Member; 6. 2002 Regional Tournament Champion from the Northeast and Northern Plains Regionals; 7. Medalist at Junior World Championships in the past two years
Note 1: Some athletes qualified in more than one way, although just one is noted in this list.
Note 2: Other wrestlers who meet qualifying criterion may identify themselves, and will be added to this list leading up to the event. Some of the anticipated qualifiers may choose not to attend.
Starting on May 30, TheMat.com will feature a daily interview with one of the 2002 U.S. Nationals champions, as well as a preview of that weight class for the upcoming World Team Trials, set for Saint Paul, Minn., June 21-23. Visit TheMat.com daily to read about America’s best international athletes and learn about the exciting action expected at this year’s World Team Trials.
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