Announcement of 2012 finalists may come early

By Ann Tatko 7/31/02
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

San Francisco won't have to wait long to find out if it will advance in the race to become the 2012 Olympic host city.

Originally, officials for the U.S. Olympic Committee bid task force said they would name two finalists from the four remaining cities in September. Houston, New York City and Washington, D.C., also are in contention.

Now, the bid task force is hoping to announce the finalists it will submit to the USOC board of directors as early as Aug. 26, task force chairman Charles Moore said.

Pending travel confirmations from all 10 task force members, Moore said the group will meet in Chicago on Aug. 26.

"If we're in a position to do it sooner than September, then we should do it," Moore said. "This is a costly and stressful process for all of the bid cities."

Each member of the task force already has submitted scores ranking the cities, but those scores will remain sealed until the meeting, Moore said.

Two USOC officials involved in the evaluation process, who have asked not to be identified, have named San Francisco and Washington, D.C., as the front-runners.

MINOR UPSET: Recent Deer Valley High School graduate Malinda Ripley appears to be on the fast track toward Athens in 2004, when women's wrestling will debut at the Olympics.

A four-time state girls champion, Ripley was one of 12 women chosen to become residents at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. She's also coming off an upset win in the first ASICS-Vaughn Junior Nationals for girls in Fargo, N.D.

Ripley, ranked fifth on the U.S. senior national team, upset No. 3 Mary Kelly of Illinois with a 4-0 win at 110 pounds. Until her match with Ripley, Kelly had beaten her five previous opponents by pin.

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San Leandro girl wrestlers perform well at nationals

STAFF REPORTS 8/02/02

FARGO, N.D. -- Three girls from San Leandro High grabbed All-American honors at the National Greco Roman and Freestyle Wrestling tournament last weekend.

Juniors Estella Pino and Juana Juarez both won their medal match while senior Madeline Briones finished the tournament with a 4-1 record.

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Female finalist: Lenci Landaker

By Angela Good, Times-Herald sports writer 6/28/02

Even though Lenci Landaker hasn't been in the spotlight as much as her wrestling counterpart, Shiela Lerit, she still intimidates and deserves as much respect and attention.

For instance, during the school year, girls steered clear of former Apache wrestler Louie Puno because they were afraid of Landaker, his girlfriend.

And when she went to tournaments, she would hear coaches and other wrestlers talk about she and Lerit as they walked into the gym. Landaker thinks it's all kind of cool.

"I like people being scared of me," she admitted. "It is cool to be known like that."

Landaker won the 100-pound title at the California State Girls Wrestling Championship in February. She then went on to take fourth place at the USGWA National Championships in Lake Orion, Mich. in March en route to earning her third All-America recognition. She was named Times-Herald Athlete of the Week with Lerit on both occasions. She also was also co-captain of the Vallejo volleyball team in the fall.

On top of all that, Landaker and Lerit were named to the USA Wrestling Hall of Fame, according to Landaker's mother. Now, Landaker is a candidate for Times-Herald Athlete of the Year.

The 24th annual Athlete of the Year Banquet will be held 6 p.m. tonight at City Lights Cafe, located at 416 Virginia St. in Vallejo. Admission is free for all nominees and Athlete of the Week winners. Guests will be charged $22.

"I am excited about the award," Landaker said. "The year I had wasn't surprising because of what I have been through the past three years with training. The sad part is when it all comes to an end."

"She has been great," said Vallejo wrestling coach Mike Minahen, who has coached both girls throughout their careers. "Just to watch her (Landaker) develop over the years has been fun. She has been great for the program. She hates to lose, but when she does lose, she manages to deal with it well."

Landaker plans on attending San Diego Mesa Junior College, unsure of plans to wrestle at that level.

"I'm just not sure yet, I think I want to concentrate more on school," she said.

Landaker improved as her prep wrestling career went along, with a sixth-place finish at the United States Girls Wrestling Association her sophomore year, a fifth-place finish her junior year and the fourth-place finish this year.

"This year I really came up as a wrestler. I felt like I wasn't trying hard enough in my last tournament," she said of this year's national event. "I lost early and had lots of pressure after that."

With girls wrestling becoming a more popular sport these days, Landaker hopes that she has inspired girls along the way to give the sport a try.

"Wrestling has grown so much for girls," said Landaker, who followed in the footsteps of such top wrestlers as Michelle Domagas and Julie Gonzlaez while at Vallejo High. "There is so much opportunity out there now. I hope that we have paved the way."

"They are both three-time All-Americans," Minahen said. "They have just continued what Michelle and Julie started. On campus, they are known as 'The Girl Wrestlers.'"

Last year, Landaker wasn't a nominee for Athlete of the Year and watched proudly as close friend Lerit took home the honor. Though she doesn't think she stands much of a chance this year, she knows she is deserving of the nomination.

"I don't know about my chances," she said. "Probably kind of slim. But I don't mind being named together with Shiela. It isn't annoying. We are both deserving."

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All-America honors for local wrestlers

Friday, August 2, 2002

* Vintage High School wrestlers Emilee Murphree and Nicole Mazzaferro earned All-America honors at the 2002 Asics/USA Wrestling Junior Nationals in Fargo, N.D., this past week. Daniel Murphree broke into the top 10 in Greco Roman with an impressive 5-2 record. All three Napa Valley Wrestling Club members are with Team California.

Emilee Murphree posted a 4-1 record to capture third place in the 150-pound weight class. Murphree opened the preliminary round with wins over opponents from Texas, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Murphree lost her pool final to a Minnesota wrestler before pinning Sheri Hilliard of North Dakota.

Murphree, along with Vintage teammate Christie Rafanan, will continue their wrestling careers at Missouri Valley College this fall.

Mazzaferro had to battle her way through the tournament's toughest weight class, which includes three first-team high school All-Americans, and two second-teamers. Mazzaferro captured sixth place, losing her final match to Madeleine Briones of San Leandro.

Mazzaferro will be a senior at Vintage this fall.

Daniel Murphree missed medaling by the slimmest of margins. Murphree would have continued to the medal round if not for the quirks of vertical pairing, which is used in international wrestling. Murphree's performance at 145 pounds was still impressive, placing him in the top 10. Murphree will also wrestle for the Crushers this coming season.

Christie Rafanan and Maika Watanabe also represented California at the event but did not place.

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Area wrestlers at Junior Nationals

Monday, July 22, 2002

Napa Valley:

* The Napa Valley will be well represented at the USA Wrestling/Asics Junior Nationals, which began Sunday and continue through July 27 in Fargo, N.D. The Junior Nationals is by far this country's most competitive tournament for high school wrestlers.

Each state is allowed up to four wrestlers per weight class. The California team has five members from the Napa Valley Wrestling Club: Vintage High School seniors Daniel Murphree, Nicole Mazzaferro and Maika Watanabe will be joined by Vintage graduates Emilee Murphree and Christie Rafanan.

Daniel Murphree qualified for both the Greco-Roman and freestyle events by placing third in both styles at the Western Regional, held in Woodland, Wash., in April. He will compete at 145 pounds. The Greco-Roman tournament began on Sunday and will continue for three days. Wednesday will be a rest day, followed by three days of freestyle competition.

The girls freestyle competition will begin on Thursday along with the boys freestyle. Nicole Mazzaferro will be wrestling in the 128-pound class and Emilee Murphree in the 150-pound division. Both wrestlers qualified by winning the California State Freestyle Championship.

Maika Watanabe will compete at 101 pounds; she qualified by taking second place in the girls state meet. Christie Rafanan was able to petition on to the team at 110 pounds.

This is the first year that this prestigious event will include a girls division.

"It will be a demanding experience for all the athletes, but one that will be rewarding," said Carl Murphree, director and coach of the Napa Valley Wrestling Club.

As members of the California Team, they get to attend special four-day training camps with their teammates from across the state.

For more information about the club, e-mail Murphree at nvgc@aol.com.

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Two Hawai'i women invited to live at Olympic Center

By Dennis Anderson 7/17/02
Advertiser Staff Writer

Two pioneers of girls wrestling in Hawai'i are being invited to be pioneers of the USA Olympic program.

They are among 20 athletes who will be the first full-time women's wrestling residents at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. The resident program is being initiated by USA Wrestling because women's wrestling will make its debut as an Olympic sport at Athens, Greece, in 2004.

Invitations were mailed yesterday by USA Wrestling to Clarissa Chun, a 1999 Roosevelt High graduate from Kapolei, and Katie Kunimoto, a 1999 Castle High graduate from 'Ahuimanu.

"Wow!" Kunimoto squealed when The Advertiser informed her Monday of her invitation.

Dave Bennett, the national developmental coach who helped select the residents, said: "I've been around this sport a long time, and I can't honestly say I ever thought of Hawai'i as being a state that produced a lot of elite wrestlers. All of the sudden they are coming on the scene."

(2001 St. Louis graduate Travis Lee, an All-American at Cornell this year, will train with the USA men's World Team in Colorado Springs next week.)

Chun and Kunimoto were runners-up in their weight classes last month in the USA World Team Trials in St. Paul, Minn. Chun was a member of the USA World Team last year.

Chun was invited to join the resident program even though she underwent surgery June 26 to repair a left anterior cruciate ligament that was torn in January and aggravated at the World Team Trials. She may not be cleared to wrestle until November, but she can continue her rehabilitation and do other conditioning. "We want her here to take advantage of the Olympic Center's resources," for rehabilitation, Bennett said.

The athletes will report to the Olympic Training Center between Aug. 15 and Sept. 1 and remain residents as long as they are considered Olympic Games prospects.

"Clarissa has been performing very well all along," Bennett said. "She had a real good camp (prior to the World Team Trials) and it wasn't easy, with her knee. She had to prove she could put things like (the injury) behind her. She has a good future."

Katie Kunimoto, in action at a dual meet between Pacific and Simon Fraser. Photo courtesy Katie Kunimoto

Chun's biggest obstacle, Bennett said, is that "she is not very big. Most girls cut weight to make 105.5 pounds, but Clarissa doesn't weigh 103 most days."

Of Kunimoto, Bennett said, "Katie came out of nowhere last year; she wasn't ranked. ...

"She came to our first women's camp for five weeks (in May and June) and showed us that she's a rapid learner, has good athletic ability, a good work ethic and she's mentally tough. ... She wants it.

"Before practice and long after practice, you will see her on the mat working on some skill we have been teaching her."

Kunimoto, who has only been doing freestyle (Olympic style) wrestling for two years, said: "I got a taste of being in the Olympic program at the camp. There was a big difference in my skill before and after the camp. They taught a lot of good technique and strategy."

After the camp, Bennett said, "I've gained a lot of respect for the work ethic of the girls."

Of the residency program, he said: "Putting these girls in this kind of environment will improve them, and raise the level quality of women's wrestling. As they have success, it will attract more girls."

Chun came from a judo background, winning five junior national championships before she tried wrestling in her junior year at Roosevelt. She and Kunimoto won championships at the first Hawai'i state high school girls wrestling tournament in 1998. Chun repeated in '99, while Kunimoto was second to Moanalua's Shelley-Ann Tomita.

Chun went on to win numerous championships and honors with the nation's top-rated women's collegiate program at Missouri Valley and with the women's national team.

Clarisa Chun, had the advantage over Julie Gonzales of San Francisco State at the U.S. Open Nationals in Las Vegas in April.

She already has extensive international experience, winning three silver medals in the Pan American Championships in Columbia, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, wrestling for the U.S. in the first women's World Cup in France last November (she went 3-3) and an international tournament in Sweden (gold medal), and against the Chinese national and army teams on a college team trip to Beijing in June.

She only let the torn ACL keep her off the mat about a month. "They told me I was crazy, to take it easy, but I couldn't," she said. But it did affect her performance this spring.

Kunimoto went to the University of Hawai'i, which has no team, and made the cheerleading squad in her freshman year. She was offered a wrestling scholarship at Cumberland (Ky.) College in 2000-01 and took it. But the coach left and she transferred again to Pacific (Ore.) at the urging of Jill Remiticado, another Hawai'i girls wrestling pioneer, to join the first varsity team there.

While Chun will transfer to the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Kunimoto is reluctant to become a triple-transfer and said she may wait to finish her double major in political science and philosophy at Pacific.

She might change her mind when her residents' packet arrives and she learns that all Training Center residents are eligible for annual educational grants up to $15,000 from the federally funded B.J. Stupak Olympic Scholarship Program.

OVERTIME: Residencies were offered to women in seven weight groups, although the 2004 Olympic Games will have only four. Katie Kunimoto will have to go up or down from her 112-pound group.... There will be three residents in Clarissa Chun's 105.5-pound group and two at Kunimoto's weight.... The wrestlers who beat them for championships at the World Team Trials will be residents.... Three other women from Hawai'i — Jill Remiticado and Donnell Bradley of 'Aiea and Laura Obuhanych of 'Ewa Beach — placed fifth in the Challenge Tournament preceding the World Team Trials.... First event for the USA will be the World Championships in Athens Nov. 2-3. The Pan American Games, foreign tours, U.S. Nationals and other prestige events also are on their calendar.

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