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Tiger girls rule the mat at 2003 KISD Invitational

By Nick Georgandis 1/19/03

Sports Editor - The Katy girls’ wrestling squad earned first place at the KISD Invitational this weekend, tallying 121 points to outdistance Crockett (91) as Melissa Terry, Kaccee Ravenburg, Ashley Weber, Felicia Woodall and Stephanie Haver all took first-place finishes.

Wrestling at the 119-pound classification, Haver was named the meet’s Most Outstanding Wrestler by a poll of coaches. Haver had the longest road of any the girls’ champions, with her class filling out a full eight-girl bracket.
On the boys’ side of things, Cinco Ranch finished second with 168 points behind the champion Woodlands’ squad (206). The Mayde Creek Rams were a strong fourth (126.5) with Katy fifth at 107.5.
The Cougars had four individual champions, with Katy and Mayde Creek adding on each.
Already ranked No. 6 in the state by Texas-USA Wrestling Inc., the Lady Tigers furthered their cause with second-place finishes from Mary Reddick and Gabby Bruscianelli.
Terry, ranked No. 2 in the state at the 95-pound class, defeated El Paso Montwood’s Mariana Chavira for the title.
Cinco Ranch’s four male championships were Marc Robinson, Josh Brewster, Cas Roman and Matt Tiffin. Of the four, three won their titles over KISD opponents, which should mean exciting rematches are on the way when they face off again for the district championships Feb. 1 at Katy High School.
Robinson won the title at 140 pounds by defeating Mayde Creek’s Ben Walcher. Brewster, ranked sixth in the state at 145 pounds, also defeated a Ram, Marc Palmer, for his crown.
At 152 pounds, Cas Roman won the title with a majority decision over John Needham of Katy. It was nearly an all-KISD final four, as Taylor’s Jared Dobbs took fourth.
At 180 pounds, Cinco Ranch junior Matt Tiffin, ranked third in the state, defeated Beeville's Chris Perez in the finale.
He was joined in the winner’s circle by Katy sophomore James Aston, who took the title at 171 pounds, defeating Bryan’s Casey Bennett. Aston, who made the state tournament as a freshman in 2002, is ranked fifth in his weight class in the state.
Mayde Creek’s Joel Saldana brought home the title for the home team at 189 pounds, winning a majority decision over Kinkaid’s Ian Newton. Katy’s Alex Slack took fourth.
In one of the most-anticipated bouts of the day, The Woodlands’ Brent Smith defeated Taylor’s Patrick Huff for the title at 112 pounds. Huff entered the meet ranked first in the state with Smith second.
Smith was named Most Outstanding Male Wrestler for the meet for his efforts.
At 103 pounds, another all-KISD matchup brewed as Katy’s Joe Greyson won via decision over Mayde Creek’s Steve Caruana.
At 135 pounds, Cinco Ranch’s Jimmy Benavides took third place. Just a sophomore, Benavides entered the match ranked 10th in the state in his classification.
At 160 pounds, Mayde Creek senior Dexter Cole finished second, losing by fall to Klein’s Jason Robberson in the finale. Cinco Ranch’s Dan Russell finished third.
In the 215-pound class, Cinco Ranch’s James Hale finished fourth after falling to Bryan’s John Zgabay. In the heavyweight division, Mayde Creek’s Zach Ayres took third with Katy’s Eman Naghavi placing fourth.

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The CIF Executive Committee has approved the recommendation of the CIF Wrestling Advisory Committee to include exhibition matches for girls' wrestlers at the 2003 state championship tournament. Paramaters, as approved by the Executive Committee, are as follows:

Number of Weight Classes
Consistent with weight classes used in USA Wrestling Senior Women's competition, the following eight weight classes will be established:

105.5 lbs.
112 1bs.
121 lbs.
130 lbs.
138.5 lbs.
147.5 lbs.
158.5 lbs.
158.6 + lbs.

Number of Exhibition Matches
A maximum of 16 matches (two per weight class) will be held during the state championship meet.

Criteria for Invitation
Wrestlers competing in these exhibition matches will be selected by invitation only. Criteria would include, but not be limited to, overall interscholastic record and record at girls' invitational tournaments.

Selection Committee
A selection committee will be formed, chaired by the chair of the CIF State Wrestling Advisory Committee. The selection committee would be comprised of high school wrestling coaches and officials who have specific experience with female wrestlers in California, with a balance of Northern California and Southern California members. Every effort will be given to ensuring no members of the committee carries any conflicts of interest.

Invitation Delivery and Acceptance Process
The Selection Committee will notify initial invitees no later than the third Friday in February (2/21/03). The deadline for response will be no later than Sunday, March 2. If a female wrestler qualifies for the State Tournament through her CIF section competition, she will have the option to choose to compete in the state tournament or to accept the invitation to compete in the girls' exhibition.

Schedule of Exhibition Matches
State Meet Director Chuck Chandler has indicated that our state championship schedule can accommodate eight exhibition matches on Friday and eight on Saturday.

Female exhibition matches added to state tourney

By Jason Anderson
Record Staff Writer
Published Thursday, January 16, 2003

The CIF Executive Committee has approved the recommendation of the CIF Wrestling Advisory Committee to include exhibition matches for female wrestlers at the 2003 state wrestling championships March 7-8 at University of the Pacific.

State meet director Chuck Chandler said the state championship schedule can accommodate eight exhibition matches each day of the tournament. A maximum of 16 matches -- two per weight class -- will be held during the two-day state meet.

Wrestlers competing in these exhibition matches will be selected by invitation only, and invitations will be extended based on overall interscholastic records and records at invitational tournaments for girls.

A selection committee of high school coaches and officials who have specific experience with female wrestlers in California will notify invitees not later than Feb. 21.

Edison senior Amy Loeun is hoping for an invitation. She has a 7-3 record at three girls tournaments this season. She went 0-1 to finish second at the San Leandro Tournament, 3-1 to finish second at the San Mateo Tournament, and 3-1 to finish third at the Lady Viking Invitational at Edison High.

"I think I should be considered for the exhibition matches," Loeun said. "I work as hard as anybody else out there. I put my time in. I put in the effort, and I think I have what it takes."

Tix going on sale

Tickets for the CIF state wrestling championships will be available beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Ticket prices range from $6 to $16 and can be purchased through the UOP box office. For more information, call the box office at 946-2867.

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U.S. organization promotes matches between girls

By JOE PETRUCCI 1/19/03
jpetrucci@leader.net

Kent Bailo isn't a fan of Title IX, the 1972 federal law that prohibits sex discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal funds.
He is, however, all for equality between women and men in sports.

How can that be?

In short, Bailo believes that women should be afforded the opportunity to compete against each other in the same sports as men, like wrestling, football and hockey. That's a big reason he founded the United States Girls Wrestling Association, the first and only national organization of its kind.

"Title IX is supposedly killing men's non-revenue sports," said Bailo, a longtime wrestling referee and former coach who runs USGWA out of Ortonville, Mich. "I thought what better way, if girls can wrestle girls, to engender."

"Why can't you have men's and women's teams for every sport? Then Title IX would be moot."

The USGWA started with one tournament, a Michigan statewide event, in 1997 with 116 girls. Now the organization holds tournaments in 35 states as well as a national tourney.

Bailo estimates up to 5,000 girls wrestle nationwide, including around 200 in Pennsylvania. The sport is most popular among girls in Texas, where they number about 1,000. Texas is one of two states (Hawaii is the other) that has varsity girls wrestling teams.

Texas is an indicator of how much the sport is growing. When girls high school wrestling began there in 1999, there were 33 teams. That number more than doubled the next year to 88. In 2001, there were 105 teams and last year the number was up to 120. That's nearly as many girls teams as boys, who jumped from 100 teams in '99 to 179 last year.

Bailo cites several gender-specific trends in girls wrestling. For one, he said, the girls are more flexible than boys. Also, he feels that girls have a tendency to be more feisty.

"They're downright mean," said Bailo, whose tournaments feature 14 weight classes (just like the boys) from 100 to 165-and-over pounds. "When they first go in, they're kind of timid. When they find what people are doing to them, they say, 'I'm going to give it right back.'

"But they show much better sportsmanship after the (match)."

Bailo thinks by offering girls the opportunity to wrestle other girls, their skills, success and fulfillment will only increase. He feels by wrestling boys only, the girls don't benefit as much.

"They think they're the lone ranger, but then they come to nationals and see 560 other girls coming to this meet and discovered there's this whole big family of us and they've got this camaraderie going on," said Bailo, who refereed last year's NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships at First Union Arena in Wilkes-Barre Township. "They have a bond."

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Grappling with history
Wyoming Area junior Heather Rothman is blazing a new trail as the first girl to wrestle in the WVC.

By JOE PETRUCCI
jpetrucci@leader.net 1/19/03

QUOTE OVERLINE: "I love it and it's a challenge. Don't get me wrong, it is tough, but I love being able to say I'm a wrestler."
EXETER - Gillian Rothman remembers that evening vividly.

Her teenager came home from school late last fall, proclaiming quite excitedly: "Mom, I'm going to wrestle."

Mom's response: "WRESTLE?!!"

Why was mom so shocked? Sure, wrestling was a tough sport, but it offered a chance to learn about discipline and hard work and improve physical fitness.

It was something else. Rothman's jaw hit the floor because her child is Heather Rothman, a 16-year-old girl, announcing her intention to enter into a macho boys club.

Heather Rothman, a Wyoming Area junior, is the first girl to compete on a varsity wrestling team in the Wyoming Valley Conference. She may be the first girl in all of District 2 (two teams in the old District 12 had girl wrestlers in the 1980s) to strap on the headgear and battle the boys.

"They let girls wrestle?" Rothman's mother asked of the soon-to-be grappler, who responded very assuredly, "Yes."

Indeed, although it's rare. Many girls who wrestle nationally - estimates put the number as high as 5,000, and not all of them compete against boys - are on teams that have a full lineup and never see the light of a lowered, overhead gymnasium lamp.

At Wyoming Area, however, things are different. The team is in year three of a rebuilding process and only has eight wrestlers on the team. First-year coach John Ratajczak could use all the help he can get, even if it comes from a girl.

"I need wrestlers," said Ratajczak, matter-of-factly.

But a girl?

"As long as they can wrestle," he said.

Rothman, according to her parents, has always been aggressive. She's been involved in tae kwon do for awhile now and takes pride in her individuality.

"She always has been her own boss," said Gillian Rothman. "She's not one to follow the crowd. She's made her own statement."

"She stands for something," added her father, Howard Rothman.

Rothman had been interested in going out for wrestling since seventh grade. But anytime she mentioned it, a teacher would shoot down the idea, saying there's no way she'd be allowed.

But a few months ago, Rothman saw something that sparked her aggression so much that she didn't bother asking. There, on a wall of a high school hallway hung a flyer, the type that wrestling coaches have increasingly used to recruit boys to fill out their lineup.

It read: If it was this easy, everyone would do it. Can you hack it?

When Rothman recites that, the discord in her voice makes you believe how that made her feel.

"I took it as a challenge because I'm always taking on a challenge," Rothman said. "I thought to myself, you know what, you can do it.

"I told some of my friends and they said I'll never make it. I wouldn't last a week. I guess I proved them wrong, and I'm going to be here next year."

Ratajczak admits he was hesitant at first. After all, there were inherent logistics to contend with. That, both agree, has been the toughest part. First, how does she use the locker room? Rothman used to wait until all the boys cleared out, but now, they let Rothman in first.

"They say it's getting it out of the way, but I say it's star treatment," said Rothman.

Even tougher is weigh-ins. Boys must strip down to their underwear. What to do with a girl? Rothman must be weighed in by a woman with certification - the school trainer, nurse, a teacher and even Rothman's mother - are those who've done it. In addition, Rothman is allowed to wear a two-piece bathing suit.

"It's a lot of drama," said Rothman, who also throws the shot put and javelin for the Warriors track and field team.

On Wednesday night, Wyoming Area traveled to Pittston Area for a match that was to be quick. The Patriots boast a full lineup and are one of the better teams in the area and the Warriors were down to four wrestlers because of injuries. Rothman, however, was one of the four.

Her parents were in attendance, hoping to see her actually wrestle for the first time. The few other times they've come, she's received a forfeit.

Appropriately, the match was to start at 130 pounds, meaning Rothman, who has been at 125 all season, would be in the final bout of the evening. Pittston Area coach Matt Giampietro, however, was maneuvering some of his lineup down for a big non-conference test against Jersey Shore on Saturday. His normal wrestler at 125 was down at 119, and he didn't have anyone else to send out.

So out walked Rothman and the referee raised her arm in victory for the fourth time this season, all by forfeit. She's been pinned every other time she's wrestled.

Someone from the crowd shouted: "Wrestle the girl!"

"I would have done it, but actually I don't think it's right for girls to wrestle against boys," said Giampietro. "I think it's better that girls wrestle girls."

"At the same time, if they want to go out and get pounded, more power to them, but that's usually what happens."

Rothman said she knew there would be some backlash, or at least some funny looks before she decided to wrestle. While most, she said, have been supportive, she's gotten used to people saying strange things.

"Somebody said why don't you be a cheerleader, those outfits are a lot cuter than your outfit," said Rothman, who also finds time to work as a bus girl at Agolino's Char-Grill Restaurant. "To each their own."

Two of Rothman's friends, Helene Hurriz and Jerry Grill, stopped by to watch Rothman wrestle. They were a little late - the match was over quickly, resulting in a 66-6 Pittston Area win - but are in full support of their friend.

"It's good to see that she's trying to prove a girl can compete against other guys," said Grill, a junior at Pittston Area who has firsthand knowledge of Rothman's ability.

"She got rough with me once, at a party at a friend's house when she was thinking about wrestling, and she was pulling all these moves on me. She knew she was tough and decided to prove it to me. It was nuts."

Despite wrestling opponents who have more muscle mass and who are typically stronger, Rothman has yet to suffer any real injuries, though she did get the wind knocked out of her when she was thrown to the mat twice during a bout. But both times, after taking injury timeouts, she got back up to wrestle.

As for the whole "girl wrestling a boy" thing, you know, with all the closeness and contact, Rothman takes the high road.

"If a girl wants to wrestle, she's going to have to be mature about it," Rothman said.

Maturity is something Rothman seems to have a firm headlock on, and the singlet fits her just right.

"I love it and it's a challenge," Rothman said. "Don't get me wrong, it is tough, but I love being able to say I'm a wrestler."

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1st-year grappler helps Hanks to win

Yuri Soto 1/19/03
Special to the Times

Hanks senior Celia Mergy has been in high school four years but this is only her first year in wrestling.

Her inexperience was not a factor Saturday as Mergy helped the Lady Knights to a first-place finish at the Bowie Invitational with 106 points. In the final, she pinned Chapin's Jennifer Reed in the 215-pound division to help Hanks finish on top.

"All the girls on this team have helped me become a better wrestler," Mergy said. "The coaches knew I had very good strength but they, along with my teammates, helped me improve as the year went by."

Mergy was one of four Hanks wrestlers to win her weight division. Tina Chavarria (95 pounds), Kim Quiñones (119), and Diane Reveles (165) all took home the gold.

"I am happy with the victory," Reveles said. "All the girls wrestled well and have helped me become a better wrestler. I have gotten better with my technique."

"The girls have had some tough matches in the last few weeks (at the Lone Star Duals and Amarillo Caprock Tournament)," Hanks coach John Scheetz said. "It was nice to see them get some of that success back."

Hanks' boys also made an impressive showing at Bowie, but fell a few points short of the championship. Moriarty, N.M., took the boys' championship with 264.5 points to Hanks' 239.5.

"Our guys wrestled very well," Scheetz said. "We just had a few bad matches but that happens every now and then."

Louie Perez (103), Steven Gutierrez (130), Kris Summers (135) and Reggie Armstrong (180), all won gold medals for the Knights.

Other local wrestlers who shone were Coronado's Jerry Duran (275), who won the Bowie Boosters' Most Pins Award with five. The Don Anderson Outstanding Female was Lilian Lewis of Irvin (138).

Shawn Jordan (215), who recently committed to play football at LSU, won the Thomas Chisari Outstanding Wrestler Award. Andress' Joel Gonzalez won the Cecil Maxwell Outstanding Wrestler Award.

With district and regional tournaments just a few weeks away, wrestlers are getting ready for the true long haul of the sport.

"I want to make it to state," Mergy said. "It would be very nice to make it that far."

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Girl Power
Prep wrestling gains other sex

By MICHELLE GARDNER, Staff Writer 1/19/03

RIALTO - The wrestling room at Eisenhower High School is not unlike any other county school. The two-inch thick rubber mat stretches from one wall to the other. There is no air conditioning. The only ventilation comes from an open door. As the activity increases, so does the temperature.

Among the 30 or so athletes working out under the watchful eye of coach Joe Paluba are five girls, all with career ambitions common to students their gender. Senior Felicia Quevedo plans to attend Cal State San Bernardino and become an elementary school teacher. Christina Perez, also a senior, is looking toward attending Loma Linda University and becoming a dental hygenist. Junior Patricia Bernard wants to be a nurse.

They are joined by seniors Titi Lawani and Amanda Kigundu, both first-year athletes.

Right now all are wrestlers, yes wrestlers. The sport is slowly becoming coed. There have been girls who have competed in male-dominated sports before. Girls have played on football teams, most often in a non-contact role such as kicker. Some girls played on boys water polo teams before schools fielded separate squads.

"It's more of a challenge to wrestle against boys,' said Perez, whose father Alfonso was an amateur boxer. "When we're wrestling girls we think we should win. Trying out was tough. A lot of people expected us to quit, but the guys push us and we push each other.'

Girls are gravitating toward wrestling more than ever before. Eisenhower isn't the only school with female competitors. Colton has seven, including 152-pounder Michelle Graff who placed sixth at an AAU junior national competition last summer.

Hesperia formed its own girls club team with 13 wrestlers eight compete on a regular basis. Redlands has five girls, while a smattering of other schools have one or two.

The sport is growing in popularity outside the county as well. Thousand Oaks fields a full team of 14 and recently hosted an all-girls tournament in which many of the locals competed. Eisenhower will host a similar event Jan. 25 that Paluba said should draw between 75 and 100 athletes.

"I think it's reflective of society,' he said. "More girls are getting into fields that had been considered male-dominated. Why shouldn't they compete in wrestling? It's the first sport that ever existed. It's one person against one person, no bats or balls or sticks.'

Most expect the sport's popularity among girls to keep growing once the next generation sees the future opportunities. There are some colleges that offer scholarships for women and the number of those doing so should grow with the continued focus on Title IX.

Even more important is the addition of the sport to the Olympics, starting with the 2004 Games in Athens, Greece. It will only be an exhibition sport, showcasing four of the eight weight classes, but it is a start nontheless.

Marcie Van Dusen of Lake Arrowhead hopes to represent the United States in the 2004 Games. Van Dusen, a 2000 graduate of Rim of the World, was a two-time league champion and the first girl to place in the CIF championships. She narrowly missed qualifying for the Masters meet, finishing fourth, one spot below what was needed to advance.

Van Dusen, 20, is currently ranked third in the nation at 121 pounds and is working out at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. She experienced both sides of the spectrum while defeating boys on a regular basis during her high school career.

Her coaches and teammates accepted her as part of the team from the start and she earned the respect of her foes. One boy she beat approached her afterward asked to have his picture taken with her. She was given standing ovations by the crowds at some venues. Other times, boys who lost to her got in fights with teammates who ridiculed them for losing to a girl.

"I started when I was 8, so to me it was just a sport. I didn't think of it as a boys sport,' said Van Dusen, who got interested in wrestling because she had an older brother that competed. "I like it because it was a challenge and because it was an individual sport. There was no one to blame if I didn't do well except myself. And at the same time it's a team sport because you have the camaraderie of teammates cheering you on.'

Van Dusen had a regular spot in Rim's varsity lineup, but she was an exception. Because of the obvious difference in strength and body makeup, most girls aren't strong enough to defeat male teammates in the same weight class so they wrestle in junior varsity matches.

The Hesperia girls only compete in all-girls tournaments.

Most say they do not do a lot of weight training to prepare for the physical nature of the sport.

"I'm still a girly girl,' Quevedo said. "I don't want a manly figure. I want to look like a girl and act like a girl. I just like the sport because it's good exercise and it helps me tone my body.'

Some boys say they don't mind squaring off with a girl.

"I don't see a boy or a girl. I just see another opponent,' said sophomore 103-pounder of Abel Ortega of Colton. "A lot of teams have girls now so I don't think much of it. It's a sport anyone can do if they have a lot of heart.'

Despite the progress that has been made, the sport still has a long way to go before the opportunities for girls are the same as the boys. An informal "state' competition is held at the end of the boys wrestling season for the girls, but that event is not recognized by the CIF.

Assistant commissioner Rob Wigod said because girls wrestling is not recognized as a separate sport by the CIF, there is no way of knowing the number that are currently competing on boys' teams. For girls wrestling to exist as a separate entity with a sanctioned championship series, 20

percent of the membership of 535 schools, would have to field teams.

Wigod said adding girls wrestling would present some problems. Wrestling facilities at most schools are not big enough to accommodate full squads for both boys and girls so the girls would have to compete in either the fall or spring.

Despite the obstacles that still loom, most say the sport has a future.

"I think it's going to keep getting bigger,' said Hesperia coach Mike LaBrosse, who plans to host an all-girls tournament next year. "Individual sports have a certain appeal and this is just another option for girls who may not have found a sport they liked yet.'

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