Sasha Smith of Thorold Secondary School puts a hold on Amanda Stevenson of Beamsville Secondary School during the 54-kilogram final at the Southern Ontario wrestling championship Thursday in Thorold.
News Page
Bernie Puchalski, The Standard
stcatharines 2/22/03
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Sasha Smith of Thorold Secondary School puts a hold on Amanda Stevenson of Beamsville Secondary School during the 54-kilogram final at the Southern Ontario wrestling championship Thursday in Thorold. |
It would have been easy for Sasha Smith to feel sorry for herself.
The 18-year-old Thorold Secondary School student is arguably one of the top female high school wrestlers in the province but had the misfortune of being in the same weight class as Lindsay Rushton.
Rushton, who graduated from Lakeport last spring, won five straight Southern Ontario Secondary School Association titles, three straight Ontario Federation of School Athletic Association crowns and a bronze medal at the 2001 world junior championships. Smith had to be content with silver medals at SOSSA and OFSAA in the 54-kilogram division the past two years.
She was never able to beat Rushton and had to be content with small victories.
"Last year at zones, I scored points on her for the first time. That was pretty exciting for me," she said, with a laugh.
And despite always being the bridesmaid to Rushton, the OAC student wouldn't have had it any other way.
"I feel lucky to have had her right off the bat. She's a really tough wrestler and it made me have to be a really tough wrestler to compete with her. She pushed me to work harder and she raised the level of competition," Smith said.
On Thursday at her home gym, Smith earned her first SOSSA gold medal by capturing the 54-kilogram division.
"I don't feel a lot of pressure to win but I really think this is my year," she said.
"It has been a slow process with Sasha. She has always had the physical ability and great technique but it was just a matter of getting her head together in matches," Thorold coach Brian Kilroy said.
"Her biggest improvement has been in her maturity and mental toughness. And something we take for granted is goal-setting and that's a skill she's starting to use."
And the goals she has set for 2002 are lofty.
"I've been really working hard this year, not really for OFSAA, but I'm hoping to go to the junior worlds this year," Smith said.
And next fall she'd like to go to Brock where she already trains twice a week.
"I want to go to Brock because they're the best team in Ontario."
Defending OFSAA champion Beamsville won the SOSSA girls title followed by Stamford, Thorold, Kernahan Park and Beamsville.
The top two wrestlers in each weight class advanced to OFSAA in Sarnia and among them were: defending OFSAA champion Liz Martindale of Beamsville, who won at 51 kilograms; defending OFSAA champion Jody Dykstra of Beamsville, who won at 64 kilograms; and, 2002 OFSAA silver medallist Stephanie Harding of Laura Secord, who won at 77 kilograms.
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In 1998, Arielle Bradbury of Montesano was the first girl to qualify for Mat Classic. She lost both of her matches. Friday, sophomore Aspen Crouter of Concrete became the first girl to win a match when she pinned freshman Anthony Wolfe of North Beach at 1:20 in a first-round 103-pound 1A/B match. Crouter lost her quarterfinal match to Frankie Torres of Warden, who pinned her in 35 seconds.
"It's a special feeling to be the first to win a match," said Crouter, who has been wrestling since she was 9 years old. "I was surprised by the pin in my first match. I thought it would go all three rounds."
Crouter finished the tournament 1-2 after a consolation loss to Riley Christensen of Royal.
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By DAN McCOOL
Register Staff Writer
02/22/2003
Colfax, Ia. - The homecoming queen traded a tiara for takedowns.
Ashley Pender of Colfax-Mingo will try to continue her season of firsts today when she competes in the Class 1-A district wrestling tournament in Truro.
The 5-foot-2-inch Pender, the school's homecoming queen last fall, is believed to be the first female wrestler in state history to win enough matches at a sectional or district to advance.
Dave Harty, wrestling coordinator for the Iowa High School Athletic Association, said if Pender finishes in the top two at 112 pounds today, she will become the first female to reach the state wrestling tournament.
"She's overcome a lot of obstacles already, so never say never," Colfax-Mingo coach Bryan Poulter said.
Pender, a 17-year-old senior, has a 14-21 record after finishing second at 112 pounds Monday during the sectional tournament at Pleasantville.
She advanced to districts by beating Matt Wiedmann of Martensdale-St. Marys in the wrestle-back match to determine the No. 2 qualifier.
"When I got done with my match, I just stood there and everybody came over and gave me hugs and stuff," Pender said. "I just knew I won, so I was happy enough.
"Once I realized that (I was moving on), I was really excited. I didn't expect to get that far."
If Pender qualifies for state, it would mean finding a separate dressing and shower area at Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines.
Pender is used to out-of-the-way accommodations at wrestling meets and tournaments.
"I've had some closets I've changed in," she said. "Most of the time I go to the women's bathroom and sometimes I'll get private coaches' offices. They are not really prepared for me, so they don't know what to do."
Hardly the kind of treatment fit for a queen.
"Sometimes I have to go home and shower," Pender said.
Pender is the first female wrestler at Colfax-Mingo in the 18 seasons Poulter has been head coach - but not the first unique story.
Poulter said he notices similarities between Pender and Nick Ackerman, who placed sixth for the Tigerhawks at 152 pounds in 1997. Ackerman lost both legs just below the knee when he was 18 months old in order to save his life from a fast-moving form of bacterial meningitis.
Ackerman went on to earn the state medal as a senior before winning an NCAA Division III national championship for Simpson College in 2001.
"They both want to be accepted as what they are and not have any cause behind them," Poulter said.
Pender also has run cross country at the school, was on the swimming team last fall and played outfield on Poulter's softball team last summer.
"I like more aggressive sports, so I decided to go out for wrestling," Pender said.
She finished second in her girls' wrestling division last spring and qualified for the national tournament in Michigan.
Harty of the IHSAA said participatory numbers are not high enough in Iowa, however, to start a sanctioned girls' state wrestling tournament. Such events are held in states such as Texas and Hawaii, he said.
"Down the road, it may give some merit to reviewing whether or not girls should have their own program," Harty said.
Teammate Michael Bucklin, the Colfax-Mingo 215-pounder who was fifth at state last season, said Pender has earned the respect of the team.
"She comes to practice every single day - she works just as hard as any of us, so she deserves it," Bucklin said.
Poulter said Pender has succeeded because she took the challenge seriously.
"I knew that her intentions were not to be a stunt. I knew she was truly interested in the sport," Poulter said.
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State Wrestling Tournament Remains All-Boy Event
Tournament Starts Wednesday
February 24, 2003 TheIowaChannel.com
DES MOINES, Iowa -- The state high school wrestling tournament will remain an all-boy event this year.
Ashley Pender's hope of becoming the first girl to qualify for the tournament ended Sunday. The Colfax-Mingo senior lost both of her matches at 112 pounds in the Class 1A district tournament.
Pender became the first Iowa girl to advance in tournament competition when she finished second in her sectional. She finished the season with a 14-23 record.
The state tournament starts Wednesday at Veterans Memorial Auditiorium and will run for four days this year with the finals scheduled for Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
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Class 3-2-1A
Chase County
Team scores -- Eureka 142, Garden Plain 133, Hesston 117, Chase County 114,
Marion 84, West Elk 83, Hillsboro 75, Wichita Independent 65,
Cherryvale 63, Bluestem 56, Sedgwick 41, Halstead 36.5, Remington 36, Fredonia 29.5,
Central Heights 29, Frontenac 28, Neodesha 18, Flinthills 16, Cheney 0.
Individual results
103 -- 1. Nash Burtin, Eureka, pinned Paul Berry, Cherryvale :22.8; 3.
David
King, Hesston def. Chelsea Arnhold, Marion 9-1.
Chelsea Arnhold will go to boys state in Kansas because she placed 4th at regionals
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UIL Wrestling Championships
Pflugerville's Billerbeck takes girls state title
By Tommy Cathey ASSOCIATED PRESS, February 23, 2003
Pflugerville High School junior Rachel Billerbeck walked into the UIL state wrestling championships with one black mark on her record this season. On Saturday, she beat the person who handed her that loss and walked out as a state champion.
Billerbeck dominated Teri Lopez of Katy in the 128-pound semifinals, winning 8-4 to avenge the loss Lopez dealt her earlier this season. Billerbeck then pinned Kim Hernandez of Converse Judson in the championship match to become her school's first state champion.
"I wanted to prove to everyone here that I'm the only one from Pflugerville and I won," Billerbeck said. "I was out to win today and I left everything on the mat."
"She becomes a different wrestler when she's here," said Pflugerville Coach Gary Zernow. "She is physical like some of the guys."
After her victory, Billerbeck already was planning a defense of her title.
"I'm going to train this summer," said Billerbeck, who competed with a club team last summer. "I have a lot to learn and hopefully I'll be better next year. The competition only gets harder."
Billerbeck's performance helped the Pflugerville girls place 9th in the team race with 21 points. Amarillo Palo Duro finished first with 91, Amarillo Tascosa was second with 60 and San Antonio Lee finished third with 48.
In the boys bracket, Bowie's Juan Lopez took second place in the 215-pound division, losing in the championship match to Shawn Jordan of El Paso Riverside, 8-5. Lopez upset Parker Chaddick of Highland Park 2-1 in the semifinals. Lopez trailed 1-0 for most of the match, but took the lead late in the third period.
Lanier's Pat McAuley placed fifth in the 135-pound division and his teammate, Nick Ganci, took fourth in the 145-pound division. Bowie's Preston Huffington placed sixth in the 189-pound division.
In the boys team standings, Bowie was the highest Central Texas finisher, in 14th place (35 points). Highland Park won the state title with 86.5 points despite having no individual winners, followed by The Woodlands (85.5) and Coppell (75).
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La Sierra girl pins surprise : EVENTFUL: The Eagles squeak into the Division 2 semifinals. A penalty influences Division 3.
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE 2/17/03
Riverside La Sierra's amazing season continued in the CIF team
dual-meet championships Saturday, with the Eagles reaching the
Division 2 semifinals.
The match that got them there really turned heads.
The Eagles squeaked through the quarterfinals with a 30-28
victory capped by Liz Ashley's pin of Los Alamitos' Dan Rayburn.
That put them in the semifinals against host North Torrance,
which won 53-12.
Ashley, in the 103-pound class, pinned Rayburn in 2:51. She
trailed 5-0 after the first period, and Rayburn had choice of
position for the next period but deferred to Ashley. She chose a
neutral stance and threw her best throw on Rayburn.
"My coach was telling me the whole time to head and arm it,"
said Ashley, a junior. "I thought he was too strong but I was
like, 'Hey I am going to try it.' "
When the referee's hand slapped the mat signifying a pin, La
Sierra wrestlers erupted and surrounded to congratulate Ashley
while Los Alamitos' bench sat stunned.
In the next round, North Torrance jumped out to a 41-6 lead.
Saxons 215-pound wrestler Ted Shin suffered a major arm injury
that needed the attention of paramedics, and La Sierra coach
Ernie Ledesma forfeited the final two matches so North Torrance
could give its attention to Shin.
Getting to the semifinals was one of several goals Ledesma set
that his team accomplished.
"Everything that we said we basically accomplished," Ledesma
said. "First it was league, then it was (the Riverside County
meet), then it was here. Before long, it is CIF individuals to
see how many guys we can get to Masters."
North Torrance defeated Riverside North in the first round,
68-6. Corona Santiago scored the final 24 points but still fell
to La Puente Bishop Amat, 44-36.
ANDRES CARDENAS
Division 5
San Bernardino Cajon and Riverside Ramona each took a step
forward, but neither was able to take the final step and capture
a CIF title.
Cajon, in its first trip to the CIF championship round, fell to
top-seeded Alta Loma, 43-24. Cajon had beaten first-time
semifinalist Ramona in the previous round, 48-23.
"We had a lot of beginners, relied on them too much," said Cajon
coach Jesse Singh, who had three freshmen and two sophomores
wrestling Saturday. "But they got us here."
Thanks to their depth in the lighter weight classes, the Cowboys
took an early lead in the final. But by 145 pounds, Alta Loma
was in the driver's seat, giving up just 12 points in the next
seven classes.
Seven of those 12 came in the 171-pound match, where Alta Loma's
Erik Avila edged Cajon's Eric Stevens, 8-7.
In the semifinals, Cajon took an early lead, but Ramona caught
up in the middle weight classes, winning three straight with a
technical fall and two pins.
Ramona's Tyler Brown pinned Jeff Snellings in 1:07 in the
160-pound class to give the Rams a short-lived 23-21 lead. Cajon
retook the lead in the next match when Stevens came back from an
early deficit to record a pin in 4:07.
The Cowboys clinched a finals berth two matches later in a
hard-fought 215-pound match that went the distance. Chris
Rodarte, wrestling despite straining his groin in the first
round, held off Ramona's Robbie Carter, 9-8, to secure 13-point
lead.
With no way to catch up, Ramona coach Steve Campos forfeited the
last two matches.
"Ramona's been beating us all year," Singh said, "but we got
them when it counted."