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Danielle Hobeika 12/02

(Click in picture to see article and lots of pictures)

I am 23 years old, and I am currently working as a research assistant in a psychology lab at Princeton University in New Jersey. I graduated from Harvard University in 2001, where most of my coursework was focused in Developmental Psychology. However, in my free time I do freelance web design and photography. Many of my websites are wrestling related, including the popular “Amateur Wrestling Photos”, which displays action photographs from amateur wrestling events.

I was born in Boston, Massachusetts and I lived in Cambridge, MA for most of my life. My father, Roger Hobeika, is from Beirut, Lebanon and moved to the USA in the 1970s, when he met my mother. My mother, Ruth Hobeika, is originally from Allentown, PA. No one in my family has ever wrestled before, so I am the first Hobeika to take up the sport.

What are your best achievements and titles?

- Women's US National Team Member 2002-2003 at 112 lbs and 1998-1999 at 101 lbs;
- 2nd place at the 2002 US Senior Nationals at 112 lbs;
- 2002 University National Champion at 112 lbs;
- 3rd place at the 2002 Women's World Team Trials at 112 lbs;
- 2nd at the 2002 USGWA Folkstyle National Championships and 4th at the USGWA Freestyle Championships at 114 lbs;
- 3rd at the 2001 Clansman International Open at 112 lbs;
- 2nd at the 1999 Sunkist International Open at 101 lbs;
- Earned All-American status in 1998, 1999, 2001, and 2002;
- Assistant coached the Menlo College Women's Wrestling team in 2001.

Who was your most notable coach?

In college, one of my coaches at Harvard was Granit Taropin, a former Soviet National Coach and former head coach of the Dynamo Kiev Wrestling Club. Granit mentored three Olympic gold medallists including the Belaglasov twins, Sergey and Anatoly, Olympic Champions in Moscow and Seoul.

When did you start doing wrestling?

I started wrestling in 1997, when I was a senior in high school.

Did you participate in different sports?

Yes. I participated in swimming and tennis in high school, and soccer when I was in middle school.

Why have you chosen a combative sport, quite unusual activity for a woman? What encouraged you to participate in it?

In high school, I was the captain of the swimming and tennis teams at my school but I had gotten bored of these sports and wanted to move onto something more challenging. One of my male friends was the captain of the wrestling team and he invited me to come and watch one of his meets. After watching the competition, I became intrigued by the sport because it was so physically and mentally challenging. I continue to wrestle because it is such a fun sport. Unlike swimming, where you just go back and forth across the pool for hours, wrestling is different every time you step onto the mat. Depending on your opponent or training partner's style, you constantly are seeing different moves and learning different techniques that you can use to take down your opponent.

Did close body contact in wrestling bother you at the beginning?

No

Why did you choose just freestyle wrestling rather than any other form of martial arts (for instance, Judo)? Just circumstances or you selected this form of wrestling as the best sport?

Wrestling was offered as a competitive sport at my high school whereas other forms of martial arts were not.

Do you participate in Greek-Roman wrestling competitions as well? Why there are not many girls in Greek-Roman wrestling?

I have not participated in Greco-Roman wrestling at all. Not many women compete in G-R because it relies mostly on upper body strength and women are generally weaker than men in their upper body areas.

Do you see any advantages of freestyle wrestling over other combative sports?

I haven't tried any other combative sports so I can't really answer this question.

What is the difference between Folkstyle wrestling and regular freestyle wrestling?

In the USA, men in college and high school wrestle folkstyle. Most of the techniques from the standing position are the same but are scored differently. In freestyle, you get more points for throwing your opponent or taking them down to his/her back whereas in folkstyle, all takedowns are worth 2 points.

In terms of wrestling on the mat, in folkstyle, when you are on bottom you are trying to stand up and get out or reverse your opponent. In freestyle, if you are on top, you have about 15-20 seconds to expose your opponents back and if you don't, you are put back up in the standing position. So, a good strategy if you are on bottom in freestyle is to go flat and make your body very heavy to avoid being turned for about 15-20 seconds.

In freestyle, the top persons can lock their hands, which is illegal in folkstyle, so there are a lot more moves that you can execute. Also, to score back points in freestyle you only have to expose your opponent's shoulders over 90 degrees, whereas in folkstyle it's 45 degrees.

What wrestling techniques are your favorites?

My favorite moves from the neutral (standing) position are an arm drag to a single-leg takedown, a fireman's carry, a high-crotch takedown, and an arm throw. From the par-terre position (on the mat) I like using a leg lace, an arm bar, and a high gut wrench.

What does "takedown" mean?

Takedown usually means when you attack an opponent's legs as opposed to a throw. It is a general term for scoring in wrestling. For example, if I hit a "duck under" where I duck and come behind my opponent and take her down to the mat, that is also considered a takedown even though I didn't touch my opponent's legs. But usually a takedown refers to when you lower your body level and shoot at the opponent's legs. In order to get a score a position must be fixed when "an opponent is lying or standing on knees and arms and you are behind". (Look at the last 9 photos on the right).

Please describe the specific terms for wrestling moves.

Fireman's carry. I am attempting a fireman's carry on the photograph below left. It's where you are holding the arm and the leg of your opponent and then you take her over your own head onto her back. (This technique came from Sambo - LeVV).

High-crotch takedown. A high-crotch takedown is when you grab your opponent's leg up at the thigh (near the crotch) and then proceed to use the hold to take her down. On the photo above right I am attempting I high-crotch takedown

Arm throw. Basically, you grab your opponent's arm and turn through, attempting to throw her. Below (left) my opponent is trying to do an arm throw on me.

Leg lace. A leg lace is when you wrap your arms around your opponent's legs and then roll your opponent through, exposing your opponent's back. I am attempting leg lace on the picture above (right).

Arm bar. Below I am attempting an arm bar: my arm is holding my opponent's arm to her back and I am trying to use the hold to drive my opponent onto her back.

High gut wrench. This is really hard to explain.... Ill try to do it later because I have to run a psycho experiment... (Belly clutch from back by a hand "wrench' - LeVV).

Is there difference in techniques between light and heavy categories?

I think the heavier weight classes tend to rely more on throws than takedowns.

Is there a wrestler who you particularly want to compete with or it doesn’t matter for you who to compete?

I like competing against the best wrestlers in the nation because I like the challenge and because I can measure my own development against them each time I wrestle them.

What is the difference between men's wrestling and women’s wrestling?

In general, the men are stronger and quicker so their takedowns are often more explosive. However, there are always exceptions to this rule -- some female wrestlers, such as Tocarra Montgomery, Patricia Miranda, Stephanie Murata, and others -- are very explosive and technical and are really fun to watch.

Do you wrestle with men? What do you think about mixed competitions?

I practice a lot with men but never compete against them. I am against the idea of mixed competitions because they seem to present a lose-lose situation to the athletes, but I think mixed practices are fine.

Do you feel yourself as a special woman; do you stand out among ordinary non-combative women? Is it visible for other people that you are a wrestler?

I don't feel like I stand out at all as different from women who participate in non-combative sports. Perhaps I mentally approach things a bit differently, but physically most people are surprised when I tell them I am a wrestler because I don't appear to be big and strong (which is how the public stereotypes wrestlers).

Do you really recommend women participating in the combative sports?

I definitely recommend wrestling and other combative sports to females. I think they are a great way to get in touch with both your body and your mind, as both have to be working together when you participate in a contact sport.

Don't you think that some female wrestlers (not you though) look too mannish?

No, most of the female wrestlers I know are very feminine.

Could you please describe the protective wears, which are used by female wrestlers? Personally for me it still sounds strange that women might wrestle in close body contact without real harm.

There are no protective items. We just wrestle in our singlets and wrestling shoes (some people wear head gear to prevent getting cauliflower ear).

How men react when realize you are a wrestler?

Some are intrigued and often men have spontaneously asked me to wrestle them at bars or parties or wherever I met them. It's kind of funny.

What do you feel when an opponent pins you?

I am disappointed in myself and feel that I could have fought harder.

Who pays for travelling and lodging during tournaments? Do you get paid for wrestling?

The club team I wrestle for, The Dave Schultz Wrestling Club, pays for lodging and meals and I pay for my plane ticket.

Well, really truly amateur sport… Do you like watching wrestling? What is more exciting for you, men's or women’s competitions?

I love watching wrestling. I think men's wrestling is more exciting to watch, but I also enjoy watching the women because most of them are my friends and I can learn a lot from them.

What your parents think about your enthusiasm in wrestling?

At first they were a little hesitant that I wanted to take on a combative sport but then when they saw how much I loved it they became excited about it too.

What is your hobby (besides wrestling)?

I enjoy tennis, running, photography, web design, listening to music, playing scrabble, dancing, and spending time with my friends.

If you have a chance please visit our site and tell us from the professional perspective what you think about it.

I like the design of the splash page a lot -- the 4 blue photos in a square array. I think it's well organized, but you have to scroll down a lot on some pages. May be add some more graphics in your template design. But overall I like it a lot! There is a lot of great information on there!!!

We thank Danielle for her interview and wish her to achieve great success in any fields of activity she participate in. Please visit her personal WEB site.

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Fulp-Allen wins exhibition match

By Mark Foyer--Half Moon Bay Review 3/12/03

A dream finally came true for Sara Fulp-Allen. Sort of.

The Half Moon Bay High School senior, one of the best female wrestlers in the country, wrestled at the California Interscholastic Federation State Wrestling Championships on Saturday.

Only trouble was, the match was an exhibition, so there was no state title on the line for Fulp-Allen.

Still, Fulp-Allen showed why she is regarded so highly in the wrestling ranks. She defeated Jessica Hsieh of Vintage 12-2.

"Every year when I wrestled, I always wanted to make it to the state meet," Fulp-Allen said. "I knew it would be great to make it."

But each time she made it to, and competed in, the Central Coast Section meet, she came up just a little short.

This year, she won the Peninsula Athletic League title, so she was poised to take one more shot at the CCS tournament, one more chance to battle the boys to make state.

She chose to forego the section tournament, though, so she could focus on women's wrestling.

"I just didn't want to wrestle against the boys anymore," Fulp-Allen said. "Wrestling against girls is fine with me."

At the recent Girls State meet, held in Vallejo, there were 210 participants. It was by far the largest turnout of girl wrestlers to a meet in California.

Fulp-Allen is now looking ahead to new goals. A recent poll had Fulp-Allen ranked eighth in the nation at her weight class of 105 pounds. She pointed out, though, that she is among the youngest girls in that ranking.

"Most of those girls are in college," Fulp-Allen said. "I haven't wrestled against some of them.

"That is now my new journey."

As that new path approaches, Fulp-Allen has her eye on another prize: the 2004 Olympics.

Fulp-Allen is looking to qualify for the U.S. Olympic team. In Athens, Greece, in 2004, the Olympics will sanction women's wrestling as an Olympic sport for the first time.

So Fulp-Allen has her sights set on qualifying at next year's Olympic Trials.

But on Saturday, Fulp-Allen was happy to enjoy her exhibition victory. Her match, along with five other girls' matches, took place between a consolation round and the championship semifinal round - so there were plenty of people to watch the girls wrestle.

"I liked that all these people were here to see it," Fulp-Allen said. "They all got a taste of the sport, even if they don't like it."

The match went well for Fulp-Allen. Her 10-point win was hard-fought, as Hsieh gave everything she had.

When the five girls' matches ended, about 7,000 fans in the Spanos Center stands gave the wrestlers a rousing ovation.

"The best of the best are here to wrestle," Fulp-Allen said. "I am excited to be here and show what the girls can do."

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Lady wrestlers finish in first

(From left) Malory Rutkey, Claire DuPont and Melinda Velasquez display the first-place medals and certificates they won at the United States Girls Wrestling Association State Championships.

Claire DuPont and Malory Rutkey, both juniors at Lake County High School, and Melinda Velasquez, a seventh grader at Lake County Intermediate School, traveled to Fort Lupton on Saturday, Mar. 8, to participate in the United States Girls Wrestling Association State Championships.
All three finished in first place in their divisions and weight classes.
DuPont did exceptionally well. Along with taking first in the high school division, she also finished in first place in the college-level bracket. DuPont was also votedthe outstanding wrestler in the high school division.
There were approximately 80 girls entered from all over Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. This event was open to all girls from kindergarten to college level. The USGWA holds state tournaments in Colorado, New Mexico and Oklahoma with the final national event in Michigan. DuPont and Rutkey both wrestled for the Lake County High School Panthers and Velasquez is currently on the junior high wrestling team. They also are involved with Two-Mile High Wrestling.

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Final Results of the UIL 2003 Girls' State Wrestling Matches

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Women wrestling may offer seven golds in Beijing Olympics

GUILIN, China, Mar 9, 2003 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- "

The number of gold medals for women wrestling in the Beijing Olympic Games may amount to seven,"
vice president of FILA (International Amateur Wrestling Federation) Saletnig
Mario told Xinhua here on Sunday.

Women wrestling has been admitted into the Athens Olympics which offers
four gold medals. However, Mario disclosed that the number may reach seven
in the Beijing Olympic Games.

"This is the very first time that women wrestling is accepted into the
Olympic family, which is kind of a milestone. China is very strong in
this field and easy to open up its program. I hope there will be seven gold
medals for women wrestling in the Beijing Olympics. We (FILA) are
working for that objective."

Mario also mentioned that Japan was No. 1 in the women wrestling due to
its long tradition and rich experience accrued after years.

When asked if there is a possibility that the number of wrestling gold
medals in the Olympics may be cut, Mario ruled it out, saying that "we
will meet IOC (International Olympic Committee) president Mr. Rogger to
present our position. You know, wrestling is one of the original Olympic
sports. We should get a more special place than other sports because of the great
contribution this sport has done."

Copyright 2003 Xinhua News Agency (via Comtex). All rights reserved

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Aberhart ace pins hopes on grappling: Buchan helped start program at Branton Junior High;

Calgary Herald 02-12-2003

High school student Stephanie Buchan has always pushed the barriers
that girls face in the sport of wrestling.

When she arrived a confident kid for her first year at Branton Junior
High School, she was baffled to find no wrestling program existed for girls.

"I was really upset because it was supposed to be my first year
wrestling," she says.

So with the help of her dad, former high school wrestler Ed Buchan, she
convinced the school to start a program.

Ed coached his daughter and about seven other girls through Grades 7 to
9, then moved on with his daughter to William Aberhart High School, where
he's assistant wrestling coach. He also coached again at Branton Junior High
last season, when his younger daughter entered the program. Stephanie also
helped coach.

The program at Branton continues today.

"The first year we had it there, I thought there'd be no girls, but
quite a few came out," says Stephanie.

The now 16-year-old student is one of the most talented local female
wrestlers. Last season, she won the city high school championship and
was second in the open national championship at New Brunswick in the
70-kilogram weight class for cadet (Grade 10).

This year, she's only had two points scored on her -- at a club
tournament in Ontario -- and is gearing up to win the national championship for
juvenile (Grade 11) in April in Calgary.

"A lot of girls I know are in their first year of wrestling," she says.
"I've been learning to wrestle since I was four years old."

Because of her record, she was given a bye on Tuesday, the first of the
two-day city high school championships at William Aberhart. She'll
wrestle today in the 70-kilogram class.

While she has helped create a legacy at Branton Junior High, Stephanie
says she'd like to see the competition for girls wrestling improve
nation-wide.

"People need to get over the image of the stereotypical wrestler;
they're not all huge," she says. "It turns girls off."

As for her own future, Stephanie plans to attend the University of
Calgary, where she's already training with world champion wrestler Christine
Nordhagen-Vierling.

In the meantime, she'll continue high school wrestling.

There are five other girls in her weight class for the city
championships, which resume today at 3:30 p.m. at Aberhart.

The order of the more than 200 competitors will be decided in today's
draw. Finals start at about 7 p.m.

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One for the wahine: Kealakehe's Norman wins state wrestling title

WHT Staff Reports 3/16/03

Ah, sweet revenge.

Kealakehe girls wrestler Jasmine Norman avenged her only 130 - pound loss in grand fashion Saturday - beating Kamehameha's Jazmine Cockett to win the high school state championship for that weight class.

Norman won in a 6 - 6 tiebreaker over the top - seeded Cockett. The Kealakehe senior went 4 - 0 over the two - day tournament at Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu.

Only one other Big lsland Interscholastic Federation girls wrestlers made the finals - but 175 - pounder Ashley Truchan of Hilo was pinned by Farrington's Laosamoa Misa - Uli at 4:24 and had to settle for second place.

Hilo's Keisha Siliga (155) finished fourth in her class.

The Kahuku girls squad (147.5) beat Moanalua (117.5) for the team title.

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Iolani boys, Kahuku girls raid state wrestling titles

By Nick Abramo 3/16/03
nabramo@starbulletin.com

Patrick Higa has company in the Hawaii high school wrestling stratosphere.

Saint Louis' Jonathan Spiker and Moanalua's Caylene Valdez joined Higa as the only wrestlers to capture four state championships last night.

In a tight boys team race, Iolani outlasted two-time defending champion Saint Louis 180.5-167 to secure the Data House Wrestling Championship at Blaisdell Arena. With 147.5 points, Kahuku won the girls title by 30 points over runner-up Moanalua.

Valdez became the first girl to accomplish the four-peat by pinning Tamitha Hufana of Farrington in the 114-pound final.

"It's a wonderful feeling," said Valdez, who cried happy tears and jumped into the arms of her boyfriend, Kamehameha wrestler Patrick Stachel, moments after the victory. "I've been very lucky and had God on my side. Through these four years, it's been a lot of tears, sweat, dedication, commitment and cutting weight.

"Our other girl wrestlers were there to push me through when I was down. I set myself against their pace. If they were faster or drilling harder, then I knew I had to go faster or drill harder."

Spiker became the second boy to four-peat, matching Higa's run from 1983 to 1986. He beat Ray-Ian Transfiguracion of Konawaena 17-7 in the 152-pound final.

"It's everything," Spiker said. "I thought about it the whole season and that's all I could think about the past two weeks. When I was a freshman, people said I could be a four-time champ, and that's when I hadn't even won one yet. It was risky and exciting. Still, I had to go one, then two, then three, then four. I would have liked to end it with a pin and I was trying for a pin, even in the last 10 seconds."

Iolani's Aaron Ishikawa (103), Jared Wakayama (125), Owen Yonehara (135) and Kyle Muraoka (145) earned individual titles to lead Iolani past Saint Louis.

DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM Caylene Valdez of Moanalua was congratulated by teammate Cassandra Pohe after pinning Tamitha Hufana of Farrington in the 114 lbs. final to become the first girl to win four state titles. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wakayama, the 119-pound champ a year ago, held off hard-charging Riley Kitamura of Punahou for a 12-10 victory.

"I'm a senior, so I knew I didn't have another chance," Wakayama said. "I know I've got to keep pushing until I've got no more to give, and I was able to pull it out. It's a great feeling, but the true feeling is when the team wins."

By winning their weight classes, Saint Louis' Brandon Low (103), Ben Wilmore (130) and Vincent Scott (215) helped the Crusaders remain close to the victorious Raiders.

"I was worried all the way up to the 160-pound match," Iolani coach Yoshi Honda said. "That's when my assistants gave me the thumbs up that it was over. Our group was really close, bonded with each other and pulled off each other's energy."

Saint Louis coach Todd Los Banos said he was happy his Crusaders were able to keep it a tight race.

Wilmore edged McKinley's Emil Suehiro 3-0 for another state crown. He won the 112-pound class last year.

Rene Suehiro, Emil's brother who won at 135 pounds a year ago, held off Pearl City's Brian Denny 6-3 for the 140-pound championship.

Baldwin's Kody Shepley gave Maui fans something to cheer about by dominating McKinley's Lawrence Thain in a 12-0 victory. He almost pinned Thain twice.

"I thought I did pin him, especially the first time, but the referee never called it," said Shepley, who missed much of the season because of a torn rotator cuff.

Kahuku's Elizabeth Torres and Kehau Kamauoha won girls individual titles to lead the Red Raiders to their team victory. Torres pinned Mauri Terao of Punahou in the 108-pound final, while Kamauoha did the same to Robyn Mizuno of Punahou at 140.

"I was hoping I wouldn't get the senior jinx," said Torres, who placed second at the states as a sophomore and junior. "Our girls did awesome and we worked so hard. This is icing on the cake and an exciting, great way to finish the year."

In one of the most exciting matches of the night, Kealakehe's Jasmine Norman beat Kamehameha's Jazmine Cockett in a 130-pound class overtime tiebreak. Norman had a comfortable 6-2 lead, but Cockett tied it near the end of regulation with a reversal and a near takedown.

"That was the closest match I've ever been involved in," said Norman, who was completely exhausted after the win. "She's amazing. What was really cool is we both have the same name, so everyone was yelling, 'Go Jasmine.' "

Kailua's Danyelle Hedin earned her second straight title at 121 pounds by getting revenge with a pin of Kahuku's Leilani Relator. Relator beat Hedin three times this season -- in the regular season and the OIA East championship meets.

"I worked on centering myself and doing what I needed to do," Hedin said. "If feels great, because I know I had to come and wrestle my hardest."

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